Hi all i’m getting back into driving having spent far too much time working with computers. I completed my CPC at the end of December and have “grandfather rights” to drive up to 7.5 tonnes with a trailer, C1+Ehowever i’ved noticed if you have “grandfather rights” you can only drive up to a maximum of 8.8 tonne(ish)s as opposed to the 12.5(ish) that it was before, anyway…
So good news and bad, lets start with the bad because it always makes the good seem so much better 
First job I go for offers me £6.70 an hour which is 20p an hour more than minimum wage, hmmmm, so much for being a “professional driver”, hey ho,then it’s for a bedding company and involves handballing, hmmmmmm, and they’re 4am starts sometimes, hmmmmmmmmm, worse thing ? I took the job ! I’ve got a days assesment with them in Lancashire tomorrow and if I like it I can consider my self fully employed. Finally it’s a mix of local work and long distance tramping.
The Good News. It’s a job ! woop! woop!. They pay £30 for every over night I do which will be between 4 and 5 a week I guess. The transport manager seems keen on the drivers not going over there hours and other Drivers/Working time regs. so don’t think they’ll be wanting me to speed around the country like a courier driver.
Great forum by the way.
All the best with it. Any questions, fire away. O, and welcome to the forum.
Pete 
You want to get a digital driver card if you have not got one. There needed on the new tacho and a lot of places want them. So having one ready for future jobs ideal.
Hi thanks for the replies, yes I have my DQC. Anyway the whole thing has been a disaster;
First day at work and I end up doing a 13 hour shift in a 3.5 box van, mind you 2 hours of that was stuck at a breakdown on the M62 and I was getting paid to be mindnumbingly bored. The SRS warning light is lit and possibly Traction Control/Anti Slip i’m not sure. Then they tell me if I have a bump it’s taken out of my wages unless I can prove it was a 3rd partys fault, what ? Anyway unhappily I agree to do the run a 260 mile round trip around Lancashire starting off from Lancaster ending up in Wigan total delivery of 10 large beds all handballing also I was in the 3.5 tonne box van not the 7.5 but thats OK for 1 day because apparently when you take the 7.5 tonne out it gets unloaded with forklifts which… I was going to be doing on Thursday.
Thursday) I arrive at the yard at 5.30am to pick up my vehicle and see there’s only 1 there and it’s the tatiest thing i’ve ever seen, great 
I go into the offices collect the keys and start my daily walkround checks etc.
- Condensation in Air Brakes warning light is lit up hmmm not good.
- Air Brake pressure is in the red zone because it’s over pressured hmmm not good.
- Can I get it into reverse no and they’ve parked it in the most stupid dark dangerous slippy place i’ve ever seen, seems there’s a knack to the reverse, what you do is, turn the engine off then use both hands to push really hard as far left as you can then push clutch in and out and if your lucky it will go into gear I got it in once out of a dozen attempts before I walked away and said sorry I can’t help you guy’s.
If that is a representation of there vehicles I don’t intend on driving another one.
Not a good start. Defect it and don’t take it out. It’s hard to do when first job but it’s your licence not theirs at risk. I refused 2 vehicles so far at different companies and quite happy to do it again if necessary .
Don’t expect shiny new but don’t accept unroadworthy either!
And I assume you mean you have digital tachograph card as well as DQC - two different things they are?
jazzyjeph:
I walked away and said sorry I can’t help you guy’s.
That’s a relief. Theres so many that will just accept things as they are because somebody has given them the ‘opportunity’ to work for them.
That’s a good attitude to show and hopefully will see you landing a decent sucure job soon.