Hi
After reading previous advice on which agency to join etc…
I have read a lot of complaints about
Only getting 3 or 4 days work this month etc…
I was just wondering
How they survive and pay the mortgage,bills etc on 3 - 4 days a month ?
Do they work more and save more during busy periods ?
or are they just hobby drivers and have a full time job elsewhere?
Just curious to know as i am about to restart agency work and hope to work 4 days a week minimum
It has been stressful. I’m applying for other work but if it doesnt pick up then I’m going to have to go back into call centre work. At least its regular work.
I did have some “reserve” money but that’s now down 60 percent! Alternateively I could sign on I suppose. Rent & Council Tax would be paid, but thats not a big thing as my CT was paid up until the end of the year anyway 
If you’ve got C or C+E then there will probably be more work your way, otherwise, well, I dunno.
Thanks for your reply.
Sorry everyone else if the question is a bit
too intrusive.
Just wondered how people survived,
I will phone the agency twice a day , till they either
a) get me work 
b) tell me sod off 
I,ll let you know how many days work i get next week lol…
I’m registered with 3 agencies. If I leave them alone they say they will call when there is work, but most dont. If I ring them up asking they say that there is no work and will call when there is, but rarely do.
The original agency I am with do try quite hard, but even then the work is slow coming.
Still, I’ve got a job interview on Friday so that hopefull will go well and I can get back into driving again. If not, then, well, I suppose its indoor work…
Good Luck 
It seems to be starting to pick up this week.
I’ve worked 4 days so far this YEAR, 2 of which were this week, i have also been offered 2 other days this week so far but have had to have tues and thurs day off as kids are on half term so i’ll see what the rest of the week brings.
I’m signed on with 4 agencys, all the work so far has come from 2 with one giving slightly better work than the other, luckily i’ve had something to fall back on and earn some cash to keep me going but that won’t be available for me next year so i’ll stash some away through the year to see me through the next quiet spell.
Do they work more and save more during busy periods ?
I’ve just come back onto agency from a few years away, when i done it last time i didn’t work more, i worked smarter, get more money for your time Working Sat - Wed nights with the odd thursday night thrown in is far more profitable than doing your average Mon - Fri and odd saturday
Jan and Feb have always been dead for agency work since time began lol, if your on a perm contract through agency you’ll probably be kept working pretty much full time through the quiet months but if you like to spend different days in diff places thats the drivers that really suffer this time of year.
I’ve been offered perm positions in a few large RDC’s locally through agency in the last month but i really do hate sitting in canteens waiting for loads so i turned them down, there are also quite a few full time employed positions available as well but thats not something i want either, agency suits me and i make it work for me, self employed through ltd company also has advantages that are not tax related
After passing my tests I had problems in finding agency that would take me on…(everyone required 2 years exp.), but after finally finding one that didn’t ask about that I have never looked back.
First one week at 7,5 t then few days at class 2, after that only class 1. I visited in total maybe 6 companies. Last one of then offered me semi/permanent contract, and I am with them ever since…
Maybe someone could call it luck. I don’t know… I know for sure that after You finally get a chance to drive and do not blew it right away, You can keep on truckin… 
Work is definately picking up, i’ve actually got days booked for the following week, thats the first time thats happened so far this year.
In the end i was offered work every day this week, all 7 of them, some days i was even offered a choice 
Only done 4 days though as i had to have littlen a couple of days as it was half term.
Hopefully the work will pickup. Otherwise I’m going to have to reach into some creative accounting
i can see your problem agency wise.
maybe it also pends where you live and how much works in your area.
signing on with afew agencies may be better than just one. i find with agencies the longer your with them and getting known the more and better work you get.
i joined and work was sketchy…odd days 7.5 tonn jobs which i wanted class 2 .
then it soon changed and did afew weeks for a company class2 away all week john o groats to lands end jobby plus jersey and ireland etc.
the company liked my work and asked the agency for a long term/ 3 month stint which i was happy with and so i did it.
now the company have told me they want to keep me fulltime soon and will wait for me too do my class 1 inwhich they’ll need me even more.
fallen ok for me because i can do my class 1 and carry on driving with them which saves me the trouble of trying get an agency to take me on being a new class 1 driver.
so from my end perhaps ive fallen lucky, but everyone shud stick in there and not give up.
everyones gotta start sumwhere. its gettin ya foot in the door!
sure in a year or two time you’ll be giving people advice on ere.
goodluck
Hi
Heres a update as promised on my weeks work.
Done none.
Now i understand why people struggled finding work
with agency’s.
I have signed up with 3 and none found me afternoon or nights on class 2 driving (have class 1 but no experience) 
So i have gave up temping and found a permanent
Class 2 job / labourer working for a scaffolding firm.
8am-4pm £8P/H lots of o/t £12p/h
Sounds good.
and i start friday
Time & half saturday and double time Sunday,
Will make some money.
IF MY BACK CAN WITHSTAND IT …
glad you found a more perm thing, tho not your ideal pehaps… but a job and money.
bang in the overtime mate and pump it up.
keep on truckin!!
For the billionth time, you don’t get work all year round on agency. You should either have enough stashed away from the previous year to see you through until Easter or you should get your credit card out.
If you can’t survive without work for 3-4 months then you shouldn’t be doing temp work !! 
Rob K:
For the billionth time, you don’t get work all year round on agency. You should either have enough stashed away from the previous year to see you through until Easter or you should get your credit card out.If you can’t survive without work for 3-4 months then you shouldn’t be doing temp work !!
I completely agree, but having only come back to it this year i’m muddling thro, i’ll have contingency in place for next year
Already booked 2 weeks in spain lol 
hey
well ive been on the agency for years (ok with a number of 3 or 4 months elsewhere), and it is only now that it is strangling my home life.
i find that i can get myself on a regular low paid job through them, or a higher paid job but with days off here and there - so they both work out about the same overall so id rather d the constant low paid job.
right now im doing 40 hours per week, class 2 tipper for £ 7 pH.
a few times i have done 7.5t for minimum wage - but avoid it at all costs now.
and worse of all i have done artic for £7 - yes i suppose im killing the industry, but if i didnt then food wouldnt be put on my table.
now my advice for getting work out of an agency - go and visit them often, phone calls are good but visits are better, on your way back from a job, just pop in and get talking to them.
sign up to a few agencies, i have signed up to 8 agencies, and now get regular work with just one.
some people like agency work some dont. personally i have liked it, with driving for 2 years it has benefited me. i have driven lots of trucks, from the iveco cargo on which i have had to use duct tape, to the brand new daf 105.430 whose transmission failed on me with only 30 km on the clock. the real benefit for me and other agency staff is that you become very skilled in different areas, and you become very good at muggling through.