Class 1 Dray work,What do you think of this package?

[glenn]

Hi everyone,I have been offered a permanent position on the agency,working for Exel Logistics on dray work,class 1 ,multi dropping around the greater London area,delivering to pubs.

They have offered £10 per hour.Guaranteed 9 hours a day,even if you have a ‘light’ day,and only do six.Anything over the 9 hours will be paid also at £10 per hour.Its a 6am start,and there are two of you on the job,pulling a curtainsider.Apparently,they give you a one week training induction,running from 8am til 1pm for the first Monday -Friday.No weekend working,and you have the choice of going self-employed or PAYE.

The bloke said on the phone that if you go self-employed,they take only a 5 % surcharge and the accounts are done throught the Isle of Man,and if you work it right,you won’t pay any tax.Now,I have seen a few of talking about this tax system in the past ,and it is exclusively for agency bods.Could any of you explain it to me again.

What I would really like to know is whether Tony thinks this is a good package .Personally,I can think of easier jobs,but I’m told by the agency that there is no lifting,just pushing and rolling barrels onto mats.I’m not so sure.He sounded a bit too keen on the phone for my liking and tried to get me on a training course for Monday.I told him I will think about it.Has anyone else done this sort of work,and is it more trouble than its worth.I would appreciate your views.Many thanks.Keep up the good work TruckNet.Bye for now.

Glenn,

[qhunter]

mmm, dray work that doesn’t involve lifting or ■■■■■■■. Thats a first on me.

I don’t think £10/hr for all hours in this part of the world is good at all. You also need to be very wary of this self employed scheme they’re talking about. The tax man got wise to this quite some time ago. For you to be able to claim to be genuinely self employed you will have to show invoices and payments from more than one ‘customer’. If they see that you are working exclusively for one company they will argue that it is full time employment dressed up as Self Employment for tax evasion purposes.

As for Exel Logistics… Think National Carriers, National Carriers Contract Services, Lynx Express and the like. All the same company in years gone by and none of them good to work for.

Just my 2p’s worth.

[tartanraider]

You will never hear so much dung spoken as you do when speaking to an agency.90% aren’t worth a light and will tell you anything 'cos they get commission!There are some good agencies about but the trouble is nowadays is every tom,■■■■ and harry seems to have set up an agency.But this is the place to sort the dross out!If the dray work interests you approach them direct and see what the package is(and take that with a big pinch of salt!) Qhunter is right there will be some ■■■■■■■ to do,crates don’t roll very well! And he’s right on the other thing too,I had 10 years on Exel couldn’t recommend them

[neil46]

if thats out of enfield/brimsdown depot forget it.

they are the biggest bunch of

i think you know what i mean.

[davey_driver]

So the tax is done through the Isle of Man

Sorry but Wakey Wakey Time I’m afraid,

Tax is payable by ANY person employed within the UK and the Last I heard LONDON is the capital of the UK.

Isle of Man Jersey and Guernsey as I understand it, have their own tax system and yes because of this you dont contribute into the UK coffers when paying tax. BUT You will not be working on the Isle of Man you will be working in LONDON

If you work outside of the UK you dont have to pay tax to the government, but you do pay interest on the money if it is in a UK Bank, why else do you think the big stars go away to America.

Yes you maybe will get an accountant to do your wages through the Isle of Man, but are you going to go over there to pick up your wages weekly or monthly, and come back over here to spend it,

Believe me, the taxman will cotton on eventually and can go back at least 7 years on tax evasion, although I’m sure it’s 10yrs.

You would not be able to wriggle out of a tax demand by claiming your unaware that the law was broken, ignorance is no defence when the tax man is involved.

You also claim your self employed? well then you would need to make sure you paid your National Insurance stamp each week or Monthly, but dont think thats as rosey as it appears, it’s not, I pay more for a self employed stamp than I pay for my staffs stamp, and they are entitled to unemployment benefit straight away if the company went belly up, I dont !!!

You contribute to the NI fund but claim your working away, this would also cast doubt and make the tax man look into your affairs quickly to see why your paying NI whilst “Out of the Country Working”

Sorry Matey but one thing I can really be straight to the point about…

Don’t try and Decieve the Tax Man

[froggy]

Working for on the dray a first sounds a dream job,but for sure it,s a hard graft job,6 hour job and finish bet there will be not many of them in the summer,fully trained on the drays in manchester some ten years ago,maybe now it,s changed ,but then you might like it pays your money and takes your choice.Exel was the firm I worked for before that ,not the best lot to work for,having said that when I went back a few years ago on the agency the job had changed completly had to take some sort of elecy box in the cab and plug it in and that was so it could record the days events!

[pat_hasler]

If it was 10 quid an hour and time and a half after 8 it would be a great job.
It seems to me you will be working a lot more than 9 hours each day so why don’t they word it 10 quid across the board? and why do you have another guy with you ?

[rob_k]

Sounds like hard work to me and since doing container work I don’t “do” hard work concerning wagons any more! If they wanted me to hump barrels and crates about they’d have to pay me at least £25/hr and time and a half after 8hrs!!! Would probably do me good actually and have me return to the weight I was a few years back Nowt like getting a sweat on to shed a few pounds! Ahem.

Aren’t those “dray” wagons they use an artic version of an FL6 with a 100hp engine in them with single axle 30ft trailer that looks like it’s going to collapse at any moment Defo not my cuppa. I think they’re having a larf.

[marko_c]

Do ya get any freebies ■■?

… & if so how much !

[rob_k]

You’re kidding, right We’re talking about Exel here Last time I was at such an Exel site you weren’t allowed to take in any form of canned drink onto the site - this included Coke & Fanta etc; soft drinks - as well as alcohol otherwise you’d be accused of stealing it (I think as this site they made the soft drinks as well). It’s was the most stupid thing I’ve ever seen. This applied to the drivers as well and if they found a driver with an empty can of Coke in his wagon then all hell would break loose. There’s tight and there’s TIGHT…

[marlow]

Hmmm. I might be mad but then I might consider it in your position. Forget about the tax bit for a moment, although If your under 42 you aint going to get no pension and Tony wants to work you to death (or 3 score year and ten and still no pension so why worry about missing a few stamps? That policy is never going to mature ). , However look on the bright side. The guy who’s drivers mating with you will know all the pubs. He’s there to unload with you, its £450 a week (take home £340), your home every night, you keep fit at work, and I dare bet that the landlords better pleased that his ale has arrived than some spotty oik in a RDC is when he gets the next load.

I don’t know how that compares down south but a new driver up here they would think he was on a good thing, a lot better than last year when he worked in a factory, fudge packing. £450 a week would sound a lot better than £200 and as much fudge as you can eat

[rob_k]

marlow:
(take home £340)

MOP & BUCKET MONEY

Beat you to it Tony

[tartanraider]

I worked on the agency a few years ago with Courage at Bow,East London.We were given a run sheet with pub addresses and delivery times on it.I knew from experience we wouldn’t be able to keep to the times as we didn’t know the runs,but hey,we were on hours so what?We were getting back and they were asking us if we wanted to do extra runs,well,YEAH!In the middle of the second week one of the lads said ,you know you only get paid by the run sheet.?Well I dropped in right away,if the runs came to 7 hours thats all they were going to pay no matter what we worked!I went to see the boss man and he confirmed it.That was working for supposedly REPUTABLE companies i.e. Courage and Securicor recruitment

[tc]

tartanraider:
if the runs came to 7 hours thats all they were going to pay no matter what we worked!I went to see the boss man and he confirmed it.:

That is totaly ilegal,
The Transport commisioner, Employment rights tribrunals, even your local slave driver would be up in Arms about that!

If you drove into someone, so you could get your Jobs (via Job sheet) done in time who’s fault would it be, theirs or your’s??

[unionjack]

Tartan the drays you mention @ bow are the same as the ones at thatcham @ thatcham get 23-27000 per annum plus pention & ppp depending on what they do, rest is banked hours.

Dagenham have just been told today that they have 4 weeks notice

Thats straight from union rep

[tartanraider]

UJ,that’s a new set-up at Dagenham what’s the problem?

[glenn]

Well,guys thanks for the replies,but judging from my last 2 posts and the discouraging replies,I am fed up with the whole wages malarkey.I paid to do my class 1 in the knowledge that the money would be rolling in.I also,was not aware of the amount of hours so many drivers have to do to earn a good living.

In the south,what constitutes a good living?Well,I would say at least £500 take home for a 50 hour week.But ,for that you would have to earn in excess of £700 per week.From all the jobs I have looked at,the topline of any class 1 work seems to be around the 30k mark,and this being for a 6 day week or very long hours over 5.Pathetic,if you ask me.Unfortunately,its never going to change is it unless the muppetts stop working for next to nothing.

[tartanraider]

Sorry to bring you down to earth mate but welcome to the real world of trucking…

[qhunter]

Glenn: Yo’re not too far from Sainsburys at Enfield. They were the poelp who broke from the mould a couple of years ago by advertising for drivers at 30k for four on four off working. Got to be worth a gallon of petrol…

[unionjack]

tartan i dont know full sp yet but I heard at 11.15 today as I said direct from union rep, at reading.

Glenn m8 whats wrong with Sainsbury @ Waltham A
or is it to far

that exel site does primary work also, might be easier