After getting 2 trains from West Kilbride and then walking a few miles from Bellshill to Newhouse, Scotland yesterday the driver was told there was no shift for him, he had spent all his money getting there and had no food. He can’t afford a car was relying on getting a lift back to Kilmarnock before walking back home or thumbing a lift. I’m fortunate enough to be in a full time job with good pay, is things really this bad for agency drivers?
Christ, bet the poor fellas heart sunk when he got told it was cancelled 
Shouldn’t be a problem, he should have been paid for 8 hours as standard I would have thought?
FarnboroughBoy11:
Shouldn’t be a problem, he should have been paid for 8 hours as standard I would have thought?
Ah I didn’t realise it worked like that, I’ve only ever been directly employed luckily.
FarnboroughBoy11:
Shouldn’t be a problem, he should have been paid for 8 hours as standard I would have thought?
That’s what I like, optimism. 
Tragic…
FarnboroughBoy11:
Shouldn’t be a problem, he should have been paid for 8 hours as standard I would have thought?
Yes that what a decent agency would do but…
what a guy eh, anyone should emply a fella like that,thats commitment for ya, what ■■■ holes they are in their comfy seats in warm paid for offices!!! parasites.
Poor bloke, I’ve never been that skint & hope I never will be
Surely as a consultant it doesn’t make sense to send a guy that far for a shift without his own transport, and it’s disgusting that the client has turned him away as opposed to the agency in advance…
If I had a driver in that financial situation I’d have no problem giving him a small advance to be deducted later on; infact I’ve done it out of my own pocket for some of the most reliable guys.
Poor bloke. Hope his agency is charging his hours and paying him.
Can understand where the rep comes from 
iceman1:
what a guy eh, anyone should emply a fella like that,thats commitment for ya, what ■■■ holes they are in their comfy seats in warm paid for offices!!! parasites.
Yeah there is plenty in his position that would just sit and wait for a cheque from the benefits agency (or whatever their called at the moment). We all too quick to moan about slackers, here’s a guy who want work and puts himself out to get it, and then gets slapped in the face for his trouble, next time he might say sod it, let an Immigrant have the work.
Hope that Guy gets on his feet soon, good luck whom ever you are 
There’s no point signing on with an agency that doesn’t guarantee you at least 4 but better 8 hours payment if your shift is cancelled…they will shaft you, nothing surer. The agency will still be getting paid a rate when the client cancels after all so why should the driver not get one, especially after turning up on time, ready for work.
Ask your prospective new agency employer what their cancellation terms are before you sign on with them, then there are no horrible surprises later.
Scannyfanny:
The agency will still be getting paid a rate when the client cancels after all so why should the driver not get one, especially after turning up on time, ready for work.
I can tell you’ve never worked as a consultant.
In an ideal world they would, but it would depend on how much the agency wants to keep doing business with them. Remember companies can shaft agencies just as much as agencies can shaft drivers.
In this case, driver should’ve contacted agency who then should have got him a taxi home or back to the office. If they didn’t, then they don’t deserve to have such a dedicated bloke working for them.
Bugger me, that geezer deserves a full time job.
Juddian:
Bugger me, that geezer deserves a full time job.
+1
Similar happened to me last year. Was asked to do a night trunk Hillington (Glasgow) to Manchester and back. Arrived at the yard 30 mins before shift and got a call from the agency to be told it was cancelled. I had to fight with them to get ONE HOURS pay to cover my petrol, as I had to drive 25 miles each way.
Name and shame? Yeh, why not, I probably won’t be driving an HGV any time soon! It was Jark, Glasgow. Only good thing about them was going to see Lizanne in the office every now and again 
.
Sidevalve:
Scannyfanny:
The agency will still be getting paid a rate when the client cancels after all so why should the driver not get one, especially after turning up on time, ready for work.I can tell you’ve never worked as a consultant.
In an ideal world they would, but it would depend on how much the agency wants to keep doing business with them. Remember companies can shaft agencies just as much as agencies can shaft drivers.
In this case, driver should’ve contacted agency who then should have got him a taxi home or back to the office. If they didn’t, then they don’t deserve to have such a dedicated bloke working for them.
Worked as a consultant? No, I haven’t. What I do currently is work as a responsible employer and in a previous life worked as an agency driver and in between worked as a few other things.
You’ve got it wrong, my friend - a taxi back to the office is simply not enough after rising at the crack of sparrows, preparing food, travelling and getting stood down whilst collecting zero pounds. . Firms who want to control driver agencies like this and agencies who are happy to work like this are not worth working for as a driver…simples…they are to be avoided. If we as drivers avoid them they cease to exist or they are forced to change their operating policies, either way works in the long run. Agencies need reliable drivers and their clients need agencies, to allow the flexibility they crave, it’s the modern way. As an agency driver I need a reliable employer. Some agencies are very good, others are simply crap; my best advice gleaned from bitter experience is to avoid the latter by asking questions upfront.
what a great idea get all agency drivers to stick together that will teach the agencies
unfortunatly you do get shafted as an agency driver and as an agency i have had it from both sides of the coin and personally wouldnt send a driver out who had no transport and had no way back, maybe he didnt tell them?
dafpower:
Juddian:
Bugger me, that geezer deserves a full time job.+1
+2
war1974:
what a great idea get all agency drivers to stick together that will teach the agenciesunfortunatly you do get shafted as an agency driver and as an agency i have had it from both sides of the coin and personally wouldnt send a driver out who had no transport and had no way back, maybe he didnt tell them?
Oh dear, another one 
. So what would make being treated like this OK…assuming we accept the story as the truth? Working for pish agencies like this only helps them continue in business.
The ‘sending out with no transport and no way back’ is not the debate here mate…it’s the ‘not getting paid’. The guy’s transport arrangements to and from work is his own issue, not the agency’s; the payment for the shift though is very firmly the agency’s responsibility as is the honest management of the driver’s expectation with respect to conditions. If the driver goes unpaid in the event of a client cancellation he should know this is the policy - in advance. It may well be in the small print of his contract…if he has one. Maybe the guy in question did not realize this.
The fact you have ‘had it from both sides’ is mildly interesting but irrelevant; we’re talking about a driver going unpaid after taking trains, planes and automobiles to work only to have the rug pulled from under him with a shift cancellation and no cash. Unlike you, I as a driver have no concern over an agency getting shafted if I have done what I was contracted to do…turn up on time for work at the correct address. Work cancelled - not my problem, wages please.