Having been a grumpy hard done to truck driving person for just over 35 years now, I started to notice that whenever I worked for various agencies at various times over the last 35 years, although the faces changed, they had one thing in common they all talk the same, they use the same phrases, so my question is, do you think somewhere there is an agency college somewhere that teaches them whatever you do don’t tell the driver the truth, make sure you mess him/her about as much as possible and always turn it round and suggest the driver doesn’t want to work when he arrives at that “there and back trunking job” and it turns out to be 17 drops in Manchester, and he has the audacity to complain about it?
The same person writes all the ads on Indeed usually involving phrases - blue chip client, trunking work, guaranteed long term work, long term client etc. Just change the location on each ad.
As for the agency, they seem to use “really doing us a favour”, “last minute urgent”, “really important client”, “potential for long term work at this client” oh and “how fast can you get to X”.
Re the latter it’ll be 4am call, somewhere you’ve never heard of so can’t estimate a time and they’ll have promised the client there’ll be someone there within the hour even if its an hours drive.
Basically the agency is only concerned about keeping their clients happy, drivers are two a penny in their eyes and there will always be another along in a minute. If all goes well they get all the praise and if anything goes wrong it will all be down to the driver.
The same as most other aspects of this profession.
When signing up to an agency, you have the unspoken option of telling them what shifts you’d like, days, start times, etc.
If you’re daft enough to sign up with a lickcock attitude that says “I’m so desperate for work, that anywhere at anytime will do” - then guess what?
4am calls for 7am starts…
Sub-£10ph rates
“Overtime” that only comes to be offered to you for Christmas day working, or when you’ve got no hours left for that week, and can’t accept it.
“Overtime after 8 hours” that sees you only get booked off at exactly 9 hours, so after the one hour unpaid break is taken off - you get a flat shift, no overtime - ever.
“Ongoing work” that dies on January 3rd, as if the “client” went ■■■■-up first thing in the new year.
Such a limited pool of clients, that the other agency bod dropping the shift… erm I mean the Agency Consultant - “Says the client has asked for you by name” to a last-minute shift over an hour’s travel away…
Accept any unpaid assessments, and in future any other assessments you’ll be told are “Necessary” - will be frequent, and invariably unpaid as well.
You’ll be steered onto the Umbrella, if the agency is confident they can give you at least one shift per week, rather than zero.
You’ll not pick up the decent work - unless your “flexibility” includes nights and weekends in particular.
The agency needs bums on seats to get paid themselves. Make sure you’re able to attend planned awkward shifts, rather than unplanned mainstream ones.
blod65:
Having been a grumpy hard done to truck driving person for just over 35 years now, I started to notice that whenever I worked for various agencies at various times over the last 35 years, although the faces changed, they had one thing in common they all talk the same, they use the same phrases, so my question is, do you think somewhere there is an agency college somewhere that teaches them whatever you do don’t tell the driver the truth, make sure you mess him/her about as much as possible and always turn it round and suggest the driver doesn’t want to work when he arrives at that “there and back trunking job” and it turns out to be 17 drops in Manchester, and he has the audacity to complain about it?
I think that we just have to ■■■■ it up with agencies. Joe Bloggs Haulage wont directly employ drivers or buy trucks. The motors are rented and the drivers in the main are supplied by agencies. Its how the business is conducted those days, sadly.
I’ve been asked ‘how’s my star driver’ by several different agencies. My reply was always ‘I’ve no idea, let me know when you’ve rung him?’
Yes, they all talk the same lines.
Agencies are a shining example of just how crap self regulating industries are. They urgently need to be investigated and regulated by a government department. One of the top table members of the REC, who ran his own agency in Leeds once tried to get me to blob on another agency (also an REC member) so I could drive for him that night.
Utter scum the lot of 'em and as long as you remember that, you’ll get along just fine.
There seems to have been some kind of crackdown, re the tax angles that so many agencies ran…
I think it is easier to get PAYE and Holiday pay at agencies now - rather than the former system, where you were leaned on to go Ltd Company and onto their Umbrella for pennies per hour more…
NO holiday pay with THAT.
Those firms that were collecting PAYE taxes paid by the the driver - were supposed to hand those sums to the Inland Revenue in due course. Some - were NOT.
Make sure the “PAYE” is REALLY PAYE and not what I call “Pseudo” PAYE where you are seeing the agency make claims for tax on your behalf - which you and they both - are NOT actually entitled to.
Unfair though it is, it is a sad state of affairs that a Pro Driver can claim £80ish per year for PPE but “Travel Expenses” such as fuel, and keeping your commuting car on the road - “don’t count towards a mobile worker’s expenses for tax deductions”.
…But an MP can claim for Fitted Kitchens, Second Homes, Mortgages on Premium Properties, - you name it.
And they don’t even have anything whatsoever to do with the transport industry, or industry full stop, come to that.
Winseer:
You’ll not pick up the decent work - unless your “flexibility” includes nights and weekends in particular.:
There’s a big difference between repaying decent work with being flexible regarding shifts.As opposed to being told it’s decent work which turns out to be building trade work involving as much if not more site/yard labouring as driving.Or turning up for what was described as trunking only to find it’s actually multi drop work on arrival.In which case from experience if you are seen as a mug by the agency at that point they’ll then just make sure that you stay one.Agencies being too often all about placing drivers in the usual crap difficult to fill jobs being the main problem which I found working on agencies.To the point where I eventually,naively later than I should have done,walked away and didn’t look back.
Fincham:
Basically the agency is only concerned about keeping their clients happy, drivers are two a penny in their eyes and there will always be another along in a minute. If all goes well they get all the praise and if anything goes wrong it will all be down to the driver.
Spot on. The way I think about agencies is, their business is supplying drivers to clients, not supplying jobs to drivers, thus they have the client’s interest in mind and will say/do anything to supply the driver/s wanted.
Winseer:
You’ll not pick up the decent work - unless your “flexibility” includes nights and weekends in particular.:
There’s a big difference between repaying decent work with being flexible regarding shifts.As opposed to being told it’s decent work which turns out to be building trade work involving as much if not more site/yard labouring as driving.Or turning up for what was described as trunking only to find it’s actually multi drop work on arrival.In which case from experience if you are seen as a mug by the agency at that point they’ll then just make sure that you stay one.Agencies being too often all about placing drivers in the usual crap difficult to fill jobs being the main problem which I found working on agencies.To the point where I eventually,naively later than I should have done,walked away and didn’t look back.
"You’re trunking to the end of this service road, then it’s long distance to this end of the local high street for your second job, then you’re dropping at every shop up there. A long time later, you’ll reach the far end of the high street, where you’ll need to hurry to a nearby layby to get your WTD break in before 6 hours in. Then for the rest of the shift, we’ll send you to a pallethub in the midlands somewhere, which is why you’ll need to clear down a 45 whilst doing your curtains along the high street."
“When you get back at 8-9am, don’t forget to submit your timesheet - or we might not pay you the 15 hours minus 90 minutes for two 45m breaks - from your day rate you’ll be getting.”
^^^^^ It wasn’t that long ago, when this - used to be called a “Typical HGV shift at Blue Arrow Agency”.
Winseer: "You’re trunking to the end of this service road, then it’s long distance to this end of the local high street for your second job, then you’re dropping at every shop up there. A long time later, you’ll reach the far end of the high street, where you’ll need to hurry to a nearby layby to get your WTD break in before 6 hours in. Then for the rest of the shift, we’ll send you to a pallethub in the midlands somewhere, which is why you’ll need to clear down a 45 whilst doing your curtains along the high street."
“When you get back at 8-9am, don’t forget to submit your timesheet - or we might not pay you the 15 hours minus 90 minutes for two 45m breaks - from your day rate you’ll be getting.”
^^^^^ It wasn’t that long ago, when this - used to be called a “Typical HGV shift at Blue Arrow Agency”.
Are you talking about ADR/Tufnells? I called them (ADR) a couple of weeks ago for a “Class 2 trunking position with Tufnells”. Oh, it’s multidrop from a box vehicle. Around 50 drops per day, but don’t worry, they’re mostly in the same area so not far from each other. What items? Well, all sorts of things - could be a tyre here, a desk there…
Winseer: "You’re trunking to the end of this service road, then it’s long distance to this end of the local high street for your second job, then you’re dropping at every shop up there. A long time later, you’ll reach the far end of the high street, where you’ll need to hurry to a nearby layby to get your WTD break in before 6 hours in. Then for the rest of the shift, we’ll send you to a pallethub in the midlands somewhere, which is why you’ll need to clear down a 45 whilst doing your curtains along the high street."
“When you get back at 8-9am, don’t forget to submit your timesheet - or we might not pay you the 15 hours minus 90 minutes for two 45m breaks - from your day rate you’ll be getting.”
^^^^^ It wasn’t that long ago, when this - used to be called a “Typical HGV shift at Blue Arrow Agency”.
Are you talking about ADR/Tufnells? I called them (ADR) a couple of weeks ago for a “Class 2 trunking position with Tufnells”. Oh, it’s multidrop from a box vehicle. Around 50 drops per day, but don’t worry, they’re mostly in the same area so not far from each other. What items? Well, all sorts of things - could be a tyre here, a desk there…
ETS:
Are you talking about ADR/Tufnells? I called them (ADR) a couple of weeks ago for a “Class 2 trunking position with Tufnells”. Oh, it’s multidrop from a box vehicle. Around 50 drops per day, but don’t worry, they’re mostly in the same area so not far from each other. What items? Well, all sorts of things - could be a tyre here, a desk there…
To be fair class 2 trunking is going to be a tall order to find.In this case probably drawbars and nights.I’d have put the phone down at Oh it’s 'multi dr… .Or at least stopped them at that point and said no I’m calling about a trunking vacancy.
