Although I’m not a Stobarts fan, if I was in the OP’s situation I wouldn’t burn my bridges by not working my notice. Leaving amicably will always set you up in the unlikely event of needing a stop gap at some point down the line
Confirms what I was saying in a similar thread I started not long ago the rugby depot is almost all agency drivers… I’m still getting experience with them but I get where you coming from…
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Best of luck Colin, hope it all pans out well! 
I’d like to join in on the ES slating, but as with most things, I know almost bugger all about them. 
Just that Beaver didn’t make the grade… 
mike68:
Rottweiler22:
I’ve said this many a time, when I worked for Stobarts, an employee couldn’t get a Monday to Friday shift, but an agency man could. New employees had to either work weekends or nights, yet The Logistics People could get whatever shift they wanted! They have a handful of the best shifts and start times that they have to save for the agency men, to keep them happy. There were also rumours that the planners were informally told to give the agency men the newest trucks and cushiest runs, but that could never have been proven. A few times I’d be in the queue to get my work, after which I’d get a smashed-up old manual truck and four drops in Manchester city centre, when the shifty-looking foreign agency man behind me would get a brand-new 16-plate and a long, cushy run that he’d managed to drag-out for 13 hours, on a couple of quid an hour more than us Stobart lot were. Whenever a driver complained, the planners would just claim that the agency men might not know the job, so they give them the best runs to keep them out of trouble, leaving the difficult runs for the employees.It wouldn’t surprise me if they wanted 80% agency men, to get around the sick pay, holiday pay, and make it easy to cut down their workforce when times are quiet. Green shirts seem quite rare nowadays, I see a lot of their trucks manned by foreign-looking folk wearing t-shirts, and it looks like that’s they way Stobarts want it. At least you won’t have to do your extra shift per month!
They’re not the only ones who behave like this towards their full timers, I would eventually like to work days but I know its unlikely as the agency like these times, all the new starters at my place have the worst start band and earn less than agency the only reason big companies employ full timers in many cases is to commit people to the work the agency men won’t do.
The Stobart model works on economy of scale their profit margin is small and they cannot pay the wages drivers can now command the EE drivers are keeping them going a couple of years down the line and when finally we get some sort of control of our borders, they could be in big trouble.
Not to mention that they would be in trouble if their £15 per day “meal allowance” we’re to be called into question by HMRC. I’m no expert, but wouldn’t Stobarts’ wages bill be higher if they got rid of the allowance? Drivers wouldn’t take a £3,000 per year cut, Stobarts would have to pay them more to account for the tax. Then their tiny profit margins would be even smaller.
I think there are companies that would be in much more trouble than Stobarts, if it became harder to employ Eastern Europeans. Wincanton, Turners and Freshlinc would struggle, especially as they have high numbers of actual foreign employees, not just agency men like Stobarts. I must say, when I was at Stobarts, I never saw many foreigners dressed in the green uniform, and I remember the driver trainer saying that he fails pretty much every foreigner because he reckons their driving isn’t good enough.
strange thing is I was thinking of looking into stobarts,they are looking for drivers for the construction side,delivering brick and block or concrete beams,they give you all the training on the equipment and the pay is £10.44 per hour to £11.44 per hour,days, nights, and nights out,i actually said to another driver today that I would be looking for max 12 hrs but I bet stobbies would try and get 15 out of you,after reading this post I am now thinking if its worth it
truckman020:
strange thing is I was thinking of looking into stobarts,they are looking for drivers for the construction side,delivering brick and block or concrete beams,they give you all the training on the equipment and the pay is £10.44 per hour to £11.44 per hour,days, nights, and nights out,i actually said to another driver today that I would be looking for max 12 hrs but I bet stobbies would try and get 15 out of you,after reading this post I am now thinking if its worth it
Just depends who you are , I knew plenty who did nearer 40 hrs a week than 50 , not every driver does 70/80 hrs a week , youll get plenty roaring there eyes out they can’t get the hours .
My mate rang me up the other night , and he’d had 3xshifts of nwk - esl Dagenham ( drop and swop) - nwk ,you’d be pushing it too do much over 8 hrs on that run .
I don’t know any on bricks / block , but I’d be asking one of them the score , rather than listening too general , tesco , concrete drivers , there issues , hours etc , job, planners etc would be totally different .
I’m at Stobart Stoke (J15) personal experience is in my nigh 10years with them since they bought out James Irlam is the flip flops are generally despised by the planners, a lot are useless and cause them no end of grief, at Stoke they have addressed this by adding Eastern European planners which cuts out the "all of a sudden I speak no English " which was rife previously!
Still more green shirts than agency at this depot, quite a few are themselves Eastern European but good ones!
I find the kit decent, the balance between agency and employed drivers getting the “cream” is the same although cream is variable, some may think local work cream others may want to do Stoke, Rugeley, Weybridge,Thurrock and back to Stoke in their 15 and think it cream, others not…
A lot of the comments re Stobart make me smile, in my experience, so long as your not a prick and don’t blatantly drag the job out endlessly they leave you to it and you crack on.
Defects always take priority over a delivery deadline as does taking breaks and running legal, always has since 2008 when they took over from James Irlam.
A lot look back at the Irlam days with rose tinted specs, I’m far happier as it is now.
From the lads I know on the new aggregates contract, it’s steady work with the planners letting you get on with it:
Each to his own but it’s hardly the concentration camp it’s portrayed as, not by a long long way.
The job itself is no different from any other large hauliers in my experience, same ■■■■, different name on the trailer.
Colin_scottish:
eagerbeaver:
Da, da, dum, dum, dum, another one bites the dust!(Thought it was the best job ever Col…)
It was untill they gave the work away to another company and now i get all the crap of the day.Job im goin to applied friday had interview and got the job all within 3 hours of sending the application form in.
Now that would worry me, such a good company and need someone so fast. Most companies who keep drivers untill they retire usally have a list of drivers waiting to work for them.
peirre:
Although I’m not a Stobarts fan, if I was in the OP’s situation I wouldn’t burn my bridges by not working my notice. Leaving amicably will always set you up in the unlikely event of needing a stop gap at some point down the line
I wont burn the bridges i will work my notice if you start ■■■■■■■ about that kind of stuff can catch up with you.
mac12:
Colin_scottish:
eagerbeaver:
Da, da, dum, dum, dum, another one bites the dust!(Thought it was the best job ever Col…)
It was untill they gave the work away to another company and now i get all the crap of the day.Job im goin to applied friday had interview and got the job all within 3 hours of sending the application form in.
Now that would worry me, such a good company and need someone so fast. Most companies who keep drivers untill they retire usally have a list of drivers waiting to work for them.
It all depends on who you know when the small companies are looking
dozy:
truckman020:
strange thing is I was thinking of looking into stobarts,they are looking for drivers for the construction side,delivering brick and block or concrete beams,they give you all the training on the equipment and the pay is £10.44 per hour to £11.44 per hour,days, nights, and nights out,i actually said to another driver today that I would be looking for max 12 hrs but I bet stobbies would try and get 15 out of you,after reading this post I am now thinking if its worth itJust depends who you are , I knew plenty who did nearer 40 hrs a week than 50 , not every driver does 70/80 hrs a week , youll get plenty roaring there eyes out they can’t get the hours .
My mate rang me up the other night , and he’d had 3xshifts of nwk - esl Dagenham ( drop and swop) - nwk ,you’d be pushing it too do much over 8 hrs on that run .
I don’t know any on bricks / block , but I’d be asking one of them the score , rather than listening too general , tesco , concrete drivers , there issues , hours etc , job, planners etc would be totally different .
yeah,guess your right dozy,but stobarts are allways there in case I leave my job,something to fall back on as opposed to going back to agency,with my experience of agencies anythings better than that
pretty sure there was an electric urban truck on trial sometime ago,not sure what make though