Driver Shortage?

[winseer]

“Recruitment and retention” tactics - seem commonplace nowadays

…But we’ve yet to see the real sledgehammer approach to all this - actually offering pristine contracts that are full time, directly employed, with a decent capped working week where anything over say, 48 hours is strictly NON compulsory, and paid at least at time and a half.

Thus, if you get zonked for 3 x 15 hour shifts at the start of the week - you get the rest of the week off, as you’ve already worked 45 hours, and there is no obligation for you to come in for the 4th shift, even if all but three hours of it are paid as overtime…

“Paying drivers a one-off bonus to recruit a driver who stays three months” - isn’t going to solve any long term issues - is it?
…Nor is paying top dollar Self-employed/contractor rates.
…Nor “recruitment” via an agency, which means you’d expect to be stood down the moment this lockdown and the full implementation of Brexit is completed…

Let’s see some decent Full Time PAYE directly employed contracts then!!!

I’m staying part-time meanwhile, - and can afford to hold my breath on this one.
I suspect many others are - too…

I’ve turned down no less than five full time job offers in the past 18 months:
2 because the contracted working week was 55 hours - tooooo long…
2 because the hourly rate was too low
1 because the job turned out to be london multidrop when it was advertized as double decker depot-depot trunking.

If the hourly rate is low - a “get around” is that you then minimize one’s contracted hours, e.g. take the job part time, rather than do a base 55 hours at a paltry rate, like Fedex or Downtons seem to expect of one for example…

If the working week is too long, then the get-around is a tip-top hourly rate…
If the job isn’t as advertized - there’s no get-around, as there are likely to be other cons and lies built into it, such as the PAYE rate actually turning out to be the IR35 rate, and/or including “rolled up holiday pay”, which I understand is now illegal to include as a job’s pay rate.

So… Hauliers just need to tell the truth, and if that truth is likely to put people off - it’s time to close the place down, and move over for a better-financed firm that can afford the new going rates, which are likely to be somewhere in the order of £16ph for 48hour weeks Monday-Friday, weather or not a shift allowance is included…
There are a lot more people out there (I suspect) that would sign up for “permanent days/lates/nights” than have this constant rotate among the various shifts, which as we should all know by this point - f—s one’s body clock up enough to drive one into an early grave… NOT worth it. Press for family-friendly contracts, I’d suggest…
Even agencies - don’t actually let you pick and choose the shifts, at the end of the day, after all…

The whole CULTURE needs to change, and it will be the transport managers (who hold the licence, don’t forget) - that’ll be the architects of such positive change - or the destruction of the entire industry, if they bugger it all up…

[ezydriver]

Just had a look on Indeed, something I haven’t done for 5 years.

Shocked I was… a couple of class 1 jobs still offering £25k. There are still too many any-5-from-7 shift patterns. One household name company was wanting 4 on 4 off drivers at £13.62 p/h, £13.62 p/h after 45 hours, £13.62 p/h for a 5th shift, and £13.62 p/h plus a few quid extra for a 6th shift. Plenty of class 2 multidrop jobs mon-fri for £30-33k.

I think I’ll stick with where I am for the time being, until companies become so desperate that I can dictate my preferred shift pattern and hourly rate. (that would be 2 long nights a week [not weekend] at £20 p/h, and 5 nights off).

[yourhavingalarf]

Poor wages and…

Lack of facilities according to this article.

msn.com/en-gb/money/technol … d=msedgntp

[socketset]

Read the other day that it’s reckoned 1.3 million workers have cleared off back home since Brexit/Covid - and stuffs rotting undistributed in fields/depots.

Operators are still not quite smelling the coffee but the laws of supply and demand will come into play - eventually.

They know full well how to fix the shortage of skilled drivers but the bean counters hidden in their plush offices well away from the action still hold sway.

But only just - changes are acoming.

I know a fair number of competent Class 1 drivers who work in other professions - no chance of them climbing the steps due to pay and conditions.

[richard2323]

Unfortunately the years have past with poor wages and only now company’s are waking up and starting to offer better pay which hopefully will only go up and up. There is good work out there but all depends on the kinda driver you are. If you like a routine and a set route and to be controlled then DPD is for you. My girl friend is a manager there and even she says there line haul drivers are robots. But if your goal is clock in clock out and drive small tractors then that’s a good job with decent pay.

Or if you like to drive a flash truck and are not scared of work then the Irish is for you. Not the best pay but some are putting the cash up. Or work for them though a agency then your paid proper.

But there are loads of firms in between ok trucks and ok pay. But I think the shortage is more of a shortage of decent drivers. Such a large choice of jobs but Most unfortunately don’t care less about the trucks just turn up two hours early for work and try and get finished as early as possible. Hopefully more will look into trucking and we get some more new blood that will look after trucks and have a interest in the job.

But when shops which my mate works for are paying him 11 quid an hour to work in a store well……. That’s the question?

[dozy]

Richard2323:
Unfortunately the years have past with poor wages and only now company’s are waking up and starting to offer better pay which hopefully will only go up and up. There is good work out there but all depends on the kinda driver you are. If you like a routine and a set route and to be controlled then DPD is for you. My girl friend is a manager there and even she says there line haul drivers are robots. But if your goal is clock in clock out and drive small tractors then that’s a good job with decent pay.

Or if you like to drive a flash truck and are not scared of work then the Irish is for you. Not the best pay but some are putting the cash up. Or work for them though a agency then your paid proper.

But there are loads of firms in between ok trucks and ok pay. But I think the shortage is more of a shortage of decent drivers. Such a large choice of jobs but Most unfortunately don’t care less about the trucks just turn up two hours early for work and try and get finished as early as possible. Hopefully more will look into trucking and we get some more new blood that will look after trucks and have a interest in the job.

But when shops which my mate works for are paying him 11 quid an hour to work in a store well……. That’s the question?

I think the looking after the lorries is a generation thing in a lot of cases , my dad wouldn’t let me go to the football unless my car was washed & vacuumed , & if he had to tell me twice id end up doing his as well , now the dads of today wash the cars for there kids ( I had my girls for a week & cleaned / polished it from top to bottom )
So not sure the new blood you speak of will look after the lorries as well as they are now ( more likely to spend that spare hour looking at there phone )
Whether you can blame them I’m not so sure , I can only speak for myself but I’m a soft touch upto my dad , though it never did me any harm

[flatabonks]

Sorry first post here.

I’ve just been offered a job with Aldi driving class 2 and been told they are gonna but me through my class 1 in three months and they will pay for it.

Is this too good to be true? I’m buzzing, been trying to get myself through class 1 for years but not had the money or time! Sick of working at my place now doing multi-drop.

[lazydriver]

Flatabonks:
Sorry first post here.

I’ve just been offered a job with Aldi driving class 2 and been told they are gonna but me through my class 1 in three months and they will pay for it.

Is this too good to be true? I’m buzzing, been trying to get myself through class 1 for years but not had the money or time! Sick of working at my place now doing multi-drop.

This is a common practice for companies. They supply extra training, (class 1, ADR, etc) but get you to sign a lock-in clause. Meaning if you leave within 2-3 years you’ll be liable to pay back the cost of the training.

[dcpcfml]

This ^. There will be a lock-in clause, guaranteed. Make sure you enjoy the work and are happy there before agreeing to be put through class 1 as you’ll be stuck with it for at least a year unless you pay to leave.

[harry_monk]

LazyDriver:

Flatabonks:
Sorry first post here.

I’ve just been offered a job with Aldi driving class 2 and been told they are gonna but me through my class 1 in three months and they will pay for it.

Is this too good to be true? I’m buzzing, been trying to get myself through class 1 for years but not had the money or time! Sick of working at my place now doing multi-drop.

This is a common practice for companies. They supply extra training, (class 1, ADR, etc) but get you to sign a lock-in clause. Meaning if you leave within 2-3 years you’ll be liable to pay back the cost of the training.

I believe the amount you have to pay back normally diminishes over the lock-in period though so if the lock-in is for two years and you leave after a year then you only have to pay back 50% of the cost.

[franglais]

The previous posts may well all be true, and probably are. But, worst case, so long as you earn more as class 1 at Aldi, as you do currently, then you can spend a few months there and youll then be able to pay off any fees. From a mate who worked there, I hear it aint a bad job at all. Not everyone`s cup of tea, but nothing is!
Whatever you do, find out all the details first.

[flatabonks]

Thank you for the replies. The money is good to be fair, £13.33 on days class 2 and goes up to £14.33 once I’ve done my class 1. Rota is good for me, 5 on 3 off I’m not a fan of 5 over 7 with the one day off.

They’ve said I need to stay a year after I’ve done my class 1 but the work looks steady I don’t mind loading and tipping myself with electric trucks its a lot easier than handballing

[ets]

For what it’s worth…there’s too many greedy old geezers (55 and over) who just won’t let go of the honey jar…They want to do all the hours on the top runs (length wise) and get all the £££ they can every single week. When I asked a few ‘‘WHY??’’ as I would probably kill myself if I was 50+ and had to do 50+ hour weeks all the time and I mean ALL the TIME. The responses seem to vary from wife’s spending habits, cause else I’d be bored sitting home, I need the money for holidays/hobbies…If you’re 30 nad trying to make a living at our place you’ll have a hard time unless you’re single and live rent free (own home for example) as you’re pretty much capped on earnings due to aforementioned greedy old b.s.r.s, I mean don’t get me wrong they’re nice guys always happy to help with advice etc. just don’t you dare mention a run swap Anyway if you’re young and reasonably fit there are better paying jobs out there with a much higher rate per hour AND more hours/OT available like construction etc. or put in some time and learn a proper trade where you’ll earn twice more than hgv drivers and probably work fewer hours.

And before the hours-obsessed crowd gets all jumpy I’m not saying drivers ‘‘should’’ work 50 hr weeks obviously doesn’t suit everyone but if you’re 20-25-30 and have the need for ££ to get ahead financially like put down money for mortgage or pay for wedding/honeymoon etc. kids future fund maybe understandable if you want to push it for a couple years or three? But if you’re in your late 50s or even over 60 (yes we have those too) and willingly max out hours/days because at that point in life you STILL haven’t got your shed in order money wise or still haven’t found ‘‘anything to do at home’’, well that’s just sad.

[rothman]

The greedy older drivers you are referring to are actually accumulating a pension pot.
They have spent the last 30-40 years paying for their own weddings, honeymoons, mortgages and children.
Plus as a bloke it’s head down from the day you leave school until the day you retire, it’s hard to break entrenched habits.
Have you looked what the state pension pays? I spend the same amount at the supermarket every week for 3 adults and a cat.
Last time I checked my pension pot it was under £100k which sounds a lot but isn’t!
I’m 53 years old and doing 60+hrs a week whilst I still can as your health can fail you at any time.
My wife would like me to ease off the gas, my reaction last time she mentioned it was “I’m 53 not 63. I just want to be comfortable in my retirement”.
I’ve grafted for 25 years in engineering, then retrained as a motorcycle Instructor. Only did my HGV licence to give me an income in the winter when it was quiet on the bikes.
Only now do I have the surplus income to save some serious cash as I packed the bikes in a couple of years ago and now drive full time.
My wife has her own pension pot, her parents have passed away and left her a house, which she sold and banked the cash. But, that’s her money and I want my own!
When I was a younger man I couldn’t envisage being 50 years old never mind retiring, but on passing 50 it starts to loom up and reality dawns.
“How am I going to maintain my lifestyle once I retire?”

Just my take on why the grey haired drivers still max their hours.

[harry_monk]

Franglais:
The previous posts may well all be true, and probably are. But, worst case, so long as you earn more as class 1 at Aldi, as you do currently, then you can spend a few months there and youll then be able to pay off any fees. From a mate who worked there, I hear it aint a bad job at all. Not everyone`s cup of tea, but nothing is!
Whatever you do, find out all the details first.

I’ve done a few deliveries to Aldi stores (not working for Aldi, third-party stuff) and it’s a bit of a PITA as you normally have to reverse through the car park and blind-side it onto the bay. I was once told that Aldi use a few standard architectural designs for their stores and these are all based on the German model where trucks are LHD. I understand that if you deliver at night (I never did this) then you are given keys to the store and have to unlock it and lock it up again.

But for the OP, if someone is offering to pay for his/her Class 1 training then it’s probably worth looking at.

[ets]

Rothman:
The greedy older drivers you are referring to are actually accumulating a pension pot.
They have spent the last 30-40 years paying for their own weddings, honeymoons, mortgages and children.
Plus as a bloke it’s head down from the day you leave school until the day you retire, it’s hard to break entrenched habits.
Have you looked what the state pension pays? I spend the same amount at the supermarket every week for 3 adults and a cat.
Last time I checked my pension pot it was under £100k which sounds a lot but isn’t!
I’m 53 years old and doing 60+hrs a week whilst I still can as your health can fail you at any time.
My wife would like me to ease off the gas, my reaction last time she mentioned it was “I’m 53 not 63. I just want to be comfortable in my retirement”.
I’ve grafted for 25 years in engineering, then retrained as a motorcycle Instructor. Only did my HGV licence to give me an income in the winter when it was quiet on the bikes.
Only now do I have the surplus income to save some serious cash as I packed the bikes in a couple of years ago and now drive full time.
My wife has her own pension pot, her parents have passed away and left her a house, which she sold and banked the cash. But, that’s her money and I want my own!
When I was a younger man I couldn’t envisage being 50 years old never mind retiring, but on passing 50 it starts to loom up and reality dawns.
“How am I going to maintain my lifestyle once I retire?”

Just my take on why the grey haired drivers still max their hours.

Kind of proving my point…You spent your younger, most productive years ■■■■■■■ money away and suddenly one day woke up at 50 and realized you don’t have enough to retire (although 100k is quite a bit in your case so idk what your argument is…you do long hours because you’re used to it…?) Personally I’d buy a flat with that and rent it out for a net £400-500 p.m. as an example to top up my upcoming £670 state pension. I mean look I won’t argue it’s your situation but my dad used to say when we’re young we trade our health for money when we get old we trade our money for health …or something along those lines. There’s always going to be a bigger house to buy or a flashier car and a new popular holiday destination/cruise whatever and friends/neighbors to impress so you acn easily work until you die (literally) as often happens with blokes 60+ passing away at the steering wheel. The state of some it pains me to watch them struggle out of the cab to merely fill up at the pumps. Honestly I shudder at the thought that this could be me one day. I hope to be able to retire before 55 or at least semi-retire although it’s probably all going to be driverless trucks by then so not a choice really

[juddian]

The best laid plans all go to rats*** when that metaphorical punch in the face lands.

One high flying greasy pole climber i knew with was all set to retire at 50, sadly didn’t make 38 and dropped dead.
Others have been divorced and cleaned out and had to start again from scratch broken hearted and bitter, others got targetted by gold diggers who (those outside could see it happening a mile off) inevitably knocked a kid or two out and booted them out for a second time.

You never know how your life is going to turn out, will your health hold, will your pension holder do a maxwell, will the govt of the day raid your pension, any bugger here fancy laying odds on what the next 3 or 10 years has in store for us plebs and our finances let alone trying to plan 25 years ahead for hopefully at least 20 years of comfortable retirement.

[maga]

ETS:
For what it’s worth…there’s too many greedy old geezers (55 and over) who just won’t let go of the honey jar…They want to do all the hours on the top runs (length wise) and get all the £££ they can every single week. When I asked a few ‘‘WHY??’’ as I would probably kill myself if I was 50+ and had to do 50+ hour weeks all the time and I mean ALL the TIME. The responses seem to vary from wife’s spending habits, cause else I’d be bored sitting home, I need the money for holidays/hobbies…If you’re 30 nad trying to make a living at our place you’ll have a hard time unless you’re single and live rent free (own home for example) as you’re pretty much capped on earnings due to aforementioned greedy old b.s.r.s, I mean don’t get me wrong they’re nice guys always happy to help with advice etc. just don’t you dare mention a run swap Anyway if you’re young and reasonably fit there are better paying jobs out there with a much higher rate per hour AND more hours/OT available like construction etc. or put in some time and learn a proper trade where you’ll earn twice more than hgv drivers and probably work fewer hours.

And before the hours-obsessed crowd gets all jumpy I’m not saying drivers ‘‘should’’ work 50 hr weeks obviously doesn’t suit everyone but if you’re 20-25-30 and have the need for ££ to get ahead financially like put down money for mortgage or pay for wedding/honeymoon etc. kids future fund maybe understandable if you want to push it for a couple years or three? But if you’re in your late 50s or even over 60 (yes we have those too) and willingly max out hours/days because at that point in life you STILL haven’t got your shed in order money wise or still haven’t found ‘‘anything to do at home’’, well that’s just sad.

Its the same everywhere in every industry. Ive worked with countless blokes at my place with 25+ years service and £600k+ in their pension pot at 55 and they still won’t leave, do all the over time and fight over who gets the permanent nightshift for the extra shift allowance.

Its unbelievably sad imo

[commonrail]

Well I intend growing old disgracefully…and that costs money.

[robroy]

I don’t agree fully with all of ETS’s post,.everybody has an individual and personal story to tell, so some actually do need to work in the way he describes, but I do see what he means, it also puzzles me when I see older guys who should be winding down a bit, going like ■■■■ idiots week after week.
I’ve known quite a few guys who have spent their entire career thrashing away, maxing out and chasing money,.right up to retirement, when they do retire they have only lived for up to 18 months as they have literally burned themselves out working in such a way.