Shafted by manager

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

:open_mouth: :unamused:

I’ve had my route ‘‘changed’’ to a basically 25% less pay per week for 5 nights a week. It comes out to less than £400 take home. I raised my concerns with the “manager” and he said tough luck. I’ve only been at this job for a month so I really have no grounds to challenge this as I’m still on a 6 month probation period.

My options are:

  1. Find a second source of income (non-tacho work aka compete with van/car drivers for scraps)
  2. Find part-time tacho work (tough)
  3. Find another job (tough)
  4. Ride it out and hope another route becomes available

The stupid thing with this is once they put you on a route that’s it - unless someone on a better route retires or dies, you can’t get another. This leads to difference in pay of up to 100% between different drivers doing basically the same work except one does 55 hours per week where another only does 30, both doing say 5 nights a week. Honestly I was better off on agency, especially before parity pay as I was getting 8 hrs paid per shift no matter what but going back on agency I can pretty much rule out because said manager will make sure I get 0 shifts booked ever. Their “old” drivers are on 40 or 45 hours weekly guaranteed pay where new ones are on 30 hrs so getting a good route looks very unlikely to me - as any large company they’re trying to save pennies and give the ■■■■ runs to newly hired drivers such as myself to avoid “overpaying” us and “underworking” their old drivers.

2

ETS:
I’ve had my route ‘‘changed’’

ETS:
The stupid thing with this is once they put you on a route that’s it - unless someone on a better route retires or dies, you can’t get another.

Sounds like they are taking the ■■■■ if they just changed yours. Some other entitled whinger has been moaning to get his own way and theyve shafted you.

Id bin it personally, and do agency till something else came along if FT is what youd rather do

3

The-Snowman:
Sounds like they are taking the ■■■■ if they just changed yours. Some other entitled whinger has been moaning to get his own way and theyve shafted you.

Id bin it personally, and do agency till something else came along if FT is what youd rather do

I wish I had the balls to tell him this:

4

Be AL Pacino mate, that will cut down your list of option considerably :wink:

5

The-Snowman:
Some other entitled whinger

Spending over 4k on training + cards etc. and expecting to make more than £400 per week for 5 nights of work, incl. of weekends - yeah that’s entitlement. Van drivers on days get more than that (for more hours but still)

6

As you say your a “newbie” to the Company on 6 months probation with 5 months still to go.
Unfortunately “getting shafted” by a Manager comes with being a “newbie” to most, but not all Managers, until your out of probation.Seen it many times over the years many “newbies” have had to grit their teeth and go with it,especially if they know the jobs a good`un. Other than that, tell the Manager your system is not for me and leave on good terms by mutual consent.

7

lolipop:
As you say your a “newbie” to the Company on 6 months probation with 5 months still to go.
Unfortunately “getting shafted” by a Manager comes with being a “newbie” to most, but not all Managers, until your out of probation.Seen it many times over the years many “newbies” have had to grit their teeth and go with it,especially if they know the jobs a good`un. Other than that, tell the Manager your system is not for me and leave on good terms by mutual consent.

Fair comment.
What would the OP say if he had been on for the company for a few years, and a new starter was on a “better” route?
.
Decide if working your way up is worth it or not, and act accordingly.

8

I’m probably well out of touch , but on that wage wouldn’t you be entitled to benefits ?

9

Franglais:
Fair comment.
What would the OP say if he had been on for the company for a few years, and a new starter was on a “better” route?
.
Decide if working your way up is worth it or not, and act accordingly.

Wait a second, I never said I want the best routes or a good one. I had a mediocre one, barely 40 hours weekly and work on a Saturday night but was happy to get that. The issue is it was changed for the sake of fitting company interests (save a few £100 per month). They’ll never put an old-timer on a short run anyway because that way they’re over-paying them (they’re on 45/week w. paid breaks) It’s new drivers who get them who are on the new, 30 hour contracts.

Either way, I’ll stick with it for now but I’ll be doing a few hours of uber-eats before shifts - humiliating as it may be, while waiting for responses to my applications for other jobs. :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: It’s a dead-man shoes job, I think I naively jumped into the deep end at the start of my career.

10

Can’t see the problem, newbies have always got the crappy end of the stick in this job, worst motor,.worst shifts, worst loads, worst runs…it’s ‘realworld’ stuff.
At least you get training on individual jobs trucks and trailers today, unlike once over when you were just handed the keys and told to get on with it.
When you are experienced and not costing the firm down to your inexperience, the next new guy will get the job you are on, and you move up. :bulb:

11

I can see your point on the 30 hours over 5 days. What is that 6 hour shifts? I believe the specification of full-time as opposed to part-time is 30 hours plus, but getting you in the 5 days for those hours seems harsh.

12

Noremac:
I can see your point on the 30 hours over 5 days. What is that 6 hour shifts? I believe the specification of full-time as opposed to part-time is 30 hours plus, but getting you in the 5 days for those hours seems harsh.

5.5 - 6 hours per shift, yes - depending on how long it takes to get loaded at start. Anything up to 6 hrs 45 mins is paid as 6 hours because unpaid breaks. It’s interesting in my contract it doesn’t say I’m not allowed to work elsewhere parallel - I just have to notify them and they can ask me to not work elsewhere if they think it negatively affects my work performance. I signed with the implicit understanding that 6 hour shifts are going to sometimes happen like maybe once, twice a week but overall I was expecting 38-40 on average across the whole month, not literally 30 every week for a full week, week after week :unamused:

13

ETS:

The-Snowman:
Some other entitled whinger

Spending over 4k on training + cards etc. and expecting to make more than £400 per week for 5 nights of work, incl. of weekends - yeah that’s entitlement. Van drivers on days get more than that (for more hours but still)

I wasnt calling you the whinger, it was the guy who went moaning that he wanted your route

14

Sometimes it is better to get the experience and then move companies, works in any trade - I went from a job paying me £3.50hr to over £75 in 7 years. They will take advantage of you no matter what, but when they are desperate, they will look at you first to bail them out. Remember that the 6 moth probation works both ways, if this is how they treat you. Give them the two-fingered salute.

  • Can you survive on what they pay? Yes? Stay for the experience, it is the experience that will get you better wages.
  • Be a model employee even with a shady outfit.
  • Was the job offer based on a basic income per week? If now different you can get them for breach of contract and failure to make a guaranteed payment. Speak to Citizens Advice.
  • Have they shafted you and now paying you less than minimum wages? If so, report it to Social Services.
  • Get them to write a letter outlining your basic hours and wages for the social services (say its for child support calculations) and go and see if you are owed a payout to support you. (Benefits calculators - GOV.UK)

Take the passive approach, don’t throw your toys out of the pram just yet - some income is better than none. Bide your time and find their weaknesses and then exploit the ■■■■ out of it. I am still earning a small passive income from when I shafted the company, that tried to shaft me! They got a CCJ against them (cost them £5k to remove it) and I’m still getting paid £200 a year since 99, for 5 lines of computer code I wrote on my own time making it my intellectual property - they tried and failed :smiley:

Good luck!

15

Caerleon:
Sometimes it is better to get the experience and then move companies, works in any trade - I went from a job paying me £3.50hr to over £75 in 7 years. They will take advantage of you no matter what, but when they are desperate, they will look at you first to bail them out. Remember that the 6 moth probation works both ways, if this is how they treat you. Give them the two-fingered salute.

Appreciate the advice. It’s not just me, it’s almost every new driver they’ve hired since April. No wonder there are drivers still on agency after 5 months - they just don’t want contracts, I was naive enough to believe that as a company they’d look after their own drivers, as in make sure they get a full week’s work/wage unlike the agency; it’s not like that, it’s all about fitting drivers around routes to avoid ‘‘overpaying’’ new ones and ‘‘under working’’ old ones who are on 40 hrs guaranteed.

Caerleon:

  • Can you survive on what they pay? Yes? Stay for the experience, it is the experience that will get you better wages.

I can but to put it in perspective, I was making £50 less for 37.5 hrs weekly 2 years ago as a warehouse guy and was £4 000 richer before I spent that much on all the plastic cards. I’m not getting that much experience except on paper - it’s the same run every night -1 drop and not even a proper reverse, just a U-turn and then reverse anywhere into the middle of the yard without hitting anything, then back to yard usually a straight reverse onto bay.

Caerleon:

  • Be a model employee even with a shady outfit.

I used to be until 2 days ago. I’ve gotten compliments on my work ethic, reliability, willingness to ‘‘go the extra mile’’ and attention to detail by more than one person from the transport office. Unfortunately right now I’m the complete opposite, hopefully it’s only temporary until the initial shock is over :grimacing:

Caerleon:

  • Was the job offer based on a basic income per week? If now different you can get them for breach of contract and failure to make a guaranteed payment. Speak to Citizens Advice.
  • Have they shafted you and now paying you less than minimum wages? If so, report it to Social Services.
  • Get them to write a letter outlining your basic hours and wages for the social services (say its for child support calculations) and go and see if you are owed a payout to support you. (Benefits calculators - GOV.UK)

No, it’s 30 hours/week with fixed hourly rate, no mention of pay guarantees anywhere, only that the company is obliged to find me suitable work for these hours every week which they do. I don’t qualify for UC presently

Caerleon:
Take the passive approach, don’t throw your toys out of the pram just yet - some income is better than none. Bide your time and find their weaknesses and then exploit the [zb] out of it. I am still earning a small passive income from when I shafted the company, that tried to shaft me! They got a CCJ against them (cost them £5k to remove it) and I’m still getting paid £200 a year since 99, for 5 lines of computer code I wrote on my own time making it my intellectual property - they tried and failed :smiley:

Good luck!

Thanks. I’ve spoken to a few other drivers there, basically the mood is ‘‘every man for himself’’ although there is sympathy from old timers, word is some of the newly joined are already looking for jobs elsewhere. Other than that, I knock it out in 5 hours start to finish and they let me go home so there’s that at least.

16

As robroy said mate, it’s always start at the bottom. If it really is a dead mans shoes job, look for something else, but we all had to start somewhere. I’ve driven some right old bangers in my time and had good runs taken off me to please some other end of a needle… see what I did there :smiley: Anyway, you’re the only one that can do anything about it.

17

peterm:
As robroy said mate, it’s always start at the bottom. If it really is a dead mans shoes job, look for something else, but we all had to start somewhere. I’ve driven some right old bangers in my time and had good runs taken off me to please some other end of a needle… see what I did there :smiley: Anyway, you’re the only one that can do anything about it.

Yep, he’s evidently working for a crap outfit that thinks the thick end of ■■■■ all about him and the rest of their drivers (welcome to the haulage industry btw)
So knuckle down to it, head down, take the crap (as we all had to at the start) and then he’ll end up with 6 months good experience on his cv,.and consequently qualify for a good job with a decent outfit…that’s how it works,.that’s how it’s always worked . :bulb:

18

You just know it would be the other way round if it the job was salaried @ 40 or 48 hours job and knock, the well in, sorry, wingeing scheming game players, would have that 6 hour run sewn up and the non wingers, ie you, would be working all the long jobs.

I think you dropped a bollock accepting a job with only 30 hours guaranteed, whilst that might suit some people with little or no outgoings it was obvious there was a reason.

I also think you are dropping a bollock knocking your 6 hour run out in 5 hours if what i read is correct, once you’ve established a pattern of this you may find yourself the first choice as you have several hours extra available each week, being clever about so called job and knock only works if you’re a schemer, for the rest of us its far better to take the day steady and fill it up, its up to you of course just telling you how it works out there.

19

Juddian:
You just know it would be the other way round if it the job was salaried @ 40 or 48 hours job and knock, the well in, sorry, wingeing scheming game players, would have that 6 hour run sewn up and the non wingers, ie you, would be working all the long jobs.

I think you dropped a bollock accepting a job with only 30 hours guaranteed, whilst that might suit some people with little or no outgoings it was obvious there was a reason.

I also think you are dropping a bollock knocking your 6 hour run out in 5 hours if what i read is correct, once you’ve established a pattern of this you may find yourself the first choice as you have several hours extra available each week, being clever about so called job and knock only works if you’re a schemer, for the rest of us its far better to take the day steady and fill it up, its up to you of course just telling you how it works out there.

Quite so.
Signing up for a 30hr contract and counting on overtime to make ends meet…
Not uncommon, and many do this for years with no problem, but so long as the OP is getting his guaranteed pay?
Sorry, but the OP hasn’t much of a case.
.
Nothing wrong with a company offering 30hr weeks. Good work for someone who wants set hours, and might be semi-retired, have other commitments, maybe child care, or whatever.
But not necessarily the right fit here.

20

If I’m correct by what you just typed your a new driver. I don’t do class one or hgv anymore but let me tell you my experience over a long time and this is the number one rule . NEVER trust another hgv driver as 98 percent of them are all grasses. If you have mentioned any of this in the yard to Frank or Dave or Tommy and think there all sound working class blokes your wrong ,they have already gone in the office and prob said your slagging the manager and company of. What’s happened is all them guys who are working there have realised you was on a decent run ,you prob walked around little happy then chatted to Tommy or Frank who you think are sound . They have ran in the office and said you should not be doing a good run ect and they want it and prob to get what they want said oh yeah he was saying this and that about the company as well. So they moved you to a ■■■■ run because I feel sorry for new drivers they really really don’t understand the amount of sad people and grasses in the transport industry. So if the manager is now half arse being funny with you I guarantee bother driver has grassed u up about something or told tales or spun something and made it out worse. So for the manager to keep getting kgb grassing information they will [zb] you over in another way with out saying oh Tommy told us this. Another thing if your a new driver trust me drivers can tell by the way your dressed the way you walk that your new I could tell a mile of by someone just stood in the transport office. So the firm will think your desperate for work and the other drivers will just think nothing of you and prob use you as a pawn to get good with the office because Frank or Tommy or Dave already know grasses coz a cat knows a cat a dog k ows a dog and your the easy target. Basically I think you have been grassed up and other drivers have seen your run and didn’t like you doing it and they have [zb]u over to the office . So if they have done that next step is they will be waiting for another new pass to apply and prob [zb]you of. And your now in a industry where all them transport men know each other they give each other jobs to do ect. So if you leave on baddish terms your name will be blackened and they will say oh yeah him he wouldn’t do this or that always moaning ect. So just put up with it till you find other work and only ever speak to a driver if you have to in your next jobs. As sadly this is what the transport industry is full of and in this present time people going to be snitching on each other even more as no jobs and mega economic problems coming. So you think Tommy who has two years left on the mortgage or Dave with three kids and rent to pay are going to go home to their missus and say oh guess what I’ve lost my job. Tells you about society go Google nearly one million people in the UK informed using the official phone number on NEIGHBORS during covid lockdown. So what you think there doing to a wet behind the ears new driver ? Good luck plz believe me your going to need it.