Quinny:
And don’t forget that the agency will be charging the client a mark up of at least 30% on top of your £10.
Ken.
Course they will, they are a business. If I ran an agency, I would charge as much as possible and pay as little as I could get away with - bottom line you don’t go into business to make friends, you go into it to make money.
Its the old supply and demand argument. Currently there is an over supply of drivers in most areas, hence why rate haven’t risen as they should compared to inflation, minimum wage rises, living wage etc.
Winseer:
The going rate is what gets you out of bed. If not you, then someone else.
Post Brexit, wages are likely to rise at agencies first simply because there won’t be any agencies “awash with drivers” any longer.
When there’s more shifts than drivers to fill them - the rates will have to spiral, or firms will have to start offering better and more lucrative full time positions that will tempt drivers back that have otherwise hung up their keys in despair.
Don’t hold your breath on that regarding Brexit.
For me, what will cause pay rates to rise in the future won’t be anything to do with Brexit but the crap working conditions, nights out/being away all week expected as part of the job, poor pay compared to amount of hours worked etc
As more “old timers/old school” retire there will be less and less people wanting to come into the industry and do the job for the reasons mentioned above.
All the time drivers shy away from agencies, and would rather have a full time job for sub £10ph “for the security and peace of mind” - then sure. There won’t be anywhere near as much upward pressure on wages as there could be post-brexit otherwise… Or Pre brexit come to that!
“Peace of mind” isn’t worth a crappy hourly rate - which you can rest assured be run ragged on for as many hours as they can squeeze out of you.
If you multiply a loss by more hours per week - that’s more top line profit for the haulier, after all…
The only way one should consider a minimum waged driving job - is if it is a flat 3x12 hours per week. You’d never want to do overtime, and would refuse to work anything but your basic hours.
The income would then be topped up nicely by tax credits.
WTF does everyone think immigrant drivers are doing up and down the country?
The last thing anyone should do - is grab any overtime at all - unless the hourly rate is premium to start with!
Winseer:
The going rate is what gets you out of bed. If not you, then someone else.
Post Brexit, wages are likely to rise at agencies first simply because there won’t be any agencies “awash with drivers” any longer.
When there’s more shifts than drivers to fill them - the rates will have to spiral, or firms will have to start offering better and more lucrative full time positions that will tempt drivers back that have otherwise hung up their keys in despair.
Don’t hold your breath on that regarding Brexit.
For me, what will cause pay rates to rise in the future won’t be anything to do with Brexit but the crap working conditions, nights out/being away all week expected as part of the job, poor pay compared to amount of hours worked etc
As more “old timers/old school” retire there will be less and less people wanting to come into the industry and do the job for the reasons mentioned above.
I think there’s going to be a combination of factors and birth of the reasons above will play a part.
There’s a perfect storm brewing which will hopefully culminate in hourly rates and/or conditions having to improve.
Rates and conditions wont improve while “men” are prepared to queue for a nice shiny truck that they can have their daughter"s name on. I cant see there being a shortage of drivers.
I’m on £12.50 for class 2, although it should be £12 (raised it to get me to turn down another offer). They have been trying to sneak it back down to £12 though lol.
What do you do when the agency lies to it’s drivers though? (That is supposed to be a common event at agencies, according to the common undestanding…)
Agency Dude: “Go to this assignment 50 miles away, and I’ll pay you £18ph. Our minimum terms are five hours paid, if they cancel you upon arrival.”
Driver: "Send us an email confirm please…
Agency Dude: “Sure. There you go.” “Minimum earnings at Bloggs Transport are five hours paid, £90 for the shift, equating £18ph if you are cancelled”
Transport Dude: “I hope you’ve got a 15 hour left on this week’s hours driver - you’re off upto Burton on Trent tonight.”
Driver: “Eh? Yeh. I guess…”
Finishes shift, popping card out whilst re-fuelling on derv island, cos it’s at 14hr 58m…
Puts in time sheet. Waits a week…
“Work at Bloggs & Co £90 paid for the shift”.
WTF?
Calls Agency.
Woman at Agency: “You must have mis-understood the contract we sent you via email.”
Driver: “Can I speak to the guy who gave me the assignment please?”
Woman at agencyL “He’s no longer with the business.”
Net hourly rate paid £6ph - that’s below minimum wage of £6.13ph, which is illegal!
No, you only got paid for 14 hours - don’t forget the knock-off. The actual hourly rate you got was £6.42, so you’ve been paid perfectly legally."
I also know of 2 drivers local to me … one on £17 per hour for night trunking PAYE and one who was offered £18 per hour PAYE to cover a shift at short notice ( statutory breaks are unpaid ). They werent bulling as Ive seen the texts from the agencies on their phones.
Agency lads in at Turners are on £16 plus vat per hour nights and Freshlinc are on £17 plus vat per hour.
I do understand supply and demand varies around the country but here along the A14 corridor there is a definite shortage. I also understand this could be a very temporary blip as alot of Eastern Europeans are taking long holidays back home with their families.
Perhaps the pattern next january will be different in that “if enough people don’t come back, there won’t be the common glut of agency drivers in january” come 2019…
I wonder what effect the due date for Brexit is going to have on one’s committment to say, go home abroad for Christmas, and then come back - for what? - possibly as little as 10 weeks?
