I wish Lesley had mentioned how many years they’d been operating 
I wonder if they pay parking…
Just to add - if you wanted to secure a mortgage, loan etc, it would be the basic hourly pay that most lenders would take into account. Some may include bonus’s and overtime, but only if it’s guaranteed.
lesleyanne:
That is for you to decide is it not.davepenn54:
So is £6.20 per hr; for Class 1 work a poor rate or a good rateRegards
Dave Penn;
@lesleyanne, why is it for me to decide 
I think I have made my views on the rate quite plain in my 3 post’s 
I haven’t made derogatory remarks about your company or any of your drivers. What I have done though is point out that the rate is now regarded as below the going rate for 7.5 ton work and as for holiday pay I would assume you pay the 40 hrs at basic also the problems getting a mortgage as has been pointed out by JD & grumpybum.
Your comments about some of us being ignorant and not understanding your smoke and mirrors routine is highly amusing 
So I will put question again to you personally :- Is £6.20 per hr; for Class 1 work a poor rate or a good rate
Regards
Dave Penn;
Well obviously our Drivers are happy with the money as previously stated or they would not be working here. I think that says it all don’t you. Working for a successful company and guaranteed payment every week.
davepenn54:
lesleyanne:
That is for you to decide is it not.davepenn54:
So is £6.20 per hr; for Class 1 work a poor rate or a good rateRegards
Dave Penn;@lesleyanne, why is it for me to decide
I haven’t made derogatory remarks about your company or any of your drivers. What I have done though is point out that the rate is now regarded as below the going rate for 7.5 ton work and as for holiday pay I would assume you pay the 40 hrs at basic also the problems getting a mortgage as has been pointed out by JD & grumpybum.
Your comments about some of us being ignorant and not understanding your smoke and mirrors routine is highly amusing
So I will put question again to you personally :- Is £6.20 per hr; for Class 1 work a poor rate or a good rate
Regards
Dave Penn;
I put the number of years we had been operating in my first post. We have guaranteed payments every week. We pay parking and lots of other benefits. We don’t pay 40 hours Holiday pay either so maybe some apologies will be forthcoming
grumpybum:
I wish Lesley had mentioned how many years they’d been operatingJust to add - if you wanted to secure a mortgage, loan etc, it would be the basic hourly pay that most lenders would take into account. Some may include bonus’s and overtime, but only if it’s guaranteed.
So once again @lesleyanne in your opinion 'is £6.20 per hr; for Class 1 work a poor rate or a good rate ’
Regards
Dave Penn;
Truckulent:
lesleyanne:
Thanks for your comments. I did go on the defensive but now understand that there are a few genuine people on this site.
Our Drivers are happy working for us or they would leave. We have on average 6 calls a week from Class 1 Drivers asking for positions within the Company do you think they would call if we were that bad an Employer. I work 60 hours a week in the Office then work in Licensed premises in the evenings, not because the wages are bad but because I want to. There are too many people out there that want things handed to them on a plate, if people are willing to work then they will be rewarded. How many employers have paid for their Drivers Digi Cards or CPC Training not many I know. If Drivers are self employed they would have to pay for their Medicals. Maybe its my generation but I always use “Only” in all conversations whether it be “only” £5000 for a car for example. The trucks are mostly cherished number plates so definately not dating back to 1901. I think the age of the truck is irrelevant they are all paid for and maintained to the correct requirements. The cost of living against the wages earned are enough to see my drivers through they are not forced to stay here but do so because they enjoy the work and have self respect rather than Whinging and signing on the dole or working for Agencies that promise the earth then give you two days a week of work.Two questions.
Can I ask you how many hours per week you work?
And, would you work the hours a driver does for the wages you are offering?
I’m based in the north and frankly, I find your hourly rate offensive. You obviously have found drivers with no balls and certainly no sense. Why would you work as a driver for such poor money - especially in the SE?! Your rates are a ■■■■ take and show how little respect you have for your drivers.
I’ll bet you daren’t tell us all what hourly rate the companies pay to you…
No company in there right mind would put on a forum what rates they get
Sad to hear that a driver has passed.
Still don’t know why they have advertise for a replacement when accordind to Lesley they get a new face at the window every 10 working hours, based on a sixty hour week.
Expect Lesley will feel that today has been 110 years long with all this welly!
The fact they knock of break money speaks volumes.
My life you do have serious issues. Any pay above minimum is fair if you have morals and standards.
If you are a Whinger that likes to brag about how much you earn then go ahead be a number I am getting quite fed up with this now its BORING.
My Drivers think its fair I think its fair and to be honest with you I cannot understand why it bothers you so much. I am now off my soap box.
Keep Smiling.
davepenn54:
So once again @lesleyanne in your opinionRegards
Dave Penn;
Too right I am at the end of my fingers with all this typing. I actually am not a Trucker but know that my Drivers are happy in their work and cannot understand what all the fuss is about. Things have been taken out of context. I said we get calls every day of the week for vacancies even e mails. We have NO VACANCIES. We have a full quota of Drivers with a waiting list. We would not have to have advertised if the Driver had not passed away. He was a credit to our Company and was happy with his pay. RIP Colin x
Socketset:
Sad to hear that a driver has passed.Still don’t know why they have advertise for a replacement when accordind to Lesley they get a new face at the window every 10 working hours, based on a sixty hour week.
Expect Lesley will feel that today has been 110 years long with all this welly!
I for one, don’t understand why you advertised at all if you have a waiting list
And as for not paying breaks, that’s just tight, even Turners (TURNERS!) pay breaks
wow really cannot understand why you feel the need to have the last word. Advertised the job through death. Since then had Unemployed/Employed Drivers ringing for jobs, some that have been treated badly by their Employers.
I am not interested in what others pay this is our Pay Structure. Glad you are gainfully employed with mega buck wages.
claretmatt:
I for one, don’t understand why you advertised at all if you have a waiting listAnd as for not paying breaks, that’s just tight, even Turners (TURNERS!) pay breaks
claretmatt:
I for one, don’t understand why you advertised at all if you have a waiting listAnd as for not paying breaks, that’s just tight, even Turners (TURNERS!) pay breaks
The vast majority of jobs I’ve had in and out of haulage haven’t paid breaks, to pick fault with something that isn’t the norm, looks like picking fault for the sake of it
@lesleyanne Well an almost straight answer at last ‘a fair rate’ not poor but not good. The title for this thread was ‘Low Pay for C + E’ and the basic rate is not just low but poor in the scheme of things and that is my opinion and I am free to express that just as you have been able to use smoke and mirrors and bonuses and overtime and the length of time your company has been in operation and how nearly all drivers have long service records, in fact you have made it sound like it’s a ‘dead man’s shoe’s’ type of job 
You can fool some of the people all of the time and you can fool all of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
Regards
Dave Penn;
I and others at RTM are watching this thread with a lot of interest- all credit to Lesly Anne who has had the bottle to come and defend their company stance.
However … I looked up on the job centre for Dover jobs- ( go see for yourself) and found that a driver trusted with a Truck+trailer+load= possibly in excess of £200K is paid less than a kitchen porter per hour, who is in charge of cleaning plates and not breaking many.
The hourly rate does not reflect in any way the responsibilty that drivers have - for the public, for safety & for productivity or how they are also responsible for keeping the operators “O” licence clean.
I live in the North East of England, if you think Dover is a struggle you havent seen nothing until you come up here. and that hourly wage would be an insult even here.- I pay my baby sitter more than that per hour !!!
If any decent driver has any experience and self respect - then they would not even pick the phone up for those hourly rates .
I admire Combe Valleys courage for coming here and stating their case, I doubt wether any true drivers will be taking up the job offer- in my mind its beyond a joke and bordering on the obscene.
Its a buyers market at the moment- and at this time the buyers can set the rate. I will tell you know that rate doesnt buy 30+ years experience- it gets you someone you have to nursemaid. It is offensive to those guys who are good at the job and take pride in what they do, and expect their employer to respect that in their renumeration- the rates quoted do not go anywhere near that- that shows a huge disrespect to the talent and abilities of your drivers-
I must admit, when I saw Rikki had commented, my 1st thought was: ‘here’s another bollocking - wonder what he’s pulling us on this time’
Nice to see that, not only is it not a bollocking, but it’s actually an agreement.
You were right on 1 thing Rikki, it’s a buyers market, more drivers than jobs, so someone WILL fill that position. How long they stay and what reason I’ve no idea.
Can think of much better / less responsibility jobs to do if you just wanted to earn a low wage and get it made up by credits, and you’d be home every night with those too, however, if you don’t want to claim any benefits and be a SCROUNGER (claim of the Namby Pamby state) as it was put by LesleyAnne, then you want to earn MUCH more than £6.20 per hour.
I know, there’s benefits and the take home is average etc, but as others have said, benefits can be dropped, holidays are paid at hourly rate, loans / hp / mortgages worked out at hourly rate etc.
All I want from a job is £ / hr + nights out money + parking / expenses. Any other bonuses are just that, a bonus, and I’d want them on TOP of my wages. I have to work out if I can afford to live on the most basic wage I can earn before anything else added, if not, there’s no point in doing the job.
Even on the boxes, the lowest I’ve ever earned was £6.81 / hr (I think - it was a while back), but a) this was guarenteed for 55hrs - after 11hrs per day you were on overtime, so you could do 12hrs mon and 10 hrs tue, but you’ve still earned overtime and your holiday pay was 11hrs per day too. Oh, and the 11hrs INCLUDED your lunch, you were PAID for it.
We then had a meal allowance on top of that and a fuel bonus scheme too.
This is THE LOWEST I’ve ever drove a truck for.
lesleyanne:
wow really cannot understand why you feel the need to have the last word. Advertised the job through death. Since then had Unemployed/Employed Drivers ringing for jobs, some that have been treated badly by their Employers.I am not interested in what others pay this is our Pay Structure. Glad you are gainfully employed with mega buck wages.
Can’t understand why I need to have the last word? Well, lets have a little look back at the thread shall we… WHOA, Pot, kettle.
Best of luck to you, you’re obviously drawing too much money out, wasting it, or charging too little to get work to have such low pay and old trucks.
My pay is bobbins too by the way… I’ve been driving less than a year and I’m notching up experience to move on to better things. But if all that was on offer was a mean £6.20 per hour then I’d sod off back to Coach driving. I’d rather be on the dole than take on all that responsibility for that pittance.
Rikki-UK:
I live in the North East of England, if you think Dover is a struggle you havent seen nothing until you come up here. and that hourly wage would be an insult even here.- I pay my baby sitter more than that per hour !!!
In transport terms I would say that Dover and the surrounding area has probably been harder hit than anywhere else in the country. Because of geographical location the area once abounded with firms doing continental work, and this area of transport has probably been hit harder than any other due to the arrival of our flip-flop wearing friends.
I guarantee that there will be many drivers employed by small hauliers who sub-contract to Sealane, Heritage etc who will be on £80 a day and be expected to max out their hours for that.
When I drive coaches I get £60 a day. A day could be 12 hours. I also have to make sure the the vehicle is fuelled and cleaned in and out (by hand) Seatbelts fastened, rubbish cleared etc. I’m grateful for my job.
daveb0789:
When I drive coaches I get £60 a day. A day could be 12 hours. I also have to make sure the the vehicle is fuelled and cleaned in and out (by hand) Seatbelts fastened, rubbish cleared etc. I’m grateful for my job.
I’m just a bit puzzled because it says in your signature that you drive an Electrostar. Surely you must be on £40,000+ a year for that? Why not just volunteer for some overtime rather than driving a coach on your days off?
