prestons of potto

[olds_kool]

Truckulent:
Well done Sid…

You just proved to the management you’re the sort of bloke that doesn’t expect to be paid for working…

If there were enough blokes like you, hauliers could get away with having half the workforce on no pay at all…!!

I think this is a typical thoughtless attitude to have, so company’s take on a driver, train them to their standard provide uniform etc, driver does a few days not my cup of tea and leaves, company out of pocket driver trained up with a stack of uniform!!

Personally when I take someone on, training days are unpaid but if the person stays and actually starts the training hours will be in the first wage packet!!

Some folk on here need to change their own attitude it’s not working for free it’s unpaid! There’s a big difference!!

Happy New Year

[cliffton_27]

Transport Association (is that still going) where you could park in other members yards if you had high value loads on.

still going nutalls were in it when i worked for them still got the little red book that gives directions and if parking / fuel is available if i remember rightly malcloms were in it ( parked in there yard when doing a scotch )

[jelliot]

You just proved to the management you’re the sort of bloke that doesn’t expect to be paid for working…

If there were enough blokes like you, hauliers could get away with having half the workforce on no pay at all…!!

I think this is a typical thoughtless attitude to have, so company’s take on a driver, train them to their standard provide uniform etc, driver does a few days not my cup of tea and leaves, company out of pocket driver trained up with a stack of uniform!!

Personally when I take someone on, training days are unpaid but if the person stays and actually starts the training hours will be in the first wage packet!!

Some folk on here need to change their own attitude it’s not working for free it’s unpaid! There’s a big difference!!

Happy New Year

Well said that man couldn’t agree more.

Some folk on here need to get out and see what the real world is actually like.

As for Stobart bashing if they were really that bad then no one would would be working for them and they wouldn’t be in business any longer. The numbers speak for them selves.

Here in Australia it is the norm to do a few day trial, it works both ways, from the company point of view.

Not unusual for a truck and trailer combination to cost up in the region of $700,000 then put a load in it. Are you really going to let someone you don’t know anything about it get there hands on it?

I went for a job a few years back and out of 29 applicants I was the only guy that actually had an appropriate license. One bloke applied and didn’t have any kind of license at all but told the boss he could drive anything with wheels.
About half way into the training I realized the full extent of the situation and decided it wasn’t for me, and left, I got another job by the end of the week and stayed there very happy for 4 years until they lost the contract.

From a drivers point of view some times the company can have unrealistic values.

The other things you often have to produce here are a Current drug test, Medical certificate, Police check ( sometimes, but not always), and 5 year read out of your driving license, ( infringements etc ) all of which you have to pay for your self. It’s about $50 for the lot, and takes the best part of a day to organize.

As for working for minimum wage that’s a personal choice and up to the individual to decide if they are prepared to do the work for that kind of money. For someone trying to get their foot in the door in any kind of industry there always has to be a first step.
If you don’t want to work for that kind of money you are free to have a look somewhere else.
I have a mate that’s an older gentleman, and took early retirement with a big pay out. He has his mortgage paid, new car, fishing boat, all his kids are grown up and have left home, and is happy to be doing something rather than sitting about doing nout. By his own admission it’s not a strenuous job either physically or mentally. His wife is a bit younger then him and still works full time, so for him minimum wage is more than enough, and he still manages to go on holiday twice a year.

Jeff…

[trickey_herbert]

As for not paying parking it stops all the bad mouthing
And ■■■■■■■■ that happens in truckstops by drivers

[truckulent]

Jelliot:

You just proved to the management you’re the sort of bloke that doesn’t expect to be paid for working…

If there were enough blokes like you, hauliers could get away with having half the workforce on no pay at all…!!

I think this is a typical thoughtless attitude to have, so company’s take on a driver, train them to their standard provide uniform etc, driver does a few days not my cup of tea and leaves, company out of pocket driver trained up with a stack of uniform!!

Personally when I take someone on, training days are unpaid but if the person stays and actually starts the training hours will be in the first wage packet!!

Some folk on here need to change their own attitude it’s not working for free it’s unpaid! There’s a big difference!!

Happy New Year

Well said that man couldn’t agree more.

Some folk on here need to get out and see what the real world is actually like.

As for Stobart bashing if they were really that bad then no one would would be working for them and they wouldn’t be in business any longer. The numbers speak for them selves.

Here in Australia it is the norm to do a few day trial, it works both ways, from the company point of view.

Not unusual for a truck and trailer combination to cost up in the region of $700,000 then put a load in it. Are you really going to let someone you don’t know anything about it get there hands on it?

I went for a job a few years back and out of 29 applicants I was the only guy that actually had an appropriate license. One bloke applied and didn’t have any kind of license at all but told the boss he could drive anything with wheels.
About half way into the training I realized the full extent of the situation and decided it wasn’t for me, and left, I got another job by the end of the week and stayed there very happy for 4 years until they lost the contract.

From a drivers point of view some times the company can have unrealistic values.

The other things you often have to produce here are a Current drug test, Medical certificate, Police check ( sometimes, but not always), and 5 year read out of your driving license, ( infringements etc ) all of which you have to pay for your self. It’s about $50 for the lot, and takes the best part of a day to organize.

As for working for minimum wage that’s a personal choice and up to the individual to decide if they are prepared to do the work for that kind of money. For someone trying to get their foot in the door in any kind of industry there always has to be a first step.
If you don’t want to work for that kind of money you are free to have a look somewhere else.
I have a mate that’s an older gentleman, and took early retirement with a big pay out. He has his mortgage paid, new car, fishing boat, all his kids are grown up and have left home, and is happy to be doing something rather than sitting about doing nout. By his own admission it’s not a strenuous job either physically or mentally. His wife is a bit younger then him and still works full time, so for him minimum wage is more than enough, and he still manages to go on holiday twice a year.

Jeff…

What a load of ■■■■■■■■!

You go to work. You work. They don’t pay you. If you are not at home, then you are working, whether you stand there doing nothing/watching another driver or not. If you’re in one of the firm’s waggons then how is that not working??

Working ‘unpaid’ is working for free. There is no difference.

If a firm is unsure about a driver, the correct procedure would be to offer them a job on a probationary period, perhaps at a slightly lower wage than the established drivers until such time (two weeks - three months depending on the job requirements perhaps?) that the person has proved themselves and had a chance to learn the ropes. This method allows time for both parties to become acquainted with each other and see how they feel. The haulier saves a little on wages, but still shows the driver some respect for his or her current skills. Once they are both happy, the driver gets the full deal.

Expecting you do do it for nothing says a whole lot about the company and how much they value drivers. They take new drivers on that are happy to work for nothing for one reason only. And it’s not ‘so they can train you properly’. I have worked for hauliers in my early days and not one of them expected me to work for nothing, despite the lack of experience I had at the time.

I won’t comment on the pay as clearly there are plenty of drivers daft enough to think that working for nothing is acceptable, so these folk must be over the moon at the prospect of £6.71/hour.

Thankfully, I am not stupid enough to fall into that category!!

[dle1uk]

i have never signed on the dole, yes been without a job but never for longer then 1 week… majority of jobs i have had be it part time/full time i have got by going to the premises in person and offering them a days work without pay for them to see how i work and to be fair for me to see how they work, some did offer me employment and i turned them down so it can work both ways…

[del_trotter]

Truckulent:

Synthetic_sid:
i was a chef at the time,so i worked for them on mondays and tuesdays on my days off for like 4 weeks,the lad i trained for class 1 with also works for them,
he was unemployed at the time and he did monday to friday for a week.
it is a full working day i guess but really your just out with a day man who is showing you the ropes,so your not really doing a great deal of “work”
i viewed it as more like free training and was pretty happy to do it tbh

Well done Sid…

You just proved to the management you’re the sort of bloke that doesn’t expect to be paid for working…

If there were enough blokes like you, hauliers could get away with having half the workforce on no pay at all…!!

Truckulent, another dreamer of a driver who thinks he should be given a new Merc and signing on fee just for passing a test.

Good on you Sid, you showed commitment and will do well in this business.

[truckulent]

del trotter:

Truckulent:

Synthetic_sid:
i was a chef at the time,so i worked for them on mondays and tuesdays on my days off for like 4 weeks,the lad i trained for class 1 with also works for them,
he was unemployed at the time and he did monday to friday for a week.
it is a full working day i guess but really your just out with a day man who is showing you the ropes,so your not really doing a great deal of “work”
i viewed it as more like free training and was pretty happy to do it tbh

Well done Sid…

You just proved to the management you’re the sort of bloke that doesn’t expect to be paid for working…

If there were enough blokes like you, hauliers could get away with having half the workforce on no pay at all…!!

Truckulent, another dreamer of a driver who thinks he should be given a new Merc and signing on fee just for passing a test.

Good on you Sid, you showed commitment and will do well in this business.

Really?

How about:

Good on you Sid, you showed you’re a mug and are quite happy to work for free. You’ll end up as a lot of drivers do, working long hours for ■■■■ money, for a company that doesn’t give a ■■■■ about you and that will happily drop you like a hot potato when the next idiot comes along prepared to work for nothing.’

Del Trotter: ‘another driver that thinks driving a lorry requires great skill (it doesn’t), and that unless you’ve worked 70 hours a week for a bag of beans (or nothing), you aren’t a real driver…’

I expect to be paid for a day’s work if that’s what I’ve done. As simple as that. I do not expect to turn up and help the company in question to make a profit and not get rewarded for it.

Why don’t all of the drivers on here that agree working for free is OK, offer to do a day a week at work and donate the money to charity? You all seem happy with the idea and I’m sure plenty of charities would appreciate your help very much. Don’t all rush to sign up a once will you?

[dle1uk]

no Sid as shown balls, and got himself out there and got a job off his own back… and well done to him pity there arent many more who would do the same instead of sat on their lazy arses awaiting the job to come to them…

when i was younger i worked at a garage but gave up some of my spare time to drive cars at auction and to take them there using a trailer… ok didnt get paid for it in money terms but I did learn and got basic experience in reversing a trailer which then led onto other jobs because i had experience…

Sid as showed the same given up his spare time in reward for a job or at least a little more experience then what he had before…

yes there are, and will be employers that take the ■■■■ if you like but at least twice as many employees doing the same…

[stevieboy308]

Truckulent:

del trotter:

Truckulent:

Synthetic_sid:
i was a chef at the time,so i worked for them on mondays and tuesdays on my days off for like 4 weeks,the lad i trained for class 1 with also works for them,
he was unemployed at the time and he did monday to friday for a week.
it is a full working day i guess but really your just out with a day man who is showing you the ropes,so your not really doing a great deal of “work”
i viewed it as more like free training and was pretty happy to do it tbh

Well done Sid…

You just proved to the management you’re the sort of bloke that doesn’t expect to be paid for working…

If there were enough blokes like you, hauliers could get away with having half the workforce on no pay at all…!!

Truckulent, another dreamer of a driver who thinks he should be given a new Merc and signing on fee just for passing a test.

Good on you Sid, you showed commitment and will do well in this business.

Really?

How about:

Good on you Sid, you showed you’re a mug and are quite happy to work for free. You’ll end up as a lot of drivers do, working long hours for [zb] money, for a company that doesn’t give a [zb] about you and that will happily drop you like a hot potato when the next idiot comes along prepared to work for nothing.’

Del Trotter: ‘another driver that thinks driving a lorry requires great skill (it doesn’t), and that unless you’ve worked 70 hours a week for a bag of beans (or nothing), you aren’t a real driver…’

I expect to be paid for a day’s work if that’s what I’ve done. As simple as that. I do not expect to turn up and help the company in question to make a profit and not get rewarded for it.

Why don’t all of the drivers on here that agree working for free is OK, offer to do a day a week at work and donate the money to charity? You all seem happy with the idea and I’m sure plenty of charities would appreciate your help very much. Don’t all rush to sign up a once will you?

i agree, but what about when you’ve not done a days work? when you’ve been trained? when you’ve not helped to make profit? - maybe even hindered as showing someone how to do something has taken longer than the extra pair of hands has saved.

[rikki-uk]

Truckulent…
You obviously live in part of the country where drivers are in short supply, and can demand their own wages,
Where new drivers don’t struggle to get a start with no experience and where money is growing on trees so you don’t have to work to support your family

Around here though its slightly different- jobs are hard to come by even for experienced drivers, almost no-one gives new licence holders a start, they don’t need to theres plenty of experienced lads available.

In a utopian world yes the companies would take on new guys, and pay them while training them at the companies expense- however in the real world the transport business works on tiny margins- These trainees are not creating any income for the company, they are out with another driver, possibly causing that driver to take longer at his job as he is tutoring , why pay out to train new licence holders reducing the margins even further. Companies that take on new starters do so in the hope that they appreciate the chance and stay on as loyal employees, however the truth is many would accept the paid for training and wages then at the first chance jump ship for a few pence an hour more, or a shinier truck.

I wouldn’t pay a bloke to train up with me knowing at the first chance he might jump ship to a probable competitor - but if they are willing to give up their own time to learn then I might give them a chance.

[truckulent]

Rikki-UK:
Truckulent…
You obviously live in part of the country where drivers are in short supply, and can demand their own wages,
Where new drivers don’t struggle to get a start with no experience and where money is growing on trees so you don’t have to work to support your family

Around here though its slightly different- jobs are hard to come by even for experienced drivers, almost no-one gives new licence holders a start, they don’t need to theres plenty of experienced lads available.

In a utopian world yes the companies would take on new guys, and pay them while training them at the companies expense- however in the real world the transport business works on tiny margins- These trainees are not creating any income for the company, they are out with another driver, possibly causing that driver to take longer at his job as he is tutoring , why pay out to train new licence holders reducing the margins even further. Companies that take on new starters do so in the hope that they appreciate the chance and stay on as loyal employees, however the truth is many would accept the paid for training and wages then at the first chance jump ship for a few pence an hour more, or a shinier truck.

I wouldn’t pay a bloke to train up with me knowing at the first chance he might jump ship to a probable competitor - but if they are willing to give up their own time to learn then I might give them a chance.

No, I live in an area that has an average wage for drivers.

But you can still earn as you learn if you have enough nouse.

What is to stop a driver that has worked for free for two weeks learning the job and still jumping ship? Still nothing much in it for the company is there? They may have saved a few quid, but if their interview procedure is good, this issue would happen rarely.

For example. I say to a potential employee:

‘Trot along to ABC Haulage and offer to work a week or two for free. Then, once you’ve received the training on containers, been to all the ports etc., come back to me and I’ll put you in a ScanMercDaf Xf CabHappy on £1.00/hr more than ABC Haulage…’

Even if the driver has jumped ship, we aren’t talking about 6 or 12 months training are we? We’re talking a few days’ worth at most. Total cost to company = peanuts. If a company are so skint they can’t afford to pay a driver for a few days while he/she learns the ropes then I don’t rate that companies chances of surviving very highly in the long term.

If the training is specialised (e.g. transporters), just alter the contract to state that once trained, the driver has to work a minimum period for the company afterwards. It isn’t difficult.

Face it. Companies do it for one reason. They don’t pay because they can’t. They don’t pay because dozy drivers work for nowt and they don’t have to.

[terry_t]

As a newish driver without much experience my company gave me some training. All paid for too.

[rikki-uk]

For example. I say to a potential employee:

‘Trot along to ABC Haulage and offer to work a week or two for free. Then, once you’ve received the training on containers, been to all the ports etc., come back to me and I’ll put you in a ScanMercDaf Xf CabHappy on £1.00/hr more than ABC Haulage…’

Why would you? when you can say jump in the cab with Bert the dayman for a few days, he will show you how the jobs done and see how you go, if you like it and I think you got what it takes you have a start… sending them off to ABC makes no sense in your scenario above

IF ABC were paying and your not then it might make sense…

[dle1uk]

the interview, application today is a waste of space and tbh i can see more employers asking for a few days trial or similar… majority of CV,s are full of over bulled crap and if you can talk the talk… ive seen many folk look really good on paper and in interview, selling themselves but when it comes down to do the actual job they are ■■■■ poor… its then it can be hard to get rid…

[truckulent]

Rikki-UK:

For example. I say to a potential employee:

‘Trot along to ABC Haulage and offer to work a week or two for free. Then, once you’ve received the training on containers, been to all the ports etc., come back to me and I’ll put you in a ScanMercDaf Xf CabHappy on £1.00/hr more than ABC Haulage…’

Why would you? when you can say jump in the cab with Bert the dayman for a few days, he will show you how the jobs done and see how you go, if you like it and I think you got what it takes you have a start… sending them off to ABC makes no sense in your scenario above

IF ABC were paying and your not then it might make sense…

In the eyes of the driver maybe. But we are looking at it here from the view of the company i.e. why should they pay to ‘train’ a driver?

You run a haulage company. You don’t want to have one of your drivers (Bert the day man shall we say?), hassled and ‘slowed down’ by a new lad.

You send the fella off to ABC Haulage, let them sort the training then the fella comes back to you and you’ve had him trained for free, with no disruption to your current staff.

What makes no sense is why a firm would expect someone to work for nothing.If they pay you to train and treat you decently, you’re as likely to stay with them as anyone. There are no guarantees in haulage as you well know - either for the driver or the haulier. If the fella moves on to a better paying job then that’s life. Maybe you should look at your rates of pay and conditions and ask yourself why that fella has left so quickly.

I’m still waiting for the takers of doing a day a week for nothing and handing the money over to charity as working for free seems such a popular option here!

[rikki-uk]

But we are looking at it here from the view of the company i.e. why should they pay to ‘train’ a driver?

You run a haulage company. You don’t want to have one of your drivers (Bert the day man shall we say?), hassled and ‘slowed down’ by a new lad.

You send the fella off to ABC Haulage, let them sort the training then the fella comes back to you and you’ve had him trained for free, with no disruption to your current staff.

Your reasoning is exactly why ABC don’t pay

[truckulent]

Rikki-UK:

But we are looking at it here from the view of the company i.e. why should they pay to ‘train’ a driver?

You run a haulage company. You don’t want to have one of your drivers (Bert the day man shall we say?), hassled and ‘slowed down’ by a new lad.

You send the fella off to ABC Haulage, let them sort the training then the fella comes back to you and you’ve had him trained for free, with no disruption to your current staff.

Your reasoning is exactly why ABC don’t pay

And why the driver in question would bugger off from them at a moment’s notice irrespective of whether they paid or didn’t pay him to train. Not paying the driver to train is not going to instill a great loyalty in him or her is it? The reasoning on this thread is - well they gave me a chance and actually let me drive their trucks for free, so I must be a loyal and considerate employee to them for many months or years to come. If you get a better offer you’ll scarper. My point is either way, the system is open to abuse from either party.

If ABC paid the fella after his training and treated him really well, would he run back to you so quickly? Decent money, respect shown and all that?

I don’t know. But I do know that as long as you’re daft enough to work for nothing many companies will happily let you under the guise of ‘training’.

[stevieboy308]

Truckulent:
I’m still waiting for the takers of doing a day a week for nothing and handing the money over to charity as working for free seems such a popular option here!

you’re still making yourself look silly

[truckulent]

stevieboy308:

Truckulent:
I’m still waiting for the takers of doing a day a week for nothing and handing the money over to charity as working for free seems such a popular option here!

you’re still making yourself look silly

Not really. A bit facetious perhaps.

I’m not the one that works for free though am I?