Rob K:
You boys might think it’s easier than UK work - and it may well be, but you do it every week
We don’t think it’s easier, we know it is and it has nothing to do with doing it every week. There is far less stress than there appears to be on UK work, (I’m going by the stories on here as I have no personal knowlegde of UK work) None of the jobsworths that seem to populate many UK delivery points, better facilities for drivers, better roads etc. etc.
£150 a day would be £750 or £900 a week and you won’t get that as an employed driver. Night out would be usually between £25 - £30.
… have never heard of a Euro driver being on hourly pay.
I used to work for a company out off Norfolk where quite a lot of the lads went over the water, I didnt myself but everyone was on the same hourly rate, only diference was more night out many on the continent, but they would only pay UK night out rates if you were on a ferry. Traffic Monkey kept asking me if i was intrested pointed out that i dont have a passport and would only get one if he paid for it, and then i wouldnt commite myself. Strangly enough that used to put him off the idea for a little while. Apoligies to you The Bear ive quoted one off your lines but i havent worked out how to do it properly yet, Im only a simple yocal!!!
as far as i am concerned you can take the trunking,tramping,and continental work and shove it where the sun don’t shine.i was getting pressure from my gaffer to do the distance work,he wanted me to do great yarmouth at 1st and told him to shove that and then he tries to get me to do europeon as i was the only class1 driver that knew the roads over the water so he was told the same shove it.
i have spent my time away from the family and i was not prepaired to go away and sleep in the back of a truck for an extra couple of hundred quid,i don’t think so.if some of you guys like that sort of thing then good for you’s i ain’t prepaired to do it and i can’t understand why someone prefers the back of a truck and being away all week to their own bed or family life.
Kitkat, you can have a family life and do nights away. As of tomorrow I have been married 23 years and I’ve been doing nights away for about 17 of those years. Before that I was in a job where I worked with my wife and we were together all the time, that nearly killed the marraige. What works for one doesn’t work for others.
And as for the bed thing when I’m away I do sleep in my own bed, it’s at home I have to share it.
Coffeeholic:
Kitkat, you can have a family life and do nights away. As of tomorrow I have been married 23 years and I’ve been doing nights away for about 17 of those years. Before that I was in a job where I worked with my wife and we were together all the time, that nearly killed the marraige. What works for one doesn’t work for others.
And as for the bed thing when I’m away I do sleep in my own bed, it’s at home I have to share it.
congrats for tomorrow neil god how i’d love my wife to work beside me it would be bliss as we have so much in common and love being together.but as you said neil it don’t work for everyone.
as for your comment on the bed thing sorry mate it went straight over my head
twopack:
I just wondered if there are any members who drive for Stobarts, and could let me know what they are like to work for ie pay and conditions etc
Chatting with 1 of Eddies drivers on wednesday night…He’s off, had enough and goin driving for an agency
twopack:
I just wondered if there are any members who drive for Stobarts, and could let me know what they are like to work for ie pay and conditions etc
Chatting with 1 of Eddies drivers on wednesday night…He’s off, had enough and goin driving for an agency
like has already been said ‘it doesn’t suit everybody’. i have several mates on eddies euro work and all but 2 of them reckon it was the best move they ever made.
personally speaking 3 weeks away and 3 days off wouldn’t suit me either but i don’t do that in my job, home every weekend, start work tuesday and get home saturday - 5days a week only - germany every week - speak to the uk office on tuesday then again on friday when i have loaded for home - i sort my own reload out with the agent in germany and i love it - being my own boss without the stress of owning a truck - it really doesn’t get any better.
Rob K:
Isn’t doesn’t matter how you dress it up boys, the majority of UK companies’ drivers doing continental work are on peanuts.
Like I said before, if I was to do continental work - regardless of how nice you make it out to be - I’d still want £150/day and a decent night-out rate on top.
We get paid exactly the same for continental work as we do for UK work.
Given the choice of a trip down to Spain, or a week spent in supermarket RDC`s, I know which I would prefer…
sounds okay as a starter wage, while experience is gained (and you’re proven a reliable worker).
I live in an area in the lowest wage-band in the firm I work for, and get paid less as I’m only C1+E at this stage (doing C then C+E soon).
This means I’m on less than £6 an hour, with £21.75 night out allowance. The working day is supposedly less than the tacho hours you have available most days, but then having said that, I leave on monday, home on friday most weeks, and drive first at 6am last at late evening but happen to have big gaps in between due to hitching so the hours worked are stupidly immense.
why do I bother? cos I’m 25, C1+E, 9 points and there’s bugger all else - lol. still, 6 months experience to put ahead of my license when applying for new jobs should help - and come January I’ll be on 6 points an dMay on 3, so should become easier.
Still a pittance and its akin to piece work as well, all depends on the job I’m given. Some weeks I’m taking home nigh on £400 and some as low as £140, averaging out at about £250, including nights out.
killsville:
Here is a copy of the advert that Stobarts placed in ‘The Sun’ newspaper a few weeks ago.
Thought it might be of interest to the readers of this thread!
Thats the ad I responded to and the rate quoted is NOT the starting rate ther rates start ay £6.70 per hour from 06.00 to 18.00 rising to £7.40 or something either side of those times.
twopack:
Thats the ad I responded to and the rate quoted is NOT the starting rate ther rates start ay £6.70 per hour from 06.00 to 18.00 rising to £7.40 or something either side of those times.
Must report Stobarts for false adverting then!
If thats what it says, then thats what they should pay.
Rob K:
Like I said before, if I was to do continental work - regardless of how nice you make it out to be - I’d still want £150/day and a decent night-out rate on top.
.
No-one would ever pay you that kind of money Rob.
I understand what you are saying, but I personally would always prefer a good job to a crud job, even if it paid a few shekels less at the end of the week- money ain`t everything!
and if you have to put up with total twits (sp) like I had in Boughey Distribution in Nantwich I would want £350 per day to do uk work I wont get it so I will stick at what I know best…
There will be another story about that later!
The total package on European is normally more per day than that with bonus, supplements and nights out.
There are posts on this forum which say drivers are paying to park the bosses truck from night out money
there on £100 per day all in (on euro work) now. i have friends working from burton who love the job, its not the best money in the world but theres no stress. each to there own really
Paul:
I dont know much about the UK work but I was at the Truckfest Haydock a couple of weeks ago and they had a recruitment tent so I went in to enquire about european work.
Although the guys there only did uk work they told me that the euro drivers were on £62.50 a day plus £27.50 night out. Not a great deal if you ask me needless to say I didnt phone the number that I was given.
I really got to get me a new job, i would love a well paid job like this, as a tour coach driver i am on 45.00 a day plus 10.00 nite out mind you i am only doing local work like russia, the ukraine,poland,and norway,it really is time i made the switch to hgv
steve_s:
I really got to get me a new job, i would love a well paid job like this, as a tour coach driver i am on 45.00 a day plus 10.00 nite out mind you i am only doing local work like russia, the ukraine,poland,and norway,it really is time i made the switch to hgv
I got told off by a local for calling it “the Ukraine” It`s just called “Ukraine”.
“After all”, she said "You dont say the Russia` "
Do you work for Wallace Arnold? We used to see a fair few of “Wallies trollies” in Russia,and Ukraine, they used to stop at Smolensk Motel and also at the Hotel Rus in Kiev.
steve_s:
I really got to get me a new job, i would love a well paid job like this, as a tour coach driver i am on 45.00 a day plus 10.00 nite out mind you i am only doing local work like russia, the ukraine,poland,and norway,it really is time i made the switch to hgv
and when I was doing Trafalgar Tours, I was only on £40 a day… no nights out but I still expected to clear a ton a day after Optionals and Commissions so don’t give us the poor hard done by Tour Driver :o))))))))))))
steve_s:
I really got to get me a new job, i would love a well paid job like this, as a tour coach driver i am on 45.00 a day plus 10.00 nite out mind you i am only doing local work like russia, the ukraine,poland,and norway,it really is time i made the switch to hgv
and when I was doing Trafalgar Tours, I was only on £40 a day… no nights out but I still expected to clear a ton a day after Optionals and Commissions so don’t give us the poor hard done by Tour Driver ))))))))))))
you gotta tell me how to make a ton a day with a coach full of 13 year old kids
have you worked for any travel companies lately, travelsphere all commissions go to the tour manager not allowed to stop at any beer warehouse or baccy shops,same with riviera tours, same with diamond holidays,need i go on, do a 28 day tour and at the end get a whippy for a 100 quid, mite have been better 10 years ago but ■■■■■ now thats why so many drivers leaving the industry
sorry mate it went straight over my head 
I wont get it so I will stick at what I know best…
mind you i am only doing local work like russia, the ukraine,poland,and norway,it really is time i made the switch to hgv
))))))))))))