Im doing my cat C and C+E within the next 2 months.
Im in a catch 22 situation where I am currently full time employed permanent. I can get driving work through a couple of agencies through family links etc
Trouble being I don’t want to jack my full time job which is pretty cushty, money isnt great but you could crap on the gaffas desk and get away with it, to go on agency work as a newbie and risk being out of work etc
I was wondering if i could work my normal hours (warehousing) which is Monday - Friday 12pm - 8pm and maybe do a Saturday night driving to get some practice in?
Someones told I wouldnt be able to do it as theres not enough rest hours between my final shift and when i plan on driving,though if i started at 10pm ( i want to work nights ) ive had over 24 hours rest from when i finished work friday ?
When i past my test i drove the forklift but drove every weekend to get the hang of things,one of the drivers started to moan about me not gettin my rest so i started driving full time ,i thought he was being a ■■■■ at first but he was right when i think back and its the best thing he did,even thow your job is cushty i think you will find when you have had a few good days on the lorries there will be no holding you back and you will want it all the time
I think short answer is, yes, but only every other weekend.
Longer answer - If you start work at 12 noon Mon to Fri, then you are due a weekly rest at 12 noon on Sunday at latest. So you have from 8pm Fri until 12 noon on Sunday to fit in a driving shift.
The problem is that the time you finish driving through to 12 noon on Monday is most unlikely to be a full weekly rest, so it will only count as a reduced weekly rest. So you are compelled to take a full weekly rest the next weekend. Therefore driving every other weekend is possible.
Saaamon:
Why not just get a full time driving job… Simple really.
^ This to be honest. You’ve got to take the plunge and look at driving full time, there really isn’t much call for ‘Saturday drivers’ and you’d probably only be able to do it once a fortnight to keep in line with the regs. Trust me, once you’ve been out in a wagon you’ll be eager to keep going - you’ll completely lose interest in the warehouse gig.
10pm would be an unusually late start for a night shift. Trucks are often required back in the yard after a night shift in time for the day shift to go out at, say 07.00
Cheers people, just the daunting task of jacking a full time guaranteed job in to go on agency work, especially when you share a house, have your half of the keep to pay etc, i guess ill just have to take the plunge. Ive worked out just now where i may be working when I pass (agency) its around £12 - £13 nights weekdays and £14.50 weekends plus time and a half after 9 hours so 2/3 nights driving would equal my current wage so if i could get 2/3 nights a week minimum things will be okay. Ill just fall foul of this experience thingy that everyone wants but hardly anyones willing to give a chance hence why ive got to gamble a bit with agency work and getting messed about etc
Driveroneuk:
10pm would be an unusually late start for a night shift. Trucks are often required back in the yard after a night shift in time for the day shift to go out at, say 07.00
Depends who you work for.
Where I work, Night shift start times are anywhere between 10pm and 4am.
Day shifts start times are between 4am and 2pm.
Yes this agency is flexible, you give a rough time of what youd like to work (12 hour so say 10 - 10, 9 - 9, etc) and they do the best to suit you. its all RDC to RDC trunking work. Think im just going to have to throw myself in at the deep end take my time and hope for the best !
Working mon to fri noon to 8pm leaves a little scope for EU regs driving and keeping within the weekly rest rules
You MUST have at least 45 hours off in one go every other week and must have at least 24 hours off in one go every week - the 45 covers that
In your case doing a saturday night shift from say 10pm to 9am gives you 26 hours off before the shift and 27 hours after the shift
That could be used as a reduced weekly rest of 27 hours
Doing that means you cannot legally do it the following Saturday night because you need a 45 off in one go
Your best bet would be to get a regular weekly driving shift from 5am sat (min 9 hours after finishing at 8pm) to 3pm sat (leaves 45 hours from 3pm sat to noon mon)
Remember that legally all your warehouse work must be officially recorded in any week when you drove under EU regs
The easiest way to do that is to use separate analogue cards - one for each day worked - with your name date start and finish times on each
They can be binned after 29 calendar days
No EU regs driving in a week then no other records needed
Err, no really they’re not. They’re telling you they’re flexible to get you to sign up but you’ll find that once you have they’re anything but.
You’ve a lot to learn about driving agencies.
↑ This is the first thing you should learn about driving through agencies, they’re full of promise until you start to work for them then you’ll find it’s you who’s expected to be flexible not them.
As ROG said above you cannot legally drive every Saturday night, you could only legally do it every second week.
georgy:
Cheers people, just the daunting task of jacking a full time guaranteed job in to go on agency work, especially when you share a house, have your half of the keep to pay etc, i guess ill just have to take the plunge. Ive worked out just now where i may be working when I pass (agency) its around £12 - £13 nights weekdays and £14.50 weekends plus time and a half after 9 hours so 2/3 nights driving would equal my current wage so if i could get 2/3 nights a week minimum things will be okay. Ill just fall foul of this experience thingy that everyone wants but hardly anyones willing to give a chance hence why ive got to gamble a bit with agency work and getting messed about etc
Why not do every other Sat for a while, get your experience up and make sure you like it and that you’re up to it before jacking the job. Any scope to just reduce your warehouse hours to allow for more driving? I combine 3 days a week in an office with 1 or 2 days driving to get that so needed experience and just time in the trucks. It’s hard work and I know if I’d tried to go full time from the start I’d have destroyed myself in week one. Agencies are there to convince you they can get you work but they’re not going to pay you when they can’t. Don’t give up a job to go to an agency, try to get on with a haulier, if they tell you there’s a position for you to move into then give up the job.
