We’re looking at putting another truck in the depot I work out of in September. For this one we’re after a local driver that can pick up the slack, this means that if it goes quiet they could be parked up by dinner time.
Now because of this our current scheme of a % payment wouldn’t work, and neither would an hourly rate, mainly because when it does get busy we need them to do as much work as possible to compensate for the slack times.
Our current thought is a day rate then a % of earning to give a bit of incentive to push for work. What would you think a good day rate was? Bearing in mind that at worst I do an average 12hrs day and I do nights out, would think the average would be about 11hrs.
Would the guy be working everyday or just on days when it’s busy?
How about a fixed day rate of £85 then on quieter days it’s job and knock but with no % rate added?
It would be everyday, and would be a job and knock situation everyday as well.
We’re luck in as we don’t have delivery slots to meet, we just have to get the work we’re given done on that day. Some of our sites can take the load and you can be back at the plant for your second load just as the lads are opening up. This is why we’re thinking of a day rate not hourly.
Henrys cat:
Our current thought is a day rate then a % of earning to give a bit of incentive to push for work.
I thought this was illegal?
A few years ago, I believe the EU tried to stamp out this type of payment as it encouraged the driver to speed and take risks, they wanted all PAYE drivers to be hourly paid. I’m not sure what the problem was but it never came into full force as drivers can still get a basic and top up with bonuses of various sorts.
The question employers have to ask is “does the encouragement of safe practices, including the way we pay our drivers, come first?”
An employed driver cannot have their whole pay based on mileage or weight carried, or even a combination of these. An hourly rate plus % of vehicle earnings might not actually break the letter of the law, but since vehicle earnings are based on weight carried/mileage it becomes questionable. In this litigious age, I’m amazed that a company would wish to step so close to the line.
IMHO, I think it’d be best all round if the driver were paid an hourly rate and an easily achieveable “fuel” bonus for times when he/she is out on the road, plus a yard rate or guaranteed minimum for slack periods. It’s what it looks like that counts
An employed driver cannot have their whole pay based on mileage or weight carried, or even a combination of these. An hourly rate plus % of vehicle earnings might not actually break the letter of the law, but since vehicle earnings are based on weight carried/mileage it becomes questionable. In this litigious age, I’m amazed that a company would wish to step so close to the line.
On theory. Of course in practice…
Sorry Steve, hijacking your thraed. Will bugger off with my soapbox now ( although in answer to your question I’d pay a day rate which is reasonable for the hours and area, plus a per-load bonus to make it worth pushing on in the busy times. )
An employed driver cannot have their whole pay based on mileage or weight carried, or even a combination of these. An hourly rate plus % of vehicle earnings might not actually break the letter of the law, but since vehicle earnings are based on weight carried/mileage it becomes questionable. In this litigious age, I’m amazed that a company would wish to step so close to the line.
On theory. Of course in practice…
Sorry Steve, hijacking your thraed. Will bugger off with my soapbox now ( although in answer to your question I’d pay a day rate which is reasonable for the hours and area, plus a per-load bonus to make it worth pushing on in the busy times. )
Hmm… consider this: Isn’t “per load” just another way of saying “weight.” If somebody’s pay depends, even to some extent upon weight, isn’t there a temptation to do an extra load if it’s available This isn’t just semantics, there are legal definitions to consider. It seems strange, but earnings by weight/mileage is OK for an owner driver. I was careful to use the words “employed driver,” and I recognise that there is a difference between “pay” and “earnings.” As already pointed out, this is a tricky area. Hence my suggestion to “call” it a fuel bonus. Relating the bonus to fuel efficiency is beyond question, as long it looks right.
bonus,es for milage and tonnage/loads delivered dont mean sod all if the works not guaranteed to be there. and theres no point in poor hourly pay if your sending the guy/gal home after 5 hours. it dont pay the bills.
i would pay the guy a guaranteed minimum of 9 hours a day ( 45 hour week) and then a decent overtime rate after the 9 hours. and if required to work a saturday pay a higher saturday rate.
because you require the driver to be flexible, ie different start/finish times and various shift lengths i think this way will best fit the bill.
paying bonus,es for milages/tonnages etc is not illegal provided your whole wages are not based on it.
dave:
bonus,es for milage and tonnage/loads delivered dont mean sod all if the works not guaranteed to be there. and theres no point in poor hourly pay if your sending the guy/gal home after 5 hours. it dont pay the bills.
i would pay the guy a guaranteed minimum of 9 hours a day ( 45 hour week) and then a decent overtime rate after the 9 hours. and if required to work a saturday pay a higher saturday rate.
because you require the driver to be flexible, ie different start/finish times and various shift lengths i think this way will best fit the bill.
paying bonus,es for milages/tonnages etc is not illegal provided your whole wages are not based on it.
That’s a fair point, but the job might be described as part-time at the offer stage. Not attractive to everybody, that’s for sure, but it might just suit the more “mature” driver for several reasons. The job also has to be worthwhile/sustainable/justifiable from the company’s point of view.
dieseldave - My comments on the legality of pay schemes were separate from those to Steve, and are a favourite soapbox of mine as a majority mileage-paid employed driver.
In practice, the interpretation of this particular piece of law varies from Traffic Area to Traffic Area. My oft-cited favourite example is this: I used to work out of Southampton for a Hull-based firm, and we were paid hourly rate plus 1p a mile bonus. All fine and legal in that area.
I then moved home and took the truck with me. I was running for the same firm, under the same planner, in the same job. The only difference was that I started from Hull on a Monday instead of Southampton on a Sunday. But in that area the 1p a mile was deemed to be illegal, so the bonus was made up of attendance and not driving into stuff.
I now work for a firm an hour or so up the road and over the border between Traffic Areas and we are paid 28ppm basic and 30ppm after 1750 miles, plus various bonuses for reloads, multidrop jobs etc. and percentage of what the lorry earns. There’s also a local “job rate”. On paper we are contracted to 40 hours for approximately £250 on top, but that is purely on paper. In practice the vast majority of our very healthy (for Teesside) wages come from the mileage. The local Traffic Commissioner is well aware of this as the firm have been paying that way for 25-plus years, and keep a very close eye on us from a legal point of view, but otherwise all is deemed to be fine. (None of us want hourly pay, btw, we like working shorter hours for more cash).
Go figure.
dave - It’s precisely because the loads won’t always be there that I’m suggesting the scheme that I am. The day rate/salary would have to be fair for the average hours on it’s own, the load bonus would be precisely that, a bonus, to give the driver an incentive to do the extra bit when it’s busy.
I don’t know…I guess because I’ve driven for the majority of my career on some kind of tip/mileage/percentage based scheme, it’s what I’m used to therefore I prefer it. I never liked hourly rate because of the length of the wretched hours needed to make the best money. To put it simply, I prefer to be paid for what I do rather than what I don’t do, if that makes sense.
overall id pay a day rate or hourly depending on area, in midlands its approx £100 a shift plus night out money on top, or £8-£10 per hour, so depending on hours worked it evens out.
I wish someone would put a link upto the piece of legislation that outlaws % or mileage pay, because I can’t find one at all, think it could be another one of those myths. We operate in 2 traffic areas and have no problems at all.
As for hourly pay, I definatly can’t see him going for that. He tried it once and the wage bill went up, but the truck earnings went down.
I’ve started doing casual work for a local firm, job & knock for £100/shift, 6-10 hours shifts. It started off the odd day but expect it to be 4 or 5 days/week soon, it’s usually a case of can you be at xyz for so & so time, start when you like.
This suits me as I can fill in the other days and I wouldn’t mind a job with them
Henrys cat:
As for hourly pay, I definatly can’t see him going for that. He tried it once and the wage bill went up, but the truck earnings went down.
go salaried with a bonus then.
i can understand that hourly does not appeal to some bosses, even powder tanks can be sat for a few hours before you blow. but theres not many drivers who want to sit around without pay. i meet them all the time, if i have to wait then its no skin off my nose because of the way im paid but when they have to wait then its the “im losing money scenario.”
if the work is to pick up the slack at first then maybe getting busier, then look at either a retired driver who wants to top up his pension or a newbie driver whos willing to be trained up and get broken in gently
If somebody’s pay depends, even to some extent upon weight, isn’t there a temptation to do an extra load if it’s available 
