I did a search here, not found a lot. Got a mate, whose nephew is going for an interview/assessment on Monday with Co-op Thurrock via an agency, he wants to get his feet wet at that place before comitting to anything direct. We know about the pay etc.
I am after the usual, what are they like to work for, what are the runs like, what are the stores like, what is the tackle like. Pretty sure they only have Scanias there.
No need to go agency bashing, he knows what he is getting himself into and it is a deliberate choice in his case.
I worked for co-op but in Nottingham, I was mainly office based but did some driving and always took the longer days.
Access to most places is rubbish, you may have to call before you get to a store for them to clear access.
Everything is legal, obviously.
When I was there it was licence checked on the first day of each week (for agency drivers).
Cab hop (again obviously)
Not necessarily all Scania trucks at Nottingham we had mainly DAF but a couple of Scania and Iveco rigids too.
Upto 8 drops (normally on a rigid) and sometimes you are down for a second run.
Shift lengths varied between 8hrs and 12hrs (not including the first 45min break).
You have to take the cages from the truck to the store, this could be through the front door via the pavement and you might not be able to park outside the store. The store will generally not help you doing this as it is your job. You then re load with empties and recycling to bring back to the RDC.
Always, always ask for a brew if you want one, if you are offered any food or a drink take it, even if you don’t want it as the next bloke won’t be offered if you turn it down!
Thinking back and what I know now, it is one of the best jobs I will probably ever have in my life (pay, pension, benefits, holiday etc etc.
NewLad:
I worked for co-op but in Nottingham, I was mainly office based but did some driving and always took the longer days.
Access to most places is rubbish, you may have to call before you get to a store for them to clear access.
Everything is legal, obviously.
When I was there it was licence checked on the first day of each week (for agency drivers).
Cab hop (again obviously)
Not necessarily all Scania trucks at Nottingham we had mainly DAF but a couple of Scania and Iveco rigids too.
Upto 8 drops (normally on a rigid) and sometimes you are down for a second run.
Shift lengths varied between 8hrs and 12hrs (not including the first 45min break).
You have to take the cages from the truck to the store, this could be through the front door via the pavement and you might not be able to park outside the store. The store will generally not help you doing this as it is your job. You then re load with empties and recycling to bring back to the RDC.
Always, always ask for a brew if you want one, if you are offered any food or a drink take it, even if you don’t want it as the next bloke won’t be offered if you turn it down!
Thinking back and what I know now, it is one of the best jobs I will probably ever have in my life (pay, pension, benefits, holiday etc etc.
Lol,co-op,Bulwell…Great Bear warehouse these days.Had misfortune to do a few days agency work way back.Awful job.Remember a very miserable woman in office,everyday was pmt day.Sent me home for wearing shorts,lol,did best thing and stayed home
NewLad:
I worked for co-op but in Nottingham, I was mainly office based but did some driving and always took the longer days.
Access to most places is rubbish, you may have to call before you get to a store for them to clear access.
Everything is legal, obviously.
When I was there it was licence checked on the first day of each week (for agency drivers).
Cab hop (again obviously)
Not necessarily all Scania trucks at Nottingham we had mainly DAF but a couple of Scania and Iveco rigids too.
Upto 8 drops (normally on a rigid) and sometimes you are down for a second run.
Shift lengths varied between 8hrs and 12hrs (not including the first 45min break).
You have to take the cages from the truck to the store, this could be through the front door via the pavement and you might not be able to park outside the store. The store will generally not help you doing this as it is your job. You then re load with empties and recycling to bring back to the RDC.
Always, always ask for a brew if you want one, if you are offered any food or a drink take it, even if you don’t want it as the next bloke won’t be offered if you turn it down!
Thinking back and what I know now, it is one of the best jobs I will probably ever have in my life (pay, pension, benefits, holiday etc etc.
Lol,co-op,Bulwell…Great Bear warehouse these days.Had misfortune to do a few days agency work way back.Awful job.Remember a very miserable woman in office,everyday was pmt day.Sent me home for wearing shorts,lol,did best thing and stayed home
Caroline? Was she the transport supervisor who sent you home?
I’m 99% sure she would have take redundancy when they shut Nottingham, she’d been there 10 years plus and the redundancy package was top notch sso she’d have been insane to have stayed.
NewLad:
I worked for co-op but in Nottingham, I was mainly office based but did some driving and always took the longer days.
Access to most places is rubbish, you may have to call before you get to a store for them to clear access.
Everything is legal, obviously.
When I was there it was licence checked on the first day of each week (for agency drivers).
Cab hop (again obviously)
Not necessarily all Scania trucks at Nottingham we had mainly DAF but a couple of Scania and Iveco rigids too.
Upto 8 drops (normally on a rigid) and sometimes you are down for a second run.
Shift lengths varied between 8hrs and 12hrs (not including the first 45min break).
You have to take the cages from the truck to the store, this could be through the front door via the pavement and you might not be able to park outside the store. The store will generally not help you doing this as it is your job. You then re load with empties and recycling to bring back to the RDC.
Always, always ask for a brew if you want one, if you are offered any food or a drink take it, even if you don’t want it as the next bloke won’t be offered if you turn it down!
Thinking back and what I know now, it is one of the best jobs I will probably ever have in my life (pay, pension, benefits, holiday etc etc.
Lol,co-op,Bulwell…Great Bear warehouse these days.Had misfortune to do a few days agency work way back.Awful job.Remember a very miserable woman in office,everyday was pmt day.Sent me home for wearing shorts,lol,did best thing and stayed home
Caroline? Was she the transport supervisor who sent you home?
She always had a stern facial expression lol
Aye I think that was her name.She had a superiority complex.
I left Thurrock about 7 years ago. I transferred in there when it opened from one of the depots it replaced. I’ve never looked back. It suits some people but like a lot of jobs its management who ain’t got a clue that ruin it…
NewLad:
I worked for co-op but in Nottingham, I was mainly office based but did some driving and always took the longer days.
Access to most places is rubbish, you may have to call before you get to a store for them to clear access.
Everything is legal, obviously.
When I was there it was licence checked on the first day of each week (for agency drivers).
Cab hop (again obviously)
Not necessarily all Scania trucks at Nottingham we had mainly DAF but a couple of Scania and Iveco rigids too.
Upto 8 drops (normally on a rigid) and sometimes you are down for a second run.
Shift lengths varied between 8hrs and 12hrs (not including the first 45min break).
You have to take the cages from the truck to the store, this could be through the front door via the pavement and you might not be able to park outside the store. The store will generally not help you doing this as it is your job. You then re load with empties and recycling to bring back to the RDC.
Always, always ask for a brew if you want one, if you are offered any food or a drink take it, even if you don’t want it as the next bloke won’t be offered if you turn it down!
Thinking back and what I know now, it is one of the best jobs I will probably ever have in my life (pay, pension, benefits, holiday etc etc.
He went in, had a short written test from the agency, pretty straight forward, then met a co-op assessor who gave him another written test, which was thorough with lots of questions on traffic signs, cats eyes, road markings etc. He passed that one with quite a few mistakes then was taken for a spin around the block after coupling onto a trailer and after the drive put the trailer back in the yard they have across the road.
All pretty straight forward, the agency however is charging him the typical umbrella scheme charges, this one seems very expensive at 6% and they make him pay for the agency NI on top of his own NI, so the hourly rate at 12 an hour for weekdays and 15 for weekends is no longer that appealing for London if you take into account what it is going to cost him to “process” his payroll.
Co-op is hiring direct though so he is going that route instead of agency.
I know the t&c’s have changed for new starters compared to what I was on, but to be fair it’s still going to be one of the better jobs in terms of t&c’s.
I told him the same thing, Co-op are advertising for 15 day drivers on their website, he would be silly to accept the agency conditions as they are. Some agencies are pretty decent on pay, the one that Co-op use seem awfully expensive.
They advertise 28-34k for direct employment plus benefits, not bad for a young lad, he is only in his early 20’s. He has his two years in so meets the entry requirements.