Conor:
44 Tonne Ton:
I’m not giving my licence away to anybody. If you don’t make it worth my while I’ll do something else!Somehow I doubt you’ll tell us about the days when you’re offered g’teed 6 hrs, turn it down and then earn nowt that day…
I banked £708 this week [zb] how did you do?
truckerjon:
If these transport operations became more efficient, and utilised thier staff and resources better, there would be no need to a) have people standing around for hours waiting for work, b) employ people for less than 8 hours a day c) not rely on agency drivers to get them out the proverbial!
We quite often get agency drivers in to be spare. They hang around for 6 hours, get 8 hours pay and go home. We have a driver sitting there we can roll out in case of no-shows. breakdowns etc. I’d call that being efficient myself although I can’t comment on anywhere except where I work. From my perspective I’d rather there be agency drivers there than have the full time staff going on short time every time the volumes drop.
I only spent 10 months on agency, all of which was spent at Tesco Thurrock so my agency experience is limited and what happens at other places I have no idea but I can count on one hand the amount of times I had a shift that lasted less than 8 hours. An average shift was about 10-12 hours so the guranteed hours per day didnt matter. If I got back to the DC on 6 hours, it was expected that I would go back out again. If you get sent home after only a few hours once in a blue moon then so what…doesn’t happen everyday and thats how it goes on agency isn’t it? You dont have the security of full time hours, thats the down side of it, just like the better wage is the upside 
In my opinion the only drivers that will be effected by this decrease from 8 to 6 hrs guranteed pay will be those that come in and do one store delivery then mince off home after only a few hours because they think they have done there days work yet still expect to be paid for 8hrs!! And from what I’ve seen in the time I spent on agency there were a few that wanted to do this!! If you are guranteed 8 or as it is now 6 then you should expect to work it, even if that means sitting in transport drinking coffee for 6 hours…and as I said at the start being sent home early was a very rare occurance.
Just my thoughts. 
dle1uk:
i appreciate some guys want to work as and when and want the flexibility of agency,wish i was in the same position… but some agency guys have bought this on theirselves by bragging ect in the canteens transport offices ect.… i worked at stobs for a while in the office and the amount of agency guys who would walk in and openly brag they were offered this and that and they told them to bollox as they will never work for less then ££££££££££££ p/h and only work 4 hrs or whatever for 12 hrs pay take home half a million a week.
so the decent good agency guys are going to loose out
What a load of bollox. 
It’s got nothing to do with bragging at all. As usual, it’s got everything to do with the greedy agencies taking advantage of there being more demand than supply. There’s more out-of-work drivers than full-time jobs at the moment and so a lot of them are turning to agencies to get what little work is available. The agencies themselves are struggling so they’re going to the companies saying ‘hey we can do you a better deal where you only have to pay us for 6 hours supply instead of 8’. The companies love it because it means they save 2 hours-worth of cash if they’ve nowt for the driver and the agency says to the 1000 desperate drivers on their books ‘hey we’ve got some work for you, but it’s only guaranteed for 6 hours instead of 8, oh and by the way it’s now only £7.50/hr and £8/hr after 8 hours - sorry the client won’t pay any more than that’ . The drivers do a whole load of grumbling and then remember that they’re up to their eyes in debt so reluctantly take the work on offer as it’s better for them than a visit from the repo man.
While ever companies continue shedding staff due to the recession then it’ll only get worse. I wouldn’t be surprised to see agencies offering minimum wage with no overtime rate in the not too distant future if the current climate continues.
rob agree work is tight at the mo for agencies so rates are and will drop with seems more and more agencies are opening which don,t make sense to me and the employer can then pick and choose and get rates down even more…
put the point i make when I was at stobs is that even though I knew how much each individual agency guy was getting paid for that shift! some of them would stand there and brag like hell that they were earning this and that whilst stob guys earned peanuts… all this did was upset and ■■■■ off directly employed drivers… the classic comment was " stobart can,t afford to pay me" who the hell do they thing is paying the agency?? these type of guys are complete knob rots, in the end I would let them sound off do a bit of bragging and then tell everyone in the room how much that guy was getting paid for that shift. and then watch them scurry away…
interlog:
Happy Keith:
‘…Better roads can mean quicker turn-round shifts for us trolley dudes, but it can be amazing how long it can take by paying closer attention during a pre-use check; observing & practising closer adherance to the road speed laws & doing a thorough clean/tidy-up in the cab after spending six hours in the placeWhich most supermarkets expect a driver to do anyway. None of the supermarkets encourages any of the drivers to break the law. Any actions above what you already mentioned and should be good practise coud well be seen as dragging the job out with all the consequences that may involve
So which way are you swinging? I’m not advocating spending 20 minutes to polish a gearstick or half an hour to hook-up, but simply do the job with ‘attention to detail’. E.g., I’m tittsed off (but cope) with taking out wagons with minging mirrors/windows but simply like to clean mine at the end of shift by giving them a thirty second wash. At least the unit’s ‘owner’ gets back a clean wagon rather than the one he passed to me! I only ask since your end of post suggestion is hinting at getting the heave-ho or ‘consequences’ for doing what is expected …but I suppose it is up to the individual hirer & firer or TM, etc, to decide if he likes the bod - or not.
I know what reasonably constitutes taking the pesh and am not suggesting to ‘milk-it’ at every opportunity but simply suggesting that there are ways to feel reasonably rewarded after a reasonable ‘day’s’ (or shift’s) contribution of graft. I guess my contribution here is the keyword for all to be ‘reasonable’ about it all. That said, a third of a day spent ‘at labour’ (ie, eight hours) is more reasonable than only spending a quarter of a day ‘at labour’ - and is partly why I resist doing Sunday’s at my place where they only guarantee six on the Lord’s day. So I usually smile & think 'stuff ‘em on Sundays’.
limeyphil:
agency drivers should get paid for the work they do, not get paid for the hours they don’t work.
why do these supermarket chains use agency workers in the first place?
they don’t care about the vehicles because they probably won’t drive it again. but a directly employed driver, who works in the same truck will be more caring.i’ve lost count of the amount of times i’ve heard “i don’t give a [zb], i’m on agency” or “i don’t care i’m paid by the hour”.
when will employers learn?
I know that there are a number of agency drivers with this attitude, but most of those are either part time, i.e. work in an office or factory during the week, then drive at weekends, or are only on agency because thier attitude doesn’t help them to get a “proper” job.
I for one, am full time agency, when I work for anyone, I want to do a good job, I want that company to ask for me by name. I realise my responsibilites towards myself, family, employer, and other road users, and I will try to do as good, if not better job than company drivers, at the same time, earn the respect of these drivers without carving the job up. I care very much for any vehicle I drive, my own personal pride will not allow me to treat any truck differently from my own car. My experience with supermarket deliveries is that company drivers mostly don’t have a regular truck, and are given the first truck available, which gives less incentive to keep the trucks in good condition.
I know of several instances where I was accused of causing damage to a vehicle, or leaving it dirty, even smoking in the cab, I gave up smoking 6 years ago!, I was able to prove that it was done either before I had the vehicle, or after, most times it was a company driver who caused the damage.
Now I always do a full vehicle check before I leave the yard, and if there is new damage or the cab is dirty, I always get a shunter, or a transport clerk to witness it, and take photos if no one is available, and always tell someone.
Rob K:
dle1uk:
i appreciate some guys want to work as and when and want the flexibility of agency,wish i was in the same position… but some agency guys have bought this on theirselves by bragging ect in the canteens transport offices ect.… i worked at stobs for a while in the office and the amount of agency guys who would walk in and openly brag they were offered this and that and they told them to bollox as they will never work for less then ££££££££££££ p/h and only work 4 hrs or whatever for 12 hrs pay take home half a million a week.
so the decent good agency guys are going to loose outWhat a load of bollox.
While ever companies continue shedding staff due to the recession then it’ll only get worse. I wouldn’t be surprised to see agencies offering minimum wage with no overtime rate in the not too distant future if the current climate continues.
And as with evertything in this life, you get what you pay for. Again it’s these big companies being run by accountants who look at the bottom line. If you have an agency who supply you with good drivers, properly trained and monitored, but charge a little bit more, why change to flybynight agency who offer to undercut them by £2 per hour?. Why do you jump straight over just because some whizz kid in a suit promises you the earth? if they charge you less, they are paying thier drivers less. The good drivers will always be snapped up by the best agencies, so you will be left with the dross that will work for peanuts.
truckerjon:
Rob K:
dle1uk:
i appreciate some guys want to work as and when and want the flexibility of agency,wish i was in the same position… but some agency guys have bought this on theirselves by bragging ect in the canteens transport offices ect.… i worked at stobs for a while in the office and the amount of agency guys who would walk in and openly brag they were offered this and that and they told them to bollox as they will never work for less then ££££££££££££ p/h and only work 4 hrs or whatever for 12 hrs pay take home half a million a week.
so the decent good agency guys are going to loose outWhat a load of bollox.
While ever companies continue shedding staff due to the recession then it’ll only get worse. I wouldn’t be surprised to see agencies offering minimum wage with no overtime rate in the not too distant future if the current climate continues.
And as with evertything in this life, you get what you pay for. Again it’s these big companies being run by accountants who look at the bottom line. If you have an agency who supply you with good drivers, properly trained and monitored, but charge a little bit more, why change to flybynight agency who offer to undercut them by £2 per hour?. Why do you jump straight over just because some whizz kid in a suit promises you the earth? if they charge you less, they are paying thier drivers less. The good drivers will always be snapped up by the best agencies, so you will be left with the dross that will work for peanuts.
Considering that you are full-time agency yourself, I am rather surprised by your words. In theory, yes, that is how it should be, but the reality is very different. Certainly the majority of the blue chip companies don’t give a toss on the ‘status’ of their agency drivers and will go for whoever can provide them a) cheapest and b) have a big pool of them on tap at short notice. As far as the company is concerned, an agency driver is an agency driver, is an agency driver; good chance of causing some damage, will probably get lost and will probably come back with at least a third of the deliveries undelivered too. And that’s on a good day.
I also disagree with your comment about the good drivers being snapped up by the best agencies. In my experience, agencies don’t ‘snap up’ drivers at all, it’s the other way round. I’ve certainly never known anyone being head-hunted by an driver agency but I’m happy to be corrected. Good drivers use their brains to find the best combination of a) which agency is paying the most, b) which agency has the best (easiest) contracts, coupled with c) the client has plenty of work, and d) hours to suit self to maximise income.
dle1uk:
rob agree work is tight at the mo for agencies so rates are and will drop with seems more and more agencies are opening which don,t make sense to me and the employer can then pick and choose and get rates down even more…put the point i make when I was at stobs is that even though I knew how much each individual agency guy was getting paid for that shift! some of them would stand there and brag like hell that they were earning this and that whilst stob guys earned peanuts… all this did was upset and ■■■■ off directly employed drivers… the classic comment was " stobart can,t afford to pay me" who the hell do they thing is paying the agency?? these type of guys are complete knob rots, in the end I would let them sound off do a bit of bragging and then tell everyone in the room how much that guy was getting paid for that shift. and then watch them scurry away…
You’ll get that BS happening anywhere though. So what if they want to brag? Let them. They won’t make an friends doing it though! I seem to recall reading on here that Stobby agency drivers are on a fixed shift rate and the amount wasn’t anything to write home about (?)
Probably not now, but certainly back in 2005/6/7 there was some serious money to be had working agency or s/e. Doing a Saturday to Thursday shift tramping it was easy to bank over a grand a week with one of the agencies round here and there are members on here that can back that up too as they worked for the same agency. Unfortunately I wasn’t one of the blue-eyed boys who got those too often 
but it was certainly do-able on the rates we were getting. I reckon that 18 quid an hour for Sunday’s is probably pie in the sky for most agencies in the country now?
Rob K:
truckerjon:
Rob K:
dle1uk:
i appreciate some guys want to work as and when and want the flexibility of agency,wish i was in the same position… but some agency guys have bought this on theirselves by bragging ect in the canteens transport offices ect.… i worked at stobs for a while in the office and the amount of agency guys who would walk in and openly brag they were offered this and that and they told them to bollox as they will never work for less then ££££££££££££ p/h and only work 4 hrs or whatever for 12 hrs pay take home half a million a week.
so the decent good agency guys are going to loose outWhat a load of bollox.
While ever companies continue shedding staff due to the recession then it’ll only get worse. I wouldn’t be surprised to see agencies offering minimum wage with no overtime rate in the not too distant future if the current climate continues.
And as with evertything in this life, you get what you pay for. Again it’s these big companies being run by accountants who look at the bottom line. If you have an agency who supply you with good drivers, properly trained and monitored, but charge a little bit more, why change to flybynight agency who offer to undercut them by £2 per hour?. Why do you jump straight over just because some whizz kid in a suit promises you the earth? if they charge you less, they are paying thier drivers less. The good drivers will always be snapped up by the best agencies, so you will be left with the dross that will work for peanuts.
Considering that you are full-time agency yourself, I am rather surprised by your words. In theory, yes, that is how it should be, but the reality is very different. Certainly the majority of the blue chip companies don’t give a toss on the ‘status’ of their agency drivers and will go for whoever can provide them a) cheapest and b) have a big pool of them on tap at short notice. As far as the company is concerned, an agency driver is an agency driver, is an agency driver; good chance of causing some damage, will probably get lost and will probably come back with at least a third of the deliveries undelivered too. And that’s on a good day.
I also disagree with your comment about the good drivers being snapped up by the best agencies. In my experience, agencies don’t ‘snap up’ drivers at all, it’s the other way round. I’ve certainly never known anyone being head-hunted by an driver agency but I’m happy to be corrected. Good drivers use their brains to find the best combination of a) which agency is paying the most, b) which agency has the best (easiest) contracts, coupled with c) the client has plenty of work, and d) hours to suit self to maximise income.
I`ve been approached in the last month by a rival agency to the two I work for at the moment, seems like I became the topic of a conversation on a golf course FFS
They were after “good” drivers for a new contract 
I went to see them, but, I was wasting my time, the rates were KACK, how you can try to poach a driver, then insult them with poor rates, is beyond me
Rob K:
Probably not now, but certainly back in 2005/6/7 there was some serious money to be had working agency or s/e. Doing a Saturday to Thursday shift tramping it was easy to bank over a grand a week with one of the agencies round here and there are members on here that can back that up too as they worked for the same agency. Unfortunately I wasn’t one of the blue-eyed boys who got those too often
i can definatley back this up. 
44 Tonne Ton:
Conor:
44 Tonne Ton:
I’m not giving my licence away to anybody. If you don’t make it worth my while I’ll do something else!Somehow I doubt you’ll tell us about the days when you’re offered g’teed 6 hrs, turn it down and then earn nowt that day…
I banked £708 this week [zb] how did you do?
£655 this week and i got home every day.
gogzy:
44 Tonne Ton:
Conor:
44 Tonne Ton:
I’m not giving my licence away to anybody. If you don’t make it worth my while I’ll do something else!Somehow I doubt you’ll tell us about the days when you’re offered g’teed 6 hrs, turn it down and then earn nowt that day…
I banked £708 this week [zb] how did you do?
£655 this week and i got home every day.
So did I!
Over £600!! You wouldnt do that on a week with 3-4 6hr shifts?? Take you ten shifts and to me it belittles us as drivers to think that you could make more flipping burgers 
52 hrs worked sun /mon /tues/weds/sat
thurs /fri off take home paye £532
this coming week sun mon tues weds thursday working than fri sat off same hours and take home roughly happy agency days
Next week will be different though, only 4 days!
Chopsticks:
In my opinion the only drivers that will be effected by this decrease from 8 to 6 hrs guranteed pay will be those that come in and do one store delivery then mince off home after only a few hours because they think they have done there days work yet still expect to be paid for 8hrs!! And from what I’ve seen in the time I spent on agency there were a few that wanted to do this!! If you are guranteed 8 or as it is now 6 then you should expect to work it, even if that means sitting in transport drinking coffee for 6 hours…and as I said at the start being sent home early was a very rare occurance.
Just my thoughts.
Never worked like that in Sains with the 8 hours, yeah somtimes go out do one run and be back at the say 5hrs 30mins mark and they say nothing happening just go home, you got your 8 hours. But if you came back after 5hrs 30mins and you refused a second run and said you were going home you got marked down as 5hrs30mins wouldnt get your 8 hours.
What they are trying to do is its better having two drivers do 6 hours each i.e. one run than pay one driver to do a 12hour shift where they have to pay OT. Which is happening get a load of drivers in one run then go home. Plus means have a lot more drivers on standby should it get busy, its explotation because of the current economic climate.
But up here maybe has backfired a bit since a lot of drivers getting fed up going in doing one run then sent home only getting 6hours a day and not even guareented 5 days, so get situation where desperate for drivers to cover the shifts. Plus now got a load of new guys in who don’t know the stores and driving wise unknown quanity, so expect a lot more damage to the vehicles.