Took a job last week…nights out…as some of you may recall.
Done a trial run for the firm on Friday…drove a tall boy to Blackburn…got it loaded bought it back for run on Monday (free of charge). I felt nervous at 1st but soon got into the swing of things…listening to Sally Traffic on radio 2… .
Went out Saturday, bought the essentials for tramping only to receive a a call Sunday afternoon telling the job offer had been withdrawn… . Apparently a bloke who has a lot more experience than me applied on Friday night.
There is nothing i can do as i had not signed anything…that’s the breaks I suppose.
Went to an agency today to register, when asked how long I had held my licence for (Sept 2008)…she took a deep breathe , lent back in her chair and said and I quote " you’ll be lucky, there are a lot more experienced drivers out there looking for work but I’ll take your details just in case". That made me feel welcome…not!
Been to the job center and although there are jobs there the majority require at least 12 months experience…so here i am stuck in a vicious circle…applying for jobs that require experience hoping one of them will give me a break to get the experience.
Boing Boing71:
Well having been knocked back more times than a bottle of gin on a depressives night out, my mate has said he could get me some work but it means 4 nights out. He’s good mates with the owner and said he can pull a few strings so my lack of experience wont be such a problem. Apparently its a curtain trailer which is fairly easy to do??
The money isn’t great (£450 bring home) but its a step on the ladder.
The only problem is I have a18 month old boy and I don’t really want to miss him growing up. I have another friend who used to stay out and his biggest regret is missing his kids growing up.
So I’m stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea…do I take the job or keep taking the knock backs?
I have also sent off an application for Farm Foods (Link Logistics) in Shirley today.
Driving past and noticed they are advertising for drivers.
With them sort of mates you dont need enemys. I would be having a word.
Unless you didn’t impress on the trial run, or you were being too picky.
another thing…the money was £450 bring home…but you had to pay your own tax and insurance and there was no night out allowance, as he told me Friday when i got back from Blackburn…but i was still prepared to do it…
I agreed to the trial run myself, i thought it would be good practice…which it was, and it gave me a chance to see what my new home would be like…which was nice.
poor you, feel sorry for you, im in same boat as a newbie.
but well done you on doing the shift as a trail, i really think you diserve more from it than you got, i hope your luck changes.
as for agency - arounf here there the same, rude, do not reply to calls or emails, and not business like. just think mate, one day when we are experienced, and those same agencys want drivers and the industry has picked up, so be like loads of jobs, we can be picky and stuff them agencys
Boing Boing71:
another thing…the money was £450 bring home…but you had to pay your own tax and insurance and there was no night out allowance, as he told me Friday when i got back from Blackburn…but i was still prepared to do it…
whoaaaaa back up there to do what hes ask paywise youd have to set your self up as a ltd company
so the 450 pw that offered you. you had to take your tax an ni out of that 450 for five days is not enough at all for what is been asked lucky escape i think
btw is you mate on the same as is he setup as a ltd company if he isnt and hes considered self employed then he needs to take advice and quick
Boing Boing71:
I agreed to the trial run myself, i thought it would be good practice…which it was, and it gave me a chance to see what my new home would be like…which was nice.
Still…I will take it as a lesson learned.
Ayup,maybe hes found another to do a trial for nothing,he only needs to do this to a few and hes making lots of money.Still,like you said lesson LEARNED.hope others learn too.Good luck in the future,Ive retired but think I had an easier time of it,when you could choose the job and move on when you liked.cheers Joe.
so the 450 pw that offered you. you had to take your tax an NI out of that 450 for five days is not enough
If you are a limited company, you can pay yourself a minimum wage below the NI threshold (£105 currently) and then just pay corporation tax on the rest of your earnings - so only 22% to deduct on £450-105 = £345 i.e. £75.90. Therefore take home pay of £374.10. If you do pay NI then not only do you have to pay the Employees share but also the Employers share as well, because you are in effect one and the same.
Boing Boing71:
another thing…the money was £450 bring home…but you had to pay your own tax and insurance and there was no night out allowance, as he told me Friday when i got back from Blackburn…but i was still prepared to do it…
No offence, but I myself, did wonder why this company was keen on taking on an inexperienced driver. There is usually a good reason for it and now we know what that is. The pay you have mentioned above is all wrong and no doubt, not taxman friendly either.
Smart Mart:
If you are a limited company, you can pay yourself a minimum wage below the NI threshold (£105 currently) and then just pay corporation tax on the rest of your earnings - so only 22% to deduct on £450-105 = £345 i.e. £75.90. Therefore take home pay of £374.10. If you do pay NI then not only do you have to pay the Employees share but also the Employers share as well, because you are in effect one and the same.
That only works if you can manage to stay outside the IR35 legislation which if you’re doing a permanent full time job you can’t really do legally. When they catch you you’ll end up having to pay all the back tax for a great number of years at an equivalent rate that you would have paid had all but a tiny portion of that £450 been paid by the normal PAYE method.
It’s incredibly dodgy ground, worth avoiding IMO. These days even limited company drivers working for several people on a casual basis are borderline as to whether or not they fall under IR35, and HMR&C are apparently determined to stamp out such tax avoidance.
As I understand it IR35 does not apply to limited companies. I have spoken to an accountant for confirmation of what the situation is and have been running my limited company for over 30 years - always within the law!
Looks like this guy did you a favour, gave you the bit of experience you needed but it sounds a really dodgy setup and he was using your inexperience and willingness to do the job to make money for himself and you can bet he would have totally disowned you if anything had gone wrong.
As you say it’s a lesson learned and things will pick up just watch out for the sharks coz there’s going to be a lot of them around for a while to come as the transport pond gets smaller
Hope you get a better tryout and something permanent next time round
Stay safe
Regards
Dave Penn;
what you ought to have done was go and do the job, then park the truck up somewhere, take the keys in and ask for your pay, if none was forthcoming you did’nt have to tell him where you’d left the truck, i know it’s not nice, but who would work for nowt, i’m bloody sure a test run is not legal because if there’s no pay, there’s no insurance, that gaffer must be one evil [zb]
by the way, i did’nt see my kids grow up either, so
if you can find a job outside of trucks, i would do, it’s not a good job after all,
i stan the man
t’s only a piece of steel
with wheels on
stan-the-man:
what you ought to have done was go and do the job, then park the truck up somewhere, take the keys in and ask for your pay, if none was forthcoming you did’nt have to tell him where you’d left the truck, i know it’s not nice, but who would work for nowt, i’m bloody sure a test run is not legal because if there’s no pay, there’s no insurance, that gaffer must be one evil [zb],
by the way, i did’nt see my kids grow up either, so
if you can find a job outside of trucks, i would do, it’s not a good job after all,
i stan the man
t’s only a piece of steel
with wheels on
Sorry to hear about this bad break mate. As for demanding money, I think from the original post he had agreed to do the run for free. The guy isn’t withholding his money, he never promised him any. ■■■■■ big time - but them’s the breaks I guess
.
. Apparently a bloke who has a lot more experience than me applied on Friday night.
