whos on here working for agencies and are worried about the usual dead period after chrimbo …who thinks there wont be a dead period
The so called dead period is entirely dependant on what you’re delivering. This year I started with an agency on 6th jan & worked every week until I moved on in May, that was on containers moving car parts. Year before I started in November expecting to finish in dec/jan, it lasted 13 months until I moved on, that was doing pallet work in double deck trailers to a hub. When I was at ASDA they talked about the Christmas rush, thing is you delivered that stuff in October and started delivering Easter eggs in December.
Been agency over two years now, constant work and dont think will be any different this year as all ready been booked out and given my shifts going into January.
looking to go onto agencies …just in process of setting up as ltd company just need my vat number …problem is ive got jury service end of march so not sure if to wait till that’s done and dusted or bite bullet and start on agencies first week of January
stvme2519:
looking to go onto agencies …just in process of setting up as ltd company just need my vat number …problem is ive got jury service end of march so not sure if to wait till that’s done and dusted or bite bullet and start on agencies first week of January
If, by March, you are working regular hours at agency - what you’ll be paid by the court system for loss of earnings will be based on your average over preceeding months.
I’d grant that March is a lousy time to be doing Jury service therefore, because of the risk of “bitty” work January-March screwing up that average.
I always thought if one was Self-Employed though, they don’t pay out expenses at all. When I was on Jury service in the 90’s there were some middle aged tradesmen there who were always moaning about how much they stood to lose from "having to take two weeks off unpaid", and it being "unclaimable because they were self-employed".
I was led to understand that the rebate one gets from the court system is a bit like a “benefit” in what qualifies one to get it… Have a PAYE job you’re getting pay docked from, and you’ll get paid whatever your drop in pay is whilst on Jury service. I was a docket king at Royal Mail at the time, and they paid out all the overtime I didn’t do - with the added benefit of it being tax free, so I was actually better off financially for doing the whole jury service thing!
Be self-employed though? - Has anyone else had any recent experience of this system, since there’s such a strong possibility that it may have changed over the years? 
Hmmm I had to give evidence in a crown court case and lost four days self employed earnings due to waiting to give evidence… Although I had a gross yearly income from what I could glean from the form, they only covered the profit / net income aspect that was your wage. From how I understood the form they did not cover what I would need to pay my businesses outgoing commitments and expense… ie bill out £200 + Vat to customer per job… £ 100 went to cover car, running costs, insurances, equipment, computers and softwares costs, banking and accountancy costs ect…
That left me with £ 100 for income, tax and NI …
But I worked 7days a week and 24 hours a day on call… So some days I would not work and other days I could do 1, 2, 3 to 4 jobs a day.
Looking at the forms the courts supplied it became almost impossible to fill them in due to the ridged and narrow scope of field required to make a claim and prove my claim was genuine… Even my accountant said he could comply with the forms.
I sent the form in to the court with my name and address filled in and a copy of the letter / email from my accountant explaining why we could not completed their forms requested format due to the constraints imposed… Requesting further advice… The court could not offer any a advice and agreed in a phone conversation that this had been a problem for a number of self employed people during a follow up phone conversation.
I therefore didn’t bother to claim because it became impossible and was going to take up too much time and money.
Not sure if the forms have been improved these days as more people as self employed. But the official government forms don’t take into account the real world…
You should be warned that being on jury can last one day to months depending on crown court cases.
I left an agency job this time last year to go to a full time position partly because of the anticipated “Dead Zone” of January through to March.
It turns out that period was no different to the rest of the year, busier in fact as business in general grew in confidence.
I can’t see it being any different this coming season.
Not had a ‘dead period’ in the last 2 years and pretty sure it won’t happen this year either. More difficulty getting a few days off at the moment.
Thinking about it there’s no real reason for a dead period nowadays, everything is ‘just in time’ from supermarkets, to factories, to builders. No-one is going to lay out money (+interest) on stock to have it sitting over the holiday period either deteriorating or open to pilfering/damage, much easier just to order in as needed.
As a seasoned agency pro, you need to be looking at food related industries if you need to keep going. (After all, we all need food.)
Last year (2013) I was non stop during the ‘quiet’ spell working at a well known dairy company. 5 and 6 days a week for the duration.
Hoping to be the same this coming January for a different customer.
Ken.
Two years ago, I had a quiet spell mid-jan to mid-feb, followed by another 3 week stretch just after easter, mid april.
Last year, it was only quiet for a couple of weeks mid-november.
This year, I’ve been offered more work than I want to do, pretty much at all times.
I don’t have any bother having some quiet weeks in January, since i won’t be having any credit card bills to pay off from the “Christmas Hangover”.
With the weather likely to be bad as well, there’s no shame in sitting out what can amount to the crappiest working weeks of the whole year… 
January-March also tends to be (for me at least) “general haulage” work on earlies rather than “depot-depot trunking” on lates/nights (which I prefer), - which means more time trudging around in the rain and snow, and less time on POA on some bay somewhere…
Have to say it appears the same where I am. Financial Year Period 11 is usually flat out as they have their big sale and then come the day it ends the work drops off a cliff. Well here we are starting the second week after the end of Period 11 and still flat out.
I only wanted to do a couple of days a week. That plan went out the window by the third week since I came back.
Like you I don’t need a busy Jan-March and would rather sit at home than go out but I suspect that won’t end up being the case. On a good note it does mean the wife will be able to have a new kitchen earlier.
Dead season … More like holiday season
Don’t panic, just Thomas Cook it. See you on the beach 
peirre:
Dead season … More like holiday season
Don’t panic, just Thomas Cook it. See you on the beach
Ski slope surely?
Totally agree with Billyhunt, ive worked for a couple of food companies we started taking hot cross buns out the day after boxing day!!! it might slacken off a bit with supermarket chains but people still have to eat. Not sure where you are but the company i just left always need drivers.
There never seems to be a shortage of C2 Multidrop work.
It’s when you “turn such work down” you find there’s bugger all else in January-March time - at least for someone of your seniority on that particular agency!
(The Senior drivers will be getting general haulage work, like whole weeks at Lehnam Storage, Europa, Firmins, Palletliners, etc.)
Quinny:
As a seasoned agency pro, you need to be looking at food related industries if you need to keep going. (After all, we all need food.)Last year (2013) I was non stop during the ‘quiet’ spell working at a well known dairy company. 5 and 6 days a week for the duration.
Hoping to be the same this coming January for a different customer.
Ken.
absolutely 100% correct!! last year, Bidvest in Royton was my saviour, and this year it’ll be the same I reckon! 
ok its less than ideal hard work… but it pays well, and is better than no work at all!!
Cheers
B…
I’ve been with agencies for over 5 years now, no real dead periods, goes up and down all year, fully booked now up to crimbo, I’ll see what the new year brings.
Merry Christmas!