I was listening to BBC World service this week and a group that has set up a group of cleaning workers to beat the greed of agencies, the lady who set it up has had death threats from what can only be assumed were agency owners who don’t like competition.
This is just an example … Each cleaner works at whatever location they are sent to and the charge per hour is 10 pounds, 2 pounds of this goes to the manager and company and the other 8 to the cleaner, this is far cheaper for whatever company needs staff than paying extortionate agency fees where the employee would probably get 7 quid and hour and the agency get 10 on top, this is the way to at last beat the greedy agencies out of business and give higher standards of pay to the people who actually do the work. All it takes is for a group of you to get together and set this up, get some drivers who need work, put them on a register and contact companies that use agency drivers, most of those agencies charge ridiculous amounts for drivers and pay those drivers a pittance in return, so you pay the drivers 15 quid and hour and charge the company 20 quid an hour, 5 quid goes to the wages of the staff needed to run this and for the running of the set up. Companies will use your services because you charge far less than agencies and the drivers who are paid far better wages will be happier and better off, therefore will be more inclined to be responsible.
If I lived there I would try and set it up in a heartbeat, it’s time the greedy agencies were beaten out of existence.
Who pays for all the insurances that the Agency need to provide to get their workers in there?
Not that I am a fan of Agencies, but I think there is a bit more to them than your suggestion.
I am sure someone with more knowledge will add their two cents worth at some point.
It won’t happen, a good idea in principle and good luck to them it’s not just transport they have ruined they have their tentacles into every profession from the bottom to the top, scum of the earth, lower than a snakes belly.
A company i work for uses different agencies but all must get the approval of the one main agency before they can send anyone in there
I listened to that programme Pat and was quite interested in their business model.
Sad that they got threats and abuse from the Agency squad - just shows it touched a nerve.
If you charged £20 and paid drivers £15 and payed admin staff £5… that would make you an Agency!..
The thing is probably 99% of agencies charge way less than the £15 you’re paying the drivers, so you would be undercut… and there’s always the one agency who charges less than everyone else. It’s very cut throat, all cut to pennies and twos to get the work… I have no idea why people think agencies are charging double and paying half etc.
Next problem… Getting the money in and paying money out.
The average driver earns abt £500 quid per week, so paying just 10 drivers each week costs £5000 but most businesses pay 30 days on invoice. So possibly paid in 60 days… your gonna have to shell out £30,000 -£40,000 on wages before you see any return… and if the haulage company goes bust you lose the lot!.. and there are no ‘assets’ to claim back cos it’s a non asset business.
Pat Hasler:
I was listening to BBC World service this week and a group that has set up a group of cleaning workers to beat the greed of agencies, the lady who set it up has had death threats from what can only be assumed were agency owners who don’t like competition.
This is just an example … Each cleaner works at whatever location they are sent to and the charge per hour is 10 pounds, 2 pounds of this goes to the manager and company and the other 8 to the cleaner, this is far cheaper for whatever company needs staff than paying extortionate agency fees where the employee would probably get 7 quid and hour and the agency get 10 on top, this is the way to at last beat the greedy agencies out of business and give higher standards of pay to the people who actually do the work. .
Oh deary deary me.
First of all the cleaners aren’t self employed but will be classed as employees by HMRC. Secondly that means that £2/hr out of that £10/hr is swallowed up by statutory holiday pay and employers NI leaving literally a few pence for the company.
The only way that works with that kind of split between the rate and the worker is if the cleaning company is breaking the law by claiming the cleaners are self employed.
The lady who set it up seems to be just one more in a long line of seemingly blithering idiots when it comes to agencies, what they charge, what they pay and what it actually costs them to employ someone. Can’t wait until she has her workers wanting to be paid the following week and has to turn around and say sorry she can’t because the clients won’t be paying for another month.
I remember reading a thing in one of the truck rags years ago. A group of drivers had been made redundant from a big brewery and set up an agency.
They all took a wage and one of the guys who ran the office got a wage then after all the expenses were paid they all got a dividend of any profit at the end of the year.
Is it just me ,agencies seem to crop up in the low paid industries.They are rife in cleaning ,catering and driving.Why cant employers directly employ the people and skills that they require.
I you ever want to lose money, stress yourself to the point seriouly effecting your health and live you life on call 24/7 waiting for the next driver to do something daft, feel free to start your own agency 
For all the bad agencies out there, their are as many bad agency drivers.
They serve a purpose to clients whose work capcity can fluctuate dramatically and conversley can help drivers gain experience and keep the wolf from the door in harder times.
When both parties agency/driver co-operate then I dont see any problems.
alamcculloch:
Is it just me ,agencies seem to crop up in the low paid industries.They are rife in cleaning ,catering and driving.Why cant employers directly employ the people and skills that they require.
Because some employers don’t want to pay a decent rate for those skills, its not the agencies that have ruined this industry, its some or most of the drivers in it, but as usual its easier to blame everyone else but.
You have two types of driver, 1 that will work for just over minimum wage, who maybe lucky to getg overtime rate not at time and a half after 50 or 60 hours, and 1 that will work for well over minimum wage with overtime paid at time and a half after 8 hours a day.
From experience, agencies haven’t always paid more than full time drivers, and you didn’t always get the share of the good work either.
The reasons why companies use agency workers are twofold. One, they employ enough people for the core business and use agencies to cope with seasonal demands etc. And two, they outsource all of the staff life secretarial for example so that they do not need overheads like HR and the agency have to find replacements for holidays and sickness.
It is a myth that agencies can charge twice what they pay the worker. The markup is frequently 20% or less.
Years ago, I and two other drivers with the same agency, seriously considered going it alone. Our idea was that we would set up a limited company with drivers as directors (for the tax advantages) and with one employee, a driver’s wife, to take bookings and do the paperwork. We drew up a prospectus based on six months with no income and it was looking pretty good. Sadly it never came to pass.
In 1994 when Fed Ex shut down most of it’s UK op’s we were all made redundant, I was asked by friends at Tesco to come in as agency at first before I went full time, I started with Park St personnel in Towcester and they paid crap and no holidays or anything else, I was with them for about 5 weeks then contacted ABC agency which seemed to be fair, I was threatened by the boss of Park st over the phone … “I’ll make sure you never work at Tesco again if you cross me” were the words he used but it didn’t deter me, I joined ABC and despite the protests from the others I still worked at Tesco, I got holiday pay and sick pay and the hourly rates were 50% higher than Park St, when Tesco asked me to join full time I was given ABC’s blessings.
My whole point is that as long as weak minded people are willing to be treated like crap by the thieving agencies they will carry on ripping not only drivers off but the companies they send drivers to. Those greedy agency owners sit in their nice expensive houses and own villas in the Med etc yet expect you to have no holidays, no decent life, just work hard for a pittance and reap the huge profits they make, Just stand firm and stop handing money to these thieves.
alamcculloch:
Is it just me ,agencies seem to crop up in the low paid industries.They are rife in cleaning ,catering and driving.
Agencies have been very common in the IT sector, engineering as well.
Why cant employers directly employ the people and skills that they require.
Because you don’t need the same amount of employees all the time. There’ll be certain times of year busier than others. What are they expected to do, turn down work or pay some of their workers to do nothing 9 months of the year?
weeto:
From experience, agencies haven’t always paid more than full time drivers, and you didn’t always get the share of the good work either.
From almost 2 decades experience as an agency driver working at dozens of haulage firms I’ve only encountered one in that entire time in my whole county who pays more than agency.
Pat Hasler:
Those greedy agency owners sit in their nice expensive houses and own villas in the Med etc yet expect you to have no holidays, no decent life, just work hard for a pittance and reap the huge profits they make, Just stand firm and stop handing money to these thieves.
BWAHAHA. A mate of mine had his own agency providing farm workers and factory workers. He eventually ended up bankrupt despite being owed £10,000s by his clients.
Anyway that comment is rich coming from someone who works in the USA where you only get paid when the wheels are turning so are effectively an unpaid slave whilst you’re sat waiting to get loaded/unloaded. If anyone is working like a mug its you working hours for free.