I’ve noticed that there is a bit more work going right now, and I’ve not had a whole week out of work for some while. I’ve only just qualified class 1 (2nd Sept) and just had my first week (well, four days, the Tuesday was cancelled) of class 1 work (for a scaffolding company outside Slough). Got a nice little class 2 job next week, running from west London to Norfolk each day. Not sure about the week after. Haven’t had that pay rise yet, although I’ve considered telling the agency that I’ll only do 7.5T work at class 2 rates, only fair now that the days of grandfather rights are gone.
I’ve not found that non-specialist agencies are always terrible, though driving agencies are better at actually finding you driving work. The company I got this latest job from isn’t a specialist agency and they lied to me about the nature of the job (and didn’t honour it when I told them I didn’t want to work for this particular client again due to the abusive behaviour of some of their on-site staff), but I’ve had specialist agencies do that to me in the past as well.
Ok - hands up then what NON driving work you’ve ever had for your agencies worked for?
I’ll start with “I once had to be a night porter @7 diner on sunday rate driving money”.
I think I said “I’d sweep the floor for that!”… So of course I ended up doing just that. Me and my big mouth.
bald bloke:
Was just wondering how agency or any kind of freelance drivers are managing that’s all.
If all firms copy stobarts latest scheme,£50 bonus for any o/t shift worked ( trial for the next month) then I think that may get a lot more regular drivers doing o/t which may well mean less work for the agency drivers .
I am getting more shifts than I want. I am semi retired having previously worked for the council, so have a pension. That means I only want about 20/30 hours work per week. Try telling that to any haulage company, who have come to expect drivers to work 60+ hours! So agency seems to be the way to go for me, until they get tired of me refusing work, or when January comes…
As a newly qualified driver,I expected to have some trouble getting regular shifts through agencies.Before I took my training courses one agency told me that I might need to be flexible and take some 7.5t work with occasional class 2 shifts and build up experience before finding class 1 jobs.
It hasn’t worked out that way,I’ve been exclusively working class 1 since I qualified in July. I’ve not had to work hard to find shifts either, normally I am offered more than I can handle. I registered with 4 agencies and took contracts that gave me the widest range of driving experience. It seems that, for me at least, the driver shortage is a real aspect of the logistics industry at the moment.
alcraw62:
I am getting more shifts than I want. I am semi retired having previously worked for the council, so have a pension. That means I only want about 20/30 hours work per week. Try telling that to any haulage company, who have come to expect drivers to work 60+ hours!
Same here. It’s a constant battle trying to get it through their thick heads that I don’t want to be doing 6 shifts and 80 hours per week, sleeping in a tin box like all their other drivers. 8-10hrs per shift suits me just fine and 3-4 shifts per week max. I’m fairly lucky now in that the job I do has me out of the way from the yard and I’m left alone but last year was a flippin nightmare as you’d get back after doing 12 hours and be ready to go home and they’d give you a local job to do to make sure you got 15 hours. Used to wind me up no end.
bald bloke:
Was just wondering how agency or any kind of freelance drivers are managing that’s all.
If all firms copy stobarts latest scheme,£50 bonus for any o/t shift worked ( trial for the next month) then I think that may get a lot more regular drivers doing o/t which may well mean less work for the agency drivers .
Drivers should have been getting extra for an overtime shift in the first place! Watch them take that 50 quid away again if things improve.
Anytime I have needed agency work I have only been with one, Go New Recruitment. They sorted me out with class 1 work a week after passing and they had work for me all the time so i had to book holiday constantly. Only left them 2 weeks ago for a full time job but wouldn’t have an issue using them in the future.
Pimpdaddy must be in a poor hgv job location as the last few months its been easy getting 5 days a week.
It’s crazy at the moment, read all of my posts about trying to get drivers, I’ve given up now.
You can do a grand a week on tramping on the agency without even breaking a sweat. It ain’t gonna die off anytime soon I don’t think. You’ll have Tesco paying
£500 a shift next & it couldn’t happen to a nicer firm.
Like many depending on the agencies, my son was used to all the usual agency tricks of being told there was plenty of work, only to be fobbed off with crap work, or no work.
Six months ago he dropped on a real good number, full time and has no thoughts of moving for a while.
But over the last few weeks, a couple of the agencies, knowing he has a full time job, keep ringing and asking if he can do some work for them.
Nice position to be in.
Say what you like, but this CPC has definitely thinned out the driver pool!
I only gained my class 1 on August 1st, and tomorrow will kickstart week 8 of solid work - mon-fri, 60+hrs every week. From my perspective, it tells me theres plenty going on at present. Didnt even have an assessment - they just handed me the keys and paperwork and sent me out into the wild blue yonder. Mind you, i had just previously done a couple of months of class 2 for them, so presumably they had enough faith in me to take a punt!
bestbooties:
Like many depending on the agencies, my son was used to all the usual agency tricks of being told there was plenty of work, only to be fobbed off with crap work, or no work.
Six months ago he dropped on a real good number, full time and has no thoughts of moving for a while.
But over the last few weeks, a couple of the agencies, knowing he has a full time job, keep ringing and asking if he can do some work for them.
Nice position to be in.
Say what you like, but this CPC has definitely thinned out the driver pool!
Let’s all make sure it doesn’t thin-out the gene pool as well.
Just before I left my agency I was working Mon-Fri and always being offered Saturday work. Tended to swerve Saturdays because Monday to Friday was enough time spent doing strictly come dancing with cages.
I know Palmer & Harvey , in Haydock, are crying out for drivers. I would say Agency drivers outnumber regular drivers at least 3-1 when hanging round the transport office waiting for runs. They have a nice poster outside saying “HGV Drivers required : Apply within” most Agency lads I spoke to (and is my opinion as well) is Balls to that. £9.25 p/h. Different wagon every day. Reg drivers have Reg runs on Mon,Wed,Fri and what evers on the list Tues,Thurs.
I also told them I was doing my class one only for the “Class 1 division team” (2 people) to start rattling off companies in the area they provide for (Stobbies, McBurnies ect ect) and that they would get me started straight away only for the “Class 2 division team” to say “no he’s going to continue with us”
The work is there I think. I was getting texts of my agency asking if I could work the afternoon shift after I finished me 4 hour training.
Which I replied with “Next friday is my last shift i’ve got a perm gig!”
One thing I don’t understand about agency work. Why do companies have drivers working for them, on a long term basis, through an agency? One of the companies I do some shifts for have at least 2 that I know of; one of them has been full time driving for them (through an agency) for over 3 years now. Even the driver charge-hand is an agency worker who has been there for years too!
Surely it would be cheaper to take them on full time and pay them a wage rather than send a cheque off to the agency every month?
Anybody in the Warrington area know just how busy it is? I’m thinking of going Ltd co and just not sure whether to take the rates that I’m being told that they pay or should I ask for more? How much should I ask?
What rates are you being told? On the other end of the M62 in Hull an agency I’m subbied to are paying £13+ to self employed drivers and they can’t get enough people to cover the work they have.
Watch them take that 50 quid away again if things improve.
