This may be a daft question, standing by to be put in place.
I have the chance to work directly for a local commpany as a self employed driver, invoicing direct through my ltd company. They want me to go in and discuss rates… A chance to cut out the parasitic agent for both of us.
Its not in my interest to charge what i currently take from an agent as i will be selling myself sort i think. What i plan to do is try to find the middle ground between this rate and what the agent charges then both me and the company benefit.
The big question is what rate does the agent charge, its something i have purposely refused to think about because it would upset me…
Has anyone got any experience of agency rates to help me.
I work in Derbyshire and Notts.
Current rates i get from he agent tend to be;
Class 1 £11
Class 2 £9
calsdad:
This may be a daft question, standing by to be put in place.
I have the chance to work directly for a local commpany as a self employed driver, invoicing direct through my ltd company. They want me to go in and discuss rates… A chance to cut out the parasitic agent for both of us.
Its not in my interest to charge what i currently take from an agent as i will be selling myself sort i think. What i plan to do is try to find the middle ground between this rate and what the agent charges then both me and the company benefit.
The big question is what rate does the agent charge, its something i have purposely refused to think about because it would upset me…
Has anyone got any experience of agency rates to help me.
I work in Derbyshire and Notts.
Current rates i get from he agent tend to be;
Class 1 £11
Class 2 £9
I would be appreciative of any help.
You need to do a business plan & charge your rates accordingly.
If you set out to be cheaper, then you’ll just be contributing to the downward spiral.
IMO, if you had the wits about you to survive as a truly LTD company, then you wouldn’t need to be asking TNUK what you should be charging.
Done the sums for what i need. And come up with more than 13% for what costs and employer has to cover.
What i am trying to do is work the other way around so i can maximise the opportunity. Take the agency rate and take enough off to make it worth dealing with me direct hopefully this will be more than going PAYE rate plus NI holiday pay etc. Employer and me share the parasites margin i guess.
Sorry if original post didnt make it clear. suppose im really after agency rates so i can work out what i can get away with.
If the agency find out that the company is poaching their staff, the agency can sue you and/or the company as you’ve both breached the contract you’ve signed when you’ve joined the agency. A mate of mine has fell into this trap but he has negotiated an out of court settlement with the agency so he has to give them £500 and then 10% (it should be 25%) of his earnings over the next 12 months.
Check your contract to see what penalties you face if you get caught.
I’m safe Jobseeker. Never worked for them through agency its a new opportunity. Come across the problem with charges before.
Ken it’s an idea, but wanted to look more proactive.
My better half has just had a good idea. Ring an agency pretending to be a transport manager looking for drivers and see what they quote. Would involve telling a lot of lies, but its not like an agent can complain on that front.
Supposed i hoped someone on here would be in the know with a direct answer.
there’s no definitive answer because agencies have different rates and charges depending on the customer, job, how many people they take on a regular basis, long/short term, amount of notice etc.
I know customers have paid over £150 a day (8hrs class2) for me (I got £80) but that was on short notice, i know this because i saw an invoice on the boss’s desk
They can put as little as a £1 an hour on to your rate or as much as £5. Depends how competitive it is in there. If I was you, I’d just say how much the agency are paying you, he may tell you what he’s paying them & then you can Man Bond by slagging the agency off together & find the middle ground! Good times. Always remember: don’t get Greedy!
TBh Its a little difficult to gauge the rates as there are regional variations in rates to consider. Not to mention start times, runs, & how many hours youll be expected to work.
My 1st thoughts are to consider either a flat rates for start times on days (05:00 - 16:59) and nights (17:00 - 04:59) for sake of argument lets say £12.75 p/hr (days) and £13.75 p/hr (nights) + VAT. Plus a possible premium for weekend work. Or a lower rate for the 1st 8 hrs, then premium rates for hours after 8 hrs, Saturday & Sunday rates.
Add in rates for nights out, parking and factoring in subsistence, depreciation or assets etc.
I also doubt the haulier will be willing to give a minimum guarantee or hours they want you to work. but it would be good to get a minimum of 8hrs, 10hrs would be a bonus.
But you may be asked to go in for 2hrs to shunt a few trailers around, and not make enough to cover your fuel costs getting there.
Silver_Surfer:
Remember that you need liability insurance if you are a self employed/ltd driver or you may get yourself in to a spot of bother.
was going to post this and drivers neg isnt cheap
used to be at least a 21% mark up on the the drivers rate, was minimum allowed by head office, when i worked as a recruitment consultant many years ago, that was a large company , smaller agencies it varied to very little to as much as you can get
The company I’m do tipper work for only pays his own guys £8.35 ph and I’m getting £8 ph through the agency. With this in mind, I can’t see the agency charging much more than £10 an hr for me or the guy would be better off employing me directly. Well that’s my thoughts on it anyway.
Looks like the only way for agencies to put clients under pressure (to employ folk full time) is to carry on this way during the upturn.
If Clients want to push agencies the other way (keep going to another agency at the drop of a hat, when agency B undercuts the current agency’s rates) then rates will continue to fall UNLESS a large number of drivers are now being taken out of the equation - because they’ve taken full time jobs! A few months ago, we were talking about “a large number of drivers out of the equation because they’ll not be doing DCPC”… .That’s all gone by the way now, as I reckon most of us have just knuckled under, and got it done, including me.
Chicken and the egg…
Therefore, the upturn being real or not will dictate which firms stay alive (already taking on drivers full time, agencies already upping their rates ahead of the curve) and those that will fall over in the next couple of years - those who’ve taken to believing their own "time’s are 'ard forever and ever amen" line.
