Keep your job an try to get some work on agencies at weekends
In this economic climate it is worth keeping your job until you have something you know will give you regular work.
The Agencies said that if I had my HIAB then I would be in work all through summer. This has turned out to be a lie because I am spending more time without work than work at all. I’ll even do 7.5t work but it just isn’t available 
tachograph:
I wonder how many of the people saying “just go for it” have mortgages to pay and stand to lose their home if it doesn’t work out
I do just using savings to pay mortgage and day to day living but I must admit I didn’t think it would take so long from start still got to wait for licence to rtn before I can do my C+E taken ten weeks upto now waiting for medical then licence and so on
I was in this situation. I passed my Class 2 in June 2009 but I had a full time non driving job already. My mrss company had recently gone into liquidation so she was looking for a job, there was no way I could leave a full time job to go on the agencies. I eventually left my job for a driving job with a friends company but work soon dried up so I had nothing to loose and joined maybe five agencies. Only one gave me work, three, sometimes four days a week. I was with them for three months and then I got a full time driving job. You have to try and keep an agency sweet or theyll drop you, mine also lied to me a couple of times so they could try and get jobs to go their way. Sometimes I got a call at 6am asking if I could work that day so the night before you go to bed not knowing if youll be working 2mw or not. Its not how I wanted to live my life and Im glad I got out when I did. I hear alot of ppl say that they enjoy agency work and they get loads, you have to prove youre loyal to them if you can and then they`ll look after you
I quit a well paid full time job I was in for two years with a well known haulier earlier this year. I went on the agency from Jan this year until I secured full time cards in employment again in June. I did this in the UK’s worst economic state in living memory, also bear in mind Jan is always quite for agency work. I have a wife and two daughters, a mortgage, and two cars, amongst other financial obligations. Why did I take this risk? Because I had started to hate my job. You have to trust your own feelings then have the courage to follow them through. My advice, DO IT. I am now not only happier but also have found a better job with better money. At times I doubted my choice but with hard work and commitment I made it work.
If you are not happy with the job you are doing whats the point in doing it . you can sign with as many agencies as you want to ( i now work for 4 ) ok not all the work is easy but im happy enough and if i get a job i dont like i just phone the agent and say dont send me there again and they dont .just gotta take the rough with the smooth but its a learning process and gives you the expeariance you will nead .
up to now ive done from handballing doule glassing multi drop . to pallet work . my first job was for a well known bed company in lancs oh that was a bad one 14 drops had to carry beds ect up stairs and put them together at every drop some had as meny as 4 items and was given 15 mins a drop timing . didnt get to drive as was double driver job with their own driver and I was used as a van lad … the driver didnt stop for a break just put his tacho on break while we were doing bigest load and fit …Got home after 13hr shift and was streight on the phone to agent … told him the score and that I signed with them as a driver not a van lad or porter after that I did wounder if i had done the right thing 
… but They have never sent me there again since … and after speeking with other drivers who have told them the same they say all new drivers end up on that job as no one else will do it … …(they advertise the job every week )
all i can say is set you’r rules out with the agent when you sign up with any agent or you will end up doing all the jobs others dont wanna do … 
and then you should be ok 
give it a try what you got to loose if you are not happy now it cant get worse eh . Best of luck mate …
been there done that and deeply regreted it…do not work whilst your sick is a direction that will get you found out by your tax and stautory sick pay resulting in dismissmal.carear for dishonesty is no joke
take a carear break
take all your holidays
use sickness only to register with agencies
take 2 part time jobs
reduce your hours
work longer hours i.e do longer shifts if possible condensed hours.