With this so called driver shortage, I came across a strange scenario the other day working at DPD found myself being paid £4 per an hour more than the permanent DPD drivers. Now this surly can’t carry on for too long before the permanent drivers demand a pay rise.
LOL. Permie drivers have been “kicking off” about agency drivers on more money than them since the dawn of time so nothing new here. When they start crying, point out to them that they too can earn the “mega-bucks” by going agency themselves, and then watch them go quiet and scuttle off into the shadows muttering stuff about needing the ‘security’ of a perm job and then ringing up their mate and telling them “it’s not right”.
I would imagine once the pay rates Start to increase for all permanent drivers that’s when u know, u actually have a driver shortage, because once their rates go up,it’s hard for companies to then decrease wages again. It’s only one way up from there.Unless all of sudden u have a massive influx of drivers from abroad once again.
Where have you been, the last few weeks? Full time drivers’ wages have been going up week by week. As soon as a firm increases theirs, the one next door ups theirs…
Make the most of it, but choose wisely. This won’t last forever.
13 years ago was working out off stobies at crick, stobart driver asked me how much I was on, I said look mate I know how much you’re on,
Don’t do it to yourself.
But he insisted, so I told him £19 a hr.
He said I’m on £7.50
Moral off story if you want decent rate take you’re chances on agency.
Way I see it is this.
I hate agencies, they are parasites that have gone a long way go ■■■■ up things for drivers.
On the other hand I ain’t a jealous sort of a bloke, so if othrer drivers are benefiting from the money they pay, then crack on.
I had a short spell with agencies about 13 years ago between jobs, but as for going full time it wasn’t for me personally.
robroy:
Way I see it is this.
I hate agencies, they are parasites that have gone a long way go [zb] up things for drivers.
On the other hand I ain’t a jealous sort of a bloke, so if othrer drivers are benefiting from the money they pay, then crack on.
I had a short spell with agencies about 13 years ago between jobs, but as for going full time it wasn’t for me personally.
How are agencies parasites?
Please explain.
They have given drivers, the opportunity to earn outrageous money at times, and the freedom to decide if they work, and where they work
Daf245:
robroy:
Way I see it is this.
I hate agencies, they are parasites that have gone a long way go [zb] up things for drivers.
On the other hand I ain’t a jealous sort of a bloke, so if othrer drivers are benefiting from the money they pay, then crack on.
I had a short spell with agencies about 13 years ago between jobs, but as for going full time it wasn’t for me personally.How are agencies parasites?
Please explain.
They have given drivers, the opportunity to earn outrageous money at times, and the freedom to decide if they work, and where they work
As I said, I have not got a problem with drivers earning good money in that context.
Parasites??..What they cream off the rate.
Ok the differential is now far greater than what it was,.when I was on agency briefly it was about 2 quid extra to the driver, so the haulier must have been paying them a fiver extra or so at a guess?
Way I saw it was if the haulier could d afford to pay that amount, why could he not just pay the driver direct that money, or somewhere near,.rather than a third party siphoning off a couple of quid.
Ie parasites, just my opinion…hope that explains it. 
Another thing I noticed at that time how they ■■■■ ed drivers about (maybe not now in the present climate)
I’m old enough to remember when agencies first appeared in this industry, the drivers used to be employed on a hiring out their services basis, and picking and choosing when they worked.
Then after a few years things changed to the agencies getting the upper hand, so if a driver had in their eyes the audacity to refuse a shift, they would starve him of work, to teach him a lesson.
Then you got the phone call at last minute, saying job cancelled *without compensation at that time, in reality they had given the job to somebody else.
I personally got on fine the short time I was at the agency, but a good mate of mine who is of a quiet nature was ■■■■ ed about by them something rotten.
As I say, obviously things are different now to then from what I hear.
robroy:
Another thing I noticed at that time how they [zb] ed drivers about (maybe not now in the present climate)
I’m old enough to remember when agencies first appeared in this industry, the drivers used to be employed on a hiring out their services basis, and picking and choosing when they worked.
Then after a few years things changed to the agencies getting the upper hand, so if a driver had in their eyes the audacity to refuse a shift, they would starve him of work, to teach him a lesson.
Then you got the phone call at last minute, saying job cancelled *without compensation at that time, in reality they had given the job to somebody else.
I personally got on fine the short time I was at the agency, but a good mate of mine who is of a quiet nature was [zb] ed about by them something rotten.
As I say, obviously things are different now to then from what I hear.
Oh I agree with you there 20 years ago knocked my nuts off for a agency,
They asked me to go full time
I said no thank you.
Starved me for 2 weeks.
So I signed up 50p a hour less £6 to £5.50
Benefits to me absolutely none.
Benefits to them none.
They lost a decent worker a week later.
romey:
With this so called driver shortage, I came across a strange scenario the other day working at DPD found myself being paid £4 per an hour more than the permanent DPD drivers. Now this surly can’t carry on for too long before the permanent drivers demand a pay rise.
Agency always used to get paid more. I started agency in 1994 and much of the time my basic was the same as the permanent drivers overtime rate and then I got time and a half after 8hrs. That came to a crashing halt in the mid 2000s when the Eastern Europeans came over.
robroy:
Parasites??..What they cream off the rate.
Ok the differential is now far greater than what it was,.when I was on agency briefly it was about 2 quid extra to the driver, so the haulier must have been paying them a fiver extra or so at a guess?
And much of that fiver was eaten up by employers NI, holiday pay and employer workplace pension contributions.
Way I saw it was if the haulier could d afford to pay that amount, why could he not just pay the driver direct that money, or somewhere near,.rather than a third party siphoning off a couple of quid.
Well first of all HMRC have said if you have no financial interest in the vehicle you can’t be a self employed driver which you’d need to be to be paid direct as an agency driver.
Difference is they only have to get agency in for when they need them so if they only need a driver for 2-3 days that week that’s all they have to pay for. If its an employee they have to pay them a full week.
Ie parasites, just my opinion…hope that explains it.
You’re on crack fella. They’re making around £1.50-£2/hr profit on a driver. Remember though they have to pay that driver the following week even though they may not get the invoice paid for 2 months.
Conor:
romey:
With this so called driver shortage, I came across a strange scenario the other day working at DPD found myself being paid £4 per an hour more than the permanent DPD drivers. Now this surly can’t carry on for too long before the permanent drivers demand a pay rise.Agency always used to get paid more. I started agency in 1994 and much of the time my basic was the same as the permanent drivers overtime rate and then I got time and a half after 8hrs. That came to a crashing halt in the mid 2000s when the Eastern Europeans came over.
Exactly as Conor says, it used to be that agency drivers were paid more. Personally I think they should be as they have no guarantee of work the next day. At the minute its a feast for them, but time will come again when it becomes a famine and work gets cancelled with no pay at short notice, or you only get 1/2 shifts a week when you need a couple more than that to pay the bills
Historically the agency driver was always paid more than the core drivers, but in reality due to the erratic nature of the job & number of shifts agency drivers did annually, the total annual wages tended to even out for both sides. These days flat rates, pay parity and continuity of work have moved the goalposts in favour of the agency driver earning more
heres the thing regarding agency vs full time drivers. when i was on agency i was paid an extra £1.65 per hour but out of that came the holiday pay extra stamp and admin charge so i am now better off than i was as an agency bod on the same contract.
However since i became fulltime ir35 has happened and the end of the pandemic so as a result the wage cap has ended and the night trunk drivers on agency are on double what the contracted guys are on so 1/3 of the drivers have left forcing the company to up the wages.
Most of our regular agency bods,are now on the books.
Conor:
romey:
With this so called driver shortage, I came across a strange scenario the other day working at DPD found myself being paid £4 per an hour more than the permanent DPD drivers. Now this surly can’t carry on for too long before the permanent drivers demand a pay rise.Agency always used to get paid more. I started agency in 1994 and much of the time my basic was the same as the permanent drivers overtime rate and then I got time and a half after 8hrs. That came to a crashing halt in the mid 2000s when the Eastern Europeans came over.
That has been the biggest problem why the pay rates have been so bad. I’m from Northamptonshire and up to the mid 2000’s the pay always where very good but with the EE workers flocking in by the boat load the wages have only gone up by a couple of pound in 15 years.
I’m not knocking them for coming over here to improve their life’s, I moved from Norfolk to Northamptonshire for the same reason but it is well over due we had a decent pay rise because truck driving is by and large a un-social and long hours industry.
But being a cynic I don’t think this will last long before the start coming back again.
Just reading and thinking about this on this thread…I reckon I’m a prime candidate for going down the agency route, or even the dayman route, having done this for so long,.and been there done it, t.shirt etc, but instead I chose to stick to tramping on a particular job I like and quite enjoy, but cutting my hours (and nights out) down to a sensible level instead, whilst doing a full week as and when I feel like it for whatever reason, due to having very few commitments now, and getting what has now become a reasonable rate for it with a couple of pay raises these last few months.
If I went chasing the money on agency, and doing the same mundane mind numbing runs to rdc.s etc every day,.I’d be an even bigger miserable bast than what I already am. 
Money is not the only thing about a job, it’s all to do with what you are content and/or happy with I reckon.
At the moment it’s like a game of poker, our lot have offered us a pay increase of £1:40 an hour to stop us leaving 1 lad has handed his notice in for a job that’s paying £3 an hour more and another lad is thinking of joining him.
The agencies are increasing the rates far quicker than full-time work but at some point it will end and then crash, so at this point you need to be in a full time job with increased rates.
Me I’m keeping the hand I’ve got for a couple of weeks to see if the cards shuffle in my favour, I feel our lot will have to increase the wages again to keep the remaining drivers and to attract new ones, if they don’t well I’ve got my eye on a nice little full time job paying £21.
I suspect the differential between what firms are prepared to pay their full time contracts vs what they end up paying through the nose for agency
Has never been wider.
How is a business model sustainable if you, as a firm - are forced to pay over £20ph at your workplace where the going rate is around half that?
Isn’t there yet a teensy weensy bit of upward pressure to make life a whole lot better for your full timers now rather than let them all resign of their own accord, and go agency?
There must surely be a tipping point where even the most Anti-Agency driver on here who says currently “I wouldn’t be seen dead signing up to an agency…”
Eventually says… "Hey, I have changed my mind. Yes I WILL Take a any five from seven DHL agency placement - for the £55ph that is now the going rate there… 
…At present, it looks like that tipping point I just described - might be with us before the actual hauliers play true “Catch-up” and hand something like a £5ph rate rise to their staff as a “Retainer”, before making it permanent if you then work at same yard for 5 years, say…