Bit of honest advise please

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi all.

I’m new to the forum and I’m seeking a bit of advice from those that know the industry best.

I’m 30, had my class 2 licence for near 5 years, the plan was to have my class 1 & ADR by now but 2 years ago I was offered a job a Warehouse & Transport Manager for a small company that I was a class 2 driver for.

I loved my job on the road, I was driving all over the country doing the odd night out and getting paid overtime for doing over 40 hours per week. Probably averaged a 54 hour week every week with no more than 1 night out per week. However, I took a chance at the Management side of the game with the thought that I will always have my HGV licence to fall back on should I not enjoy it. Within 2 months I wanted my old job back but I was told that I couldn’t have my old job back, I was gutted but the feeling between me and my missus was that maybe I haven’t given the Management side a real go so I enrolled at night school to study leadership & management in order to enhance my understanding of the role and in turn help me become a better manager.

It worked and I have been doing the job for 18 months now, however I quite simply hate my job, I don’t enjoy it one bit although I am quite decent at it. I earn just less than 25k per year, I am doing 10-12 hour shifts every day as due to the recession I am not allowed any extra staff.

I want to get back out on the road and get back to my original goal which was to get my class 1 and ADR, working away 4-5 nights isn’t a problem and 60 hour weeks don’t phase me one bit. I enjoyed my job on the road which is more than I can say for the job I now do. However, I had an interview on Friday for a company called Sims Worldwide, the interview went great, they do class 1 work all over the UK and in europe. The drivers that do Europe can earn some very decent wages and this would be where I would want to end up, the MD said that if I was a good driver and reliable he see’s no problem with me ening uo doing some of the european runs for him and they would pay for my HGV class 1 and ADR training in order to fulfill my ambitions.

As I don’t have a class 1 yet the job I would be doing initially would be class 2 palletforce type work, local drops and collections. I have no problem with this in priciple but the wage that was offered was £6.18 per hour with no overtime rate which really ■■■■■■ on my fire as I felt that the interview went really well and that eventually the company could offer me the job that I want.

Gutted really, it’s knocked me back a bit as I can’t do a job that I hate much longer, but I also cant work for such awful wages (unless out of work of course).

Can I in your opinion get a job on class 1 earning me around 25k per year, I am willing to do nights out, anti social shifts, weekends etc etc. I have the cash ready to fund my own class 1 and ADR but I am not willing to part with the cash in order to earn peanuts. I am aware that long hours are required in order to take home a reasonable crust and that broken down no driving job is considered well paid, but £6.18 per hour■■? That’s not right.

Any comments appriciated.
Cheers

2

Quit !
No job is worth doing if you are not happy doing it. You only have one life to live,so live it as you want, your company is exploiting your good nature, maybe if you hand in your notice they will get the message.

3

C,mon Rachase, be honest mate, you thought the job in the office was easy didn’t you?
Nine til 5 Mon to Friday for 25k per year. It doesn’t work like that in transport, you are on call 24hrs a day and 7 days a week. No overtime on a salary. Drivers ringing you cos you make the decision cos management blame them if they make the wrong decision, drivers used to be expected to use their common sense but due to all the ■■■■■■■■ that companies have come up with drivers are no longer allowed to think, just follow orders, if the guy in the office doesn,t tell him what to do then he aint doing it and getting a bollocking .
You say you are good at managing, yet you say you hate it, bit of a contradiction there, all Managers think they are good but there are more poor Managers than good ones.You hate the job cos you find it difficult and stressful, long hours on call 24/7. Good management skills cannot be gained at nightschool.
If you hate the job its a no-brainer to continue doing it, so pack it in, go back to driving, but to earn 25k per year as a driver you will still have to put the hours in. Take your C + E if you so wish but as many new drivers will tell you without 2 yrs exp on artics you may find difficulty finding work
Good luck whatever you decide

4

green456:
C,mon Rachase, be honest mate, you thought the job in the office was easy didn’t you?
Nine til 5 Mon to Friday for 25k per year. It doesn’t work like that in transport, you are on call 24hrs a day and 7 days a week. No overtime on a salary. Drivers ringing you cos you make the decision cos management blame them if they make the wrong decision, drivers used to be expected to use their common sense but due to all the [zb] that companies have come up with drivers are no longer allowed to think, just follow orders, if the guy in the office doesn,t tell him what to do then he aint doing it and getting a bollocking .
You say you are good at managing, yet you say you hate it, bit of a contradiction there, all Managers think they are good but there are more poor Managers than good ones.You hate the job cos you find it difficult and stressful, long hours on call 24/7. Good management skills cannot be gained at nightschool.
If you hate the job its a no-brainer to continue doing it, so pack it in, go back to driving, but to earn 25k per year as a driver you will still have to put the hours in. Take your C + E if you so wish but as many new drivers will tell you without 2 yrs exp on artics you may find difficulty finding work
Good luck whatever you decide

Thanks for the reply Green456.

I didn’t go into the job blind and expecting it to be easy, I have done all the graft, gained the respect of 8 warehouse staff and 3 drivers, I’m not on call 24/7 other that being a security alarm key holder and on the whole to most people the job is as easy and stress free as you would ever get in a management capacity. You’re missing the point.

The point is, I do not enjoy management, I enjoy driving however I was left knocked sideways at being offered a paltry £6.18 per hour by a company that would potentially fulfill my driving ambitions i.e distance or euro work.

Basically, I like what I earn but hate what I do to earn it. I’d rather work 60 hours a week and be away from home to earn the same amount of money per month, can this be achieved in a hgv career? Only asking based on the result of my interview and the wages on offer there.

5

Pat Hasler:
Quit !
No job is worth doing if you are not happy doing it. You only have one life to live,so live it as you want, your company is exploiting your good nature, maybe if you hand in your notice they will get the message.

I agree and had the wages at the company I had the interview for been a little bit better than £6.18 per hour, i’d have my notice ready to hand in tomorrow morning. Everything was good about the company other than the wages, they would put me through my Class 1 and ADR and the do distance work in the UK & Europe which is where I see my career eventually.

Just very hard to quit a 25k per year job for on that pays only £6.18 per hour despite what may come of it eventually.

6

RACHACE:
Everything was good about the company other than the wages, they would put me through my Class 1 and ADR and the do distance work in the UK & Europe which is where I see my career eventually.

Just very hard to quit a 25k per year job for on that pays only £6.18 per hour despite what may come of it eventually.

Hmmm… “we’ll pay for your training in future” sounds like nothing more than some bait to draw you in to the class 2 work. Unless I had that conditional offer stone cold in writing I would definitely not give up a 25k job to go back to £6 odd per hour slogging my guts out.

And you can trust me on this… your original post struck quite a chord with me… I’m roughly the same age as you, I’ve had my licence also for 5 yrs, and just recently put myself through my class 1 and ADR! I was pretty shocked to see the coincidence as I was reading your post :astonished:

But I’m sorry to have to tell you, the reality of it is this… I’m stuck in the same crap-paying, hard-graft multidrop class 2 roles… on the same £6.50 per hour as before.

I’m sorry if it appears I’m being blunt here, but the fact is that very few comapnies care about your Class 1 or ADR even if u have them - unless you have “2 years experience”

It was a costly error for me, but at least I can warn people like you about the realities of the game. I actually - just like you - also switched away from truck driving to other work (in a bar in my case, but it was STILL £2/hr more believe it or not!) and only came back to trucks as I got laid off when the bar ownership changed hands. You’re in a stable decent manegerial job…way better than sweeping the floor in a bar - my personal advice (from experience) is DO NOT trade it for a flimsy promise like the one u say they made you.

Most likely you’ll be stuck on the multidrop for years before u can even think about them paying for any kind of training. However, if you can get the offer in writing with a definite timescale of how long it would be you would have to do the class 2 for them 'til they put u through C+E and ADR though - then hell yes! Jump at the chance

7

Well - I went from driver to TM and took a pay cut to do it. The difference was that I loved it and thought i would never go back to driving.

The difference is that I had a good boss and a great team of drivers (for the most part), although it took them a while to understand that I was the boss.

I have never had a job I hated, and when I got one I wasn’t happy in I soon left it. I wonder if you should be looking for another management job where you can make a fresh start, rather than driving?

I suspect that there are a great many people who are stuch in jobs they dislike and can’t move for financial reasons.

Good luck - whatever you decide.

8

…

9

You’d be lucky to earn £25k a year, most Class 1 drivers rely heavily on night-out money to make the bottom line half decent.

10

Santa:
I have never had a job I hated, and when I got one I wasn’t happy in I soon left it. I wonder if you should be looking for another management job where you can make a fresh start, rather than driving?

^^ This is also me, if I don’t like it, I’m offski, no ifs buts or maybe’s. Life is too short.

RACHACE:

green456:
C,mon Rachase, be honest mate, you thought the job in the office was easy didn’t you?
Nine til 5 Mon to Friday for 25k per year. It doesn’t work like that in transport, you are on call 24hrs a day and 7 days a week. No overtime on a salary. Drivers ringing you cos you make the decision cos management blame them if they make the wrong decision, drivers used to be expected to use their common sense but due to all the [zb] that companies have come up with drivers are no longer allowed to think, just follow orders, if the guy in the office doesn,t tell him what to do then he aint doing it and getting a bollocking .
You say you are good at managing, yet you say you hate it, bit of a contradiction there, all Managers think they are good but there are more poor Managers than good ones.You hate the job cos you find it difficult and stressful, long hours on call 24/7. Good management skills cannot be gained at nightschool.
If you hate the job its a no-brainer to continue doing it, so pack it in, go back to driving, but to earn 25k per year as a driver you will still have to put the hours in. Take your C + E if you so wish but as many new drivers will tell you without 2 yrs exp on artics you may find difficulty finding work
Good luck whatever you decide

Thanks for the reply Green456.

I didn’t go into the job blind and expecting it to be easy, I have done all the graft, gained the respect of 8 warehouse staff and 3 drivers, I’m not on call 24/7 other that being a security alarm key holder and on the whole to most people the job is as easy and stress free as you would ever get in a management capacity. You’re missing the point.

The point is, I do not enjoy management, I enjoy driving however I was left knocked sideways at being offered a paltry £6.18 per hour by a company that would potentially fulfill my driving ambitions i.e distance or euro work.

Basically, I like what I earn but hate what I do to earn it. I’d rather work 60 hours a week and be away from home to earn the same amount of money per month, can this be achieved in a hgv career? Only asking based on the result of my interview and the wages on offer there.

I think you should take the Class 2 job with the promise because it sounds perfect and then just drop me a pm with the details of the TM job :wink:

11

As stated above, take the ‘we’ll put you through your class 1 & ADR’ promise with a pinch of salt, it happens but it’s getting a rarity now, especially in the current economic climate. If a company want a driver with a Class 1 & ADR it’s cheaper to advertise & employ 1 than pay for you to do them.

It is possible to earn £25k+ per year as a driver but it may take you a few years gaining the necessary experience before you achieve it. If it’s European work you’re after you might have more luck getting on with the Dutch or Belgians since most of the UK work seems to be sewn up, but wherever you go, they will want to know they’re employing a driver with a few years experience before they trust you with their shiny expensive motor.

12

Harry Monk:
You’d be lucky to earn £25k a year, most Class 1 drivers rely heavily on night-out money to make the bottom line half decent.

Most drivers I speak to who deliver to my warehouse state that they can earn £400-£500 per week, long hours and are away alot but still. My job currently pays around £375 per week.

13

RACHACE:

Harry Monk:
You’d be lucky to earn £25k a year, most Class 1 drivers rely heavily on night-out money to make the bottom line half decent.

Most drivers I speak to who deliver to my warehouse state that they can earn £400-£500 per week, long hours and are away alot but still. My job currently pays around £375 per week.

25k a year is knocking on 500 per week, not 375

14

waynedl:

RACHACE:

Harry Monk:
You’d be lucky to earn £25k a year, most Class 1 drivers rely heavily on night-out money to make the bottom line half decent.

Most drivers I speak to who deliver to my warehouse state that they can earn £400-£500 per week, long hours and are away alot but still. My job currently pays around £375 per week.

25k a year is knocking on 500 per week, not 375

Take home

15

Wheres my Bull…

I’ve lost my pet, has anyone found it yet?

16

mickyblue:
Wheres my Bull…

I’ve lost my pet, has anyone found it yet?

■■?

17

RACHACE:

Harry Monk:
You’d be lucky to earn £25k a year, most Class 1 drivers rely heavily on night-out money to make the bottom line half decent.

Most drivers I speak to who deliver to my warehouse state that they can earn £400-£500 per week, long hours and are away alot but still. My job currently pays around £375 per week.

Yes, £400-500 is about right for a week away including nights out.

18

Harry Monk:

RACHACE:

Harry Monk:
You’d be lucky to earn £25k a year, most Class 1 drivers rely heavily on night-out money to make the bottom line half decent.

Most drivers I speak to who deliver to my warehouse state that they can earn £400-£500 per week, long hours and are away alot but still. My job currently pays around £375 per week.

Yes, £400-500 is about right for a week away including nights out.

If that figure is a realistic and achievable amount, I will do my class 1 and ADR. I will sit it out in my current job and get out on the road as much as possible in order to gain my experience. I can try and cover as much holiday and sickness as possible aswel.

Long term I want to be a driver not work in management.

19

RACHACE:
If that figure is a realistic and achievable amount, I will do my class 1 and ADR. I will sit it out in my current job and get out on the road as much as possible in order to gain my experience. I can try and cover as much holiday and sickness as possible aswel.

Long term I want to be a driver not work in management.

Yes, £400-500 take home including subsistence allowance is realistic. If that’s what you want to do, then by all means go for it, although it’s not the best time for a newly qualified driver to be job hunting.

20

Harry Monk:

RACHACE:
If that figure is a realistic and achievable amount, I will do my class 1 and ADR. I will sit it out in my current job and get out on the road as much as possible in order to gain my experience. I can try and cover as much holiday and sickness as possible aswel.

Long term I want to be a driver not work in management.

Yes, £400-500 take home including subsistence allowance is realistic. If that’s what you want to do, then by all means go for it, although it’s not the best time for a newly qualified driver to be job hunting.

Thanks for the advice, not going to walk out of my job but I will still invest the money in adding class 1 and ADR to my licence to hopefully find a decent job that pays a decent wage in the future