Yeah I know, been said on here a thousand times.
I know the transport industry is up and down and I accept that agencies are parasites and hire and fire staff and generally keep you hanging on a wim.
I had three shifts booked for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I’d had a major teddy throwing session after being promised 3 shifts a week in November and December and being lucky to get one.
After a big set to, agency finally promised to stick to the plans that were made. Today was the final straw. Booked a shift for today 3 weeks ago, text me on Friday evening to check I’m still available and cancelled at at midday. So here i am sat at home with no work. Again.
Anyone know of any one looking for part time/temporary drivers in West Yorkshire?
Yeah I know, I told you so comments always welcome.
Change agencies
Our agency can’t get enough drivers to cover the work and they’ve lost a bit of work too.
To have “full time 5 days a week work” you need to be signed on to at least 3 agencies at a time ideally.
I’ve been on the agency for 18 months. Its very rare that I haven’t had work but have done a lot of weekends too. Things have changed a bit though as I’ve been in the same company for the last 4 months (5 days mon to fri) and I pick up any Saturday when I want it. I’m also booked right through January too which is good.
The other side of it though is my friend, he is on the same agency but only gets 3 or 4 days a week. The difference is that he wants to pick and choose Saturday work. When needed I have done every Saturday. He also says no to some jobs wheras I tend to do anything. If you say no a bit too often then they tend to stop ringing you. However, the OP sounds a different situation to me. I wouldn’t be staying with that agency either.
Time to move on certainly. I’ve never said no anything that’s been offered so it can’t be that I’ve been bumped to the botom of the pile.
Talking to other drivers at same agency I get the impression that more drivers than neccssary get booked and someone gets cancelled. It’s nothing personal.
^^^ that’s spot on how alot work
I personally can’t stand agencies when I was on them I found it quite a headache to get work. I had 18 months of crap although alot did start when I refused some work that I thought was crap
The day I got my full-time job with a really big and nice firm with a nice boss, was the day I landed on my feet. I now never look back at that crap of agencies
Ring round companies after Christmas or better still take CV in and go speak to them.
mick.mh2racing:
Yeah I know, been said on here a thousand times.
I know the transport industry is up and down and I accept that agencies are parasites and hire and fire staff and generally keep you hanging on a wim.
I had three shifts booked for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I’d had a major teddy throwing session after being promised 3 shifts a week in November and December and being lucky to get one.
After a big set to, agency finally promised to stick to the plans that were made. Today was the final straw. Booked a shift for today 3 weeks ago, text me on Friday evening to check I’m still available and cancelled at at midday. So here i am sat at home with no work. Again.
.
Sorry to hear that you are being ■■■■■■ about mate, but it seems to be the norm now. A mate of mine who has forgot more about driving than these aerosols will ever know, is in the same situation. ■■■■■■■ agencies are the scourge of the haulage industry, I hate the ■■■■■■■■ 
they just mess around with people’s lives only because they know that there are more drivers around than jobs. The original format of agency employment was on a hiring yourself out basis, and choosing more or less what you done, where as now they rule the roost… the ■■■■■■■■■ I hope that IF the day comes when this industry is cleaned up to the point where it is a half decent job again 
, that agencies are the first casualties, and they all go bloody bust…dream on
robroy:
mick.mh2racing:
Yeah I know, been said on here a thousand times.
I know the transport industry is up and down and I accept that agencies are parasites and hire and fire staff and generally keep you hanging on a wim.
I had three shifts booked for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I’d had a major teddy throwing session after being promised 3 shifts a week in November and December and being lucky to get one.
After a big set to, agency finally promised to stick to the plans that were made. Today was the final straw. Booked a shift for today 3 weeks ago, text me on Friday evening to check I’m still available and cancelled at at midday. So here i am sat at home with no work. Again.
.Sorry to hear that you are being ■■■■■■ about mate, but it seems to be the norm now. A mate of mine who has forgot more about driving than these aerosols will ever know, is in the same situation. [zb] agencies are the scourge of the haulage industry, I hate the [zb]
+1 They are well past their “best by date”
You are a temp…deal with it
commonrail:
You are a temp…deal with it
+1
After 10yrs+ doing it I’m still learning
But 1 thing I do know, is that 1,2,3 day bookings mean nothing.
You can be booked at 9am to work today, tomorrow etc and at 9:01 you can be cancelled Thats just the way it is, If you get through the door on the day, that’s the only way to garantee pay. If the OP wants regular work, get a regular job stacking shelves etc
I know a lot of agencies are shysters but did you ever think that the customers are messing the agency around as well? Too many agencies fighting for work so companies treat them with the same level of contempt that they show drivers.
ive been sat in the office of where I’m working and heard the permant staff ask what over time there is " I fancy this nice easy duty number 4 tomorrow " and bang there go’s my shift …
Later on you get the call, just the way it is I carnt blame the agency or the other driver …
peirre:
commonrail:
You are a temp…deal with it+1
After 10yrs+ doing it I’m still learning
But 1 thing I do know, is that 1,2,3 day bookings mean nothing.
You can be booked at 9am to work today, tomorrow etc and at 9:01 you can be cancelled Thats just the way it is, If you get through the door on the day, that’s the only way to garantee pay. If the OP wants regular work, get a regular job stacking shelves etc
Hmmm…
I wonder what the outcome would be if the OP had agreed to do a shift and let the agency down at very short notice and in his/her defence had said to the agency ‘I am temporary, I can’t do this shift so get over it.’
Actually, I can tell you because I have done it a few times when I’ve been offered work and have already been working elsewhere. They hate it. They want to be in control. They expect the driver to roll over and take their shafting. They can’t cope with the driver calling the shots.
I don’t let them dictate. And yes, they don’t ring for a while. They’ll come running back though when they need someone urgently, when all the cheap drivers (happy with £6.30/hr) have let them down. 'Cos without drivers they’re ■■■■■■.
If they cancel you at the last minute, send them a bill for 8 hours work. It’s worked for me a few times and they pay it in the end. Granted it can be hard to recover and you don’t always get more work, but I have no desire to work for an agency that treats me like ■■■■■ anyway so happy days.
Also, do not answer your phone to them in the few hours before you are due to start. If you arrive at the job they have to pay you. At least, they’d have to pay me as I would hound them and threaten them with court action if they didn’t. A lot of drivers do just roll over and take it. But there are ways you can fight back if you’ve got the balls and determination to. 
Truckulent:
peirre:
commonrail:
You are a temp…deal with it+1
After 10yrs+ doing it I’m still learning
But 1 thing I do know, is that 1,2,3 day bookings mean nothing.
You can be booked at 9am to work today, tomorrow etc and at 9:01 you can be cancelled Thats just the way it is, If you get through the door on the day, that’s the only way to garantee pay. If the OP wants regular work, get a regular job stacking shelves etcHmmm…
I wonder what the outcome would be if the OP had agreed to do a shift and let the agency down at very short notice and in his/her defence had said to the agency ‘I am temporary, I can’t do this shift so get over it.’
Actually, I can tell you because I have done it a few times when I’ve been offered work and have already been working elsewhere. They hate it. They want to be in control. They expect the driver to roll over and take their shafting. They can’t cope with the driver calling the shots.
I don’t let them dictate. And yes, they don’t ring for a while. They’ll come running back though when they need someone urgently, when all the cheap drivers (happy with £6.30/hr) have let them down. 'Cos without drivers they’re [zb].
If they cancel you at the last minute, send them a bill for 8 hours work. It’s worked for me a few times and they pay it in the end. Granted it can be hard to recover and you don’t always get more work, but I have no desire to work for an agency that treats me like [zb] anyway so happy days.
Also, do not answer your phone to them in the few hours before you are due to start. If you arrive at the job they have to pay you. At least, they’d have to pay me as I would hound them and threaten them with court action if they didn’t. A lot of drivers do just roll over and take it. But there are ways you can fight back if you’ve got the balls and determination to.
Drivers with balls? Hmmm.
If you take It up the wrong un once, chances are they know you’ll take it up the wrong un again & again…
Classic the point is they do have you by the balls …
I listen to agency drivers at work , " I’m not doing nights " “I’m not working weekends” " not doing this " " not doing that " …
These are the same drivers that also complain " boo hoo I only have 2 days work this week " “and only had 3 last week”…
If I was the agency I’d phone the easy people first ten full the left over spots with the difficult people …
Not all agencys are the scourge of the earth as some are making out, i’me signed up for two at the moment, one has let me down a few times but the other has been excellent
I don’t have much sympathy for agencies in general, but I have been present at all ends of the phone calls when the supermarket purchasing department has suddenly cancelled or changed its order with the supplier at only a couple of hours notice. The chain effect then starts, this feeds through to the haulier who needed to collect the unwanted goods; so no driver needed for that job. The haulier then doesn’t need one, or possibly more drivers, to deliver the unwanted goods to however many RDCs for which the original collection was intended. Finally, each of those RDCs that the original collection was going to, now doesn’t necessarily need a driver to deliver… to however many shops that the goods they don’t have were intended.
I’ve seen the choas at the supplier who was half way through preparing the order. The notification to the haulier who now has to work out how to re-plan and shuffle all the deliveries, re-arrange if possible booking times and then decide how many drivers are needed. I’ve witnessed the RDC’s offhand manner notifying the agency that: they either don’t want a driver any more or that they do now expect an extra one to be on the premises in an hour’s time. And I’ve also sympathised with the agency controller who has been woken up in the middle of the night to try to sort out the resulting mess and juggle everyone if possible. Also to be taken into consideration is those drivers who “won’t work for X”, who refuse to start before 6am, or won’t finish after 7pm etc.
Many, many times I’ve received a phone call asking me if I can start at a different time or customer, because either the above scenario has occurred, or because someone else has had an unexpected night out or cannot legally start at their allotted time. This has often not been solely for the agency’s benefit, but to make sure that the guy who couldn’t start at 6am gets a job to do at 7am.
All this happens every day of the year - not just in the pre Xmas season.