Hi All
Just wondered if you could give me your opinions on agency working? Hubby recently got dismissed from his job, can’t say much as we’re currently seeking legal advice as its been a complete shambles from start to finish, fortunately/unfortunately for him I work in HR!! So as a consequence he is now looking for something else. Fortunately he’s been able to find some trunk work that fits in with my job and the kids, but obviously we dont know how long this will last.
Also do you know of anyone in the Harlow/Stortford/Enfield area that are recruiting for class 1 night work??
Thanks in advance.
Agency work is OK, it’s not brilliant though. There is usually plenty of work around from March/April through to September. For some reason work dies from October to December with it resuming just prior to Christmas. After Christmas there is virtually nothing until March/April.
Depending on the contract, the agency, the location (of the contract) and the shift, rates can vary; your husband can expect to earn anything from £8.00+ per hour for Class 1 work. Your husband might also be treated like something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe by full-time drivers and, sometimes, management. Bear in mind, most full-time fleet drivers are usually muppets of the first order and a legend in their own underpants, they’re simply glorified machine operators! It’s best for him to keep his mouth shut, his head down and ignore the jibes and ill-feeling!
However, agencies can offer flexibility. That is, whilst you’re working, your husband can be at home looking after the kids and vice versa. Some agency drivers have made a successful full-time career out of agency work, it all depends on the agency. There are some very good ones but there are also some very bad ones. If your husband manages to find work through a particular agency then it’s a good idea for him to talk to other agency drivers to find out the best rates amongst the other agencies. Another good idea is to register with several agencies and play one off against another. An agency will tend to give your husband work if they know he’s registered with their competitors.
I hope that helps… No doubt someone else will be able to add more to this thread.
Saints are usually worth a call if he’s got his level d.
Agency is an unreliable way of earning a living and you’ll get lied to everytime one of the leeches open their mouths.
I’m currently on agency btw, was hoping it’d suit me for a while because I’ve got a lot of events booked in the coming months, and getting time off in a full time job might’ve been a pain, but getting time in on the agency is becoming more of a pain.
Thanks. He’s registered with about 4/6 agencies and this latest one seems to be the best so far and she appears to actually look after her drivers. She’s fully aware of why he was dismissed and supplies his old company with drivers so knows their “politics”! His current contract does look like it has the possibility to be on going given the nature of it and he’s now registered as self employed instead of using one of these umbrella bodies.
It’s just so frustrating, especially given my job, as he’s been in a very well paid hgv role for the last 7 years, has an unblemished hr record and no tacho infringements or points. He’s been the victim of policial crossfire and was a perfect target for them go make an example of someone. Just hoping the mistakes they’ve made will cost them at a tribunal!!
If he’s not afraid of being Self Employed, you might want to give ADR network a go. They were no good for me, because SE/Umbrella doesn’t ring my bell. They DO put drivers into Iceland in Enfield which is in your cachement area by the looks of it…
Nisa (Thurrock) is another big soak-up for adr drivers too.
If a prospective new agency won’t tell you on request who some of their clients are, then move on to the next one and keep asking the awkward questions until you find a firm that plays it straight. 
Sounds like what’s going on at tesco at the mo. A friend of mine got sacked for not ticking his risk assessment, 1 and only time in 15 years, gross misconduct apparently. Tell him nor to go limited company unless he’s going to do it forever. I did it for 3 months and have had to do self assessment for inland revenue ever since 
The self employed thing isn’t something I’m overly happy with but if it means we pay the bills then needs must. Hoping he’ll be able to find something permanent and we can go back to the joys of PAYE 
I’m also looking round the Hoddesdon area to what’s about, our lives were ticking along nicely till some idiot in the transport office thought they’d flex their rather feeble muscles, still hope he’s able to sleep at night 
OVLOV JAY:
Sounds like what’s going on at tesco at the mo. A friend of mine got sacked for not ticking his risk assessment, 1 and only time in 15 years, gross misconduct apparently. Tell him nor to go limited company unless he’s going to do it forever. I did it for 3 months and have had to do self assessment for inland revenue ever since
I do hope he appealed against that decision!! I’m hoping hubby’s unions solicitor take him up on the Tribunal, professionally, I believe we have a lot going in our favour.hubby’s company wasn’t Tesco though, but any excuse to get rid of long serving employees that cost them in these big companies trying to increase their profits
With regard to the self employed thing, agency have “encouraged” him to do it, I’ve raised my concerns but it’s his choice… Fingers crossed for a permanent job soon, I know it won’t pay what he was on but hey ho
Yes he did appeal and got reinstated as the only reason he hadn’t ticked it, was he was on a delivery and fell off the tail lift and went to hospital. They sacked him as the risk assessment should be ticked before the journey, but in reality everyone does it after. They gave him his job back provided he doesn’t sue for his accident. He was happy as the depot is due to close and he will get circa 50k redundancy. That’s the reason they are trying to get rid of anyone by hook or by crook, as the redundancy bill for the depot runs into millions
Is that the Harlow depot? Heard rumours is closing
Yes. The new one at rainham is nearly finished
I hate agencys with a passion.
I had some postcards made by Vistaprint which said “Class 1 driver available, part time / full time etc” & spent a few days driving round all the haulage firms etc. I got a few casual part time runs & then a job offer. Try it…
i see a couple of pitfalls of “going on agency” on this occasion
The 1st is the usual requirement of going self employed while on agency work, as its obvious that hes intent on returning to full time PAYE work asap, so going S/E isnt a good idea. The 2nd is that it sounds like he needs regular work to get a regular income, and as everyone know, this isnt the case with agency work, add in some of the time someone will need to stay home and look after the kids, which in reality means there are time he wont be available for work, which will put him down the pecking order when they start phoning people up to book shifts. Ideally someone who does agency work needs to be available to work 24/7, and the agencys like to know your available several days in advance, even though you may not get work from them. As others have stated, a number of drivers (inc me) make a good living out of agys & being flexable is the key. But Id hazard a guess that most of them dont have personnel, family and financial commitments that can get in the way of the flexability thats required of your average agency driver. Most of those I know are typically 40+ the kids have flown the nest, theyre morgage and virtually debt free, so any monies earned go towards meeting day to day spending. but if they didnt work next week, they wouldn`t be too bothered if they earned nothing, and would probably head of somewhere romantic with the Mrs
At the moment we don’t really have a choice but to go with an agency, we have worked it over the last few years that he does night work, which fits in perfectly the kids and my working. And we’re fortunate enough to have a fantastic child minder and very supportive family around us if we need a little help with child care. Also I don’t have a problem with him working weekends as he’s done that for years and still manages to see the kids and spend quality time with them. He’s just about to start a new trunk run for a company near to us and the agency woman is being extremely helpful, a lot better than those I encounter in my HR role!! I do appreciate your comments though, hence the reason I asked for them. Just seems there is very little permanent work out there. 
We had an agency guy come a couple of weeks ago, he said he`d been worked like a mad man last year then come the new year his phone might aswell be on silent.
Typically agency drivers book holidays (and spend some of the cash they’ve earned pre Xmas) for the post Xmas quiet period which used to start after the 20th of Jan
another thing is only ever buy things with cash.if i need something i save up for it,if i aint got the dough then i go without…but i was like that when i was full time anyway,so it dont make no difference. one of my friends who has a very good job in the health service is very materialistic,and loves to swank off when hes been on a shopping spree…however hes depted up to the eyeballs and every now and then it makes him ill(depression). i like to keep my zips closed :wink: ....my friends say im tight
We tend to only get things when have the money so are ok on that front. Just seen an ad on the net for another agency offering temp to perm where hubby is gojng to be doing his trunk run, think I’ll be getting him to ask his agency about that…
Thanks for all your comments, you’ve all been very helpful.
padsmrs:
the agency woman is being extremely helpful
I`d take everything she says, or anything any agency says with caution.
The only thing you can be certain about agencies is you should never trust what they say
Treat them all as career liars until proven otherwise every statement means the exact opposite, for example “we phoned you first, so and so asked for you” really means we have phoned all our favorites and they said no.
Another one “So and so have just called and cancelled your shift for today”, which means they had work for three drivers they called five you were the stand by tough luck mate.