i can’t see why u guys moan a lot about agency drivers, I’ve been offered 2 full time jobs but refused them because u can get more money by being on agency then you can full time? one example a local company (big company aswell) £9.19 / hour full time but go in via agency and get £12.00 / hour thats via a umbrella so you still get holiday pay etc or go limited and get a little more. I’ve spoken to drivers who have been at the same company for 3 years + on agency because they would be worse off being full time.
Good for you. Some of us, however, like knowing that we have a job to go to next week & the week after. Some of us even mildly enjoy doing what we do for the same employer. If agency works for you, then all is good, don’t fancy it myself though.
busteredwards:
Good for you. Some of us, however, like knowing that we have a job to go to next week & the week after. Some of us even mildly enjoy doing what we do for the same employer. If agency works for you, then all is good, don’t fancy it myself though.
+1
busteredwards:
Good for you. Some of us, however, like knowing that we have a job to go to next week & the week after. Some of us even mildly enjoy doing what we do for the same employer. If agency works for you, then all is good, don’t fancy it myself though.
Fair comment but I started lorry driving in march, the easiest way to get experience was through agency and since then I’ve been in the same company every day I’ve worked bar 1.
Never had a week without work in fact my lowest week has been 3 days but I still earned more than my old 60 hr week coach driving job.
The general opinion of agencies is ■■■■ but it really does depend on the agency.
I seem to have found a good one I don’t really get messed around, maybe the odd shift will have the times changed slightly but I’ve never had a day cancelled.
I’ve had a lot of family trouble recently that’s required time off for various reasons so agency is perfect for me.
I’ll sit and await the barrage of abuse about limps and plastic bags but it’s each the their own. The agency I work for have people working for them that have been there 15 years, been offered full time with the company but turn it down to stay on the agency. That speaks volumes to me.
9970:
thats via a umbrella.
You where on a roll until you got to that point
9970:
I’ve spoken to drivers who have been at the same company for 3 years + on agency.
Again there’s a potential issue there with IR35, unless those guys are PAYE via agy
Sutty111:
The general opinion of agencies is [zb] but it really does depend on the agency.
Nah, they’re all zb…!
Pimpdaddy:
Sutty111:
The general opinion of agencies is [zb] but it really does depend on the agency.Nah, they’re all zb…!
Well as long as they keep paying me properly every week and being as accommodating as they can be with the shifts they give me I’m happy.
yes they do pay well,but the only problem with agencies is if they only give you 8 hrs for a days work which happens quite frequently,then if you work it out the wages[£96] work out roughly the same as if you are full time[except full timers probably earn more after tax and ins],so you are no better off,
truckman020:
yes they do pay well,but the only problem with agencies is if they only give you 8 hrs for a days work which happens quite frequently,then if you work it out the wages[£96] work out roughly the same as if you are full time[except full timers probably earn more after tax and ins],so you are no better off,
I think like anything it has its perks and downfalls. I’m happy doing 8 hour days at the minute but 8 hours is my minimum pay so if I only do 5 or 6 which happens every now and then I still get paid 8. I’m PAYE and there was never any mention of umbrella it was either PAYE or Ltd.
I’m on the same rate as the full timers and treated no different by the staff. I’m there to do a job and do it the best I can. I must be doing something right because I ask every now and then if they are happy with me and I always get positive feedback from both company and agency.
Sutty111:
truckman020:
yes they do pay well,but the only problem with agencies is if they only give you 8 hrs for a days work which happens quite frequently,then if you work it out the wages[£96] work out roughly the same as if you are full time[except full timers probably earn more after tax and ins],so you are no better off,I think like anything it has its perks and downfalls. I’m happy doing 8 hour days at the minute but 8 hours is my minimum pay so if I only do 5 or 6 which happens every now and then I still get paid 8. I’m PAYE and there was never any mention of umbrella it was either PAYE or Ltd.
I’m on the same rate as the full timers and treated no different by the staff. I’m there to do a job and do it the best I can. I must be doing something right because I ask every now and then if they are happy with me and I always get positive feedback from both company and agency.
My experience is the same except that I very rarely get sub 8hr shifts, usually 10-13, been with the same agency 5yrs now and exclusively with the same company for 3, originally signed up with 2 agencies but dropped the other one after a couple of months.
Normal routine is
Wednesday/Thursday; company phones agency with list of shifts to fill for the next week
Agency phones me to check my availability and gives me the list of start times, I choose the shifts I’ll cover, I do shifts, correct money appears in my account on Friday the following week, payslip has been emailed across a couple of days previously. Through season when I’m doing other things we have an ‘oh ballox!’ arrangement if a last minute shift comes up the agency ring me and if I’m not busy then I’ll try to cover it.
Sutty111:
I’m on the same rate as the full timers .
I always thought agency drivers were paid slightly more than the regular guys. Anyway, you’re on same money but sometimes only get a 3 day week…I don’t see that as a good thing. Why not accept the full time offer & rest easy knowing you’ll be out there all week?
Think it depends on the agency, the one I work through has a flat rate which is quite a bit higher than most companies in the area pay but below the rate the company I drive at pays its drivers. As I’ve been at that company for more than 12 weeks I get ‘parity’ with their drivers. If I was at one of the other companies I would decline the chance of ‘parity’ 
Some folk only want/need 2 or 3 days work a week for whatever reason and I’m not sure many companies would take them on.
busteredwards:
Sutty111:
I’m on the same rate as the full timers .I always thought agency drivers were paid slightly more than the regular guys. Anyway, you’re on same money but sometimes only get a 3 day week…I don’t see that as a good thing. Why not accept the full time offer & rest easy knowing you’ll be out there all week?
I hear what your saying but it’s very much down to personal circumstances. It’s ideal at the moment to be able to take days off as and when necessary or tell them I can work but need to finish by X time. I would struggle to be employed full time and them being able to honour that and to be fair I wouldn’t expect an employer to bend over backwards to my every need.
Agency gives me that freedom and if I can’t work for whatever reason I don’t need to go into detail I just tell them I’m not available.
In regards to only having 3 days work I think that has only happened once so far and like I said I still earned more in those 3 days than I did in my old 60 hour week job, only by 5 or 10 quid but still more.
I understand the security of being full time I’ve always been employed full time my whole working life never been out of work apart from when a company I worked for went bust and even then I was back full time after a week. It was a big risk to leave a permanent job and go agency after I got my class 1 but I don’t regret it one bit it’s worked out perfect for me.
With £10ph+ even available on agencies up north these days - who is ever going to take £9.something ph to do the same job for less money - in exchange for “regular hours” when you are already getting those via agency as well…?! 
The lower payers for full time are going to be the yards offering the big hours for flat out workers first of course.
The premium stuff is still going to be “bitty, last minute cover” stuff.
Whilst we’re at it… How come this place (Tamworth, Jolly Sailor Estate) has had this sign outside for over a year now - despite it offering both C1 and C2 work?
I don’t think anyone would have any trouble getting 40+ hours per week work there somehow…
truckman020:
yes they do pay well,but the only problem with agencies is if they only give you 8 hrs for a days work which happens quite frequently,then if you work it out the wages[£96] work out roughly the same as if you are full time[except full timers probably earn more after tax and ins],so you are no better off,
Of course you’re better off. Sure on a money front you’re earning the same money but you’re sat at home whilst the employed driver is still out in his truck working for another 3/4hrs in the cold and wet to get the same money seething at the thought of you now sat at home in a nice warm centrally heated house tucking into your dinner in front of the telly.
busteredwards:
Why not accept the full time offer & rest easy knowing you’ll be out there all week?
Not all of us want to be out there all week. I don’t need the money so from October to March I’d rather be at home in a nice warm house an extra 2/3 days a week than out there in the cold and wet and snow.
There are agency drivers and then there are agency drivers… The word most other drivers forget to use when talking about agency drivers is ‘some’. Some agency drivers are shocking and probably could not get a full time position or hold one down. Some agency drivers are far better and far more experienced than many drivers who have done the one job for years. As an agency driver you have to have your wits about you. You never know where you are going until you get the keys and paper work, likewise you never know what you are driving or the trailer type or what the load is. As an agency driver you seldom get the information the full time drivers have like a full address or contact numbers of the delivery point or the little snippets of useful information the drivers who are in and out of place regularly will know. You are expected to remember paperwork systems that various firms use and lots of different procedures. Invariably you get the old nail reserved for the agency driver and the job that the regulars wont touch. I take my hat off to ‘some’ agency drivers, others I would not want anywhere near me.
Iv’e been on agency four years with the same client.
I do two or three days a week, because thats what I want. Occasionally I go in at very short notice to cover sickness or an extra run.
Some days I get a 54 reg, other days I get a 65 reg. I don’t really care which.
I may limp a little as I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.But I am quite old.
I get treated well by both the firms management, full time drivers and also the agency, and the financial rewards are very good. They know the job will be done and vehicle returned in one piece.They like that bit.
Not all agency drivers are complete wasters, I actually know some very good ones.
Job security depends on reputation, plain and simple and you can only earn that yourself! I have been offered a job recently by a company that have known me for 8 years+ and it works out better for both parties (plus agency) for me to stay as I am because I can be flexible. I am not tied to any contract within their site and I am not subject to their company policies regarding working limits. I am dependable and help them out a lot and in return I get something back plus I know I will never be short of work.
There are substandard drivers around who only do what they want to do and nothing more and wont even do that properly but who will be working in january? This company is not as short sighted as some and want to look after people who look after them
There are good and bad drivers on both sides of the fence but we are all just trying to do the same thing