Winseer:
I pay a mortgage, have a young family, and rarely get a full week’s worth of work. I make up for that by cramming when I do get something. Supermarkets are no flavour of the month for most, myself included, but they are good for a cram when otherwise on a quiet week. 3x15 hour shifts at the supermarket more than makes up for not getting a 5x8 hours pretty much anywhere else. 40% less commuting time and expense too!
For those weeks were you might get bugger all 2 or 3 weeks on the spin - that’s what your holiday pot is for. Don’t have one? Find another agency.
Last year, I did have a go at signing on for a few weeks - because I had not built up a decent holiday pot as yet, having only just started with agency in late 2011.
As for the DSS though - Sheesh! What a load of ■■■■■■■■ THAT was! They look after those that are happy to lie about “looking for work” and then strangely don’t do any for YEARS, but constantly harass the newbies like me to such an extent that I signed up with lots more agencies just so I could have an excuse to sign off again! The main hassle was being asked about “what full time jobs I’d applied for that week” bearing in mind they are like Rocking Horse Crap around here as it is. They don’t seem to understand at the dss that one chases around for shifts at agencies nowdays rather than the pitiful few FT jobs around…
Now I’ve got some holiday pot built up, I’ll just draw that down on “down” weeks instead. No more of the dss ■■■■■■■■ for yours truly if I can help it…
Besides, you don’t know you’ll not have any work in a particular week until the END of it, by which point the dss will pump you as to why you didn’t sign on at the BEGINNING of the same week…
FFS - Expect you to have a crystal ball too eh?
I won’t be arsed with the whole thing at all next time around - assuming they’ll be a future long spell of layoff in this recession I’m not convinced is done yet.
If you draw your holiday pot down at around the £180pw mark, you’ll not pay deductions which is better than drawing a big wedge and losing nearly a third of it, because you can’t handle taking home less than £500 per week.
Do you think that you’re working the agency system to your benefit, or do you think that the agency system is working you to their benefit?
Must admit alarm bells rang with me; Most tipper operators wont touch inexperienced drivers with a barge pole. HIAB work is mostly utility so the relevant construction skills cards must be obtained. For quarry work an EPIC card is all but mandatory too nowadays. The agency I was with couldn’t get any work on tippers for me, despite 11 years experience, EPIC card, NVQs and plant operating experience. Hence I’m now delivering flour but would keenly swap a taillift for a tipper.
stobarttrucker:
For those weeks were you might get bugger all 2 or 3 weeks on the spin - that’s what your holiday pot is for. Don’t have one? Find another agency.
“Do you think that you’re working the agency system to your benefit, or do you think that the agency system is working you to their benefit?”
[/quote]
Like any job, there’s an aspect of give and take. Right now, I feel like I’m “using the agency to stay off the dole” if you like. One can also say they get to use me when I’ve had no work so far in a week, and then get offered one of the more crappy jobs. Since I’m not afraid of hard graft, “crappy” to me means a flat shift at distance, or a job where you don’t really get a proper break.
Ie. you take your 45 standing around waiting for forkie to load you, because there’s nowhere to get hot food for example. For that, read palletwork - my pet hate.
Farm work? I don’t get to do this very often, but that’s better during the day for obvious reasons. Night trunking? Probably my speciality - but not if I’m still driving with the nodding dog around heathrow come morning rush hour. My perfect week’s work is probably going to be something like 6pm-6am 5 days one week and 4x12 hoursacross the weekend the next week if it’s about maximising pay. 15 hours makes more sense if the work is “bitty”, and so far I’ve never been up for doing an entire week of supermarkets, thus what I do get may be considered to be a bit more varied as a result. Supermarkets, Catering, Farmwork, and Palletwork have been the only jobs so far where I’ve done 15 hour max-outs in the 18 months I’ve been on agency. I do them as odd shifts NEVER the whole week through, since I still believe that 75-90 hour weeks week in, week out is dangerous and illegal you see. Most others on here disagree with me, but it’s my life and my licence so I’ll stick with my own plan that’s kept me accident-free for over two decades already.
I guess what the agency get out of me that they might not get from even a less fussy bod is my availablility to do friday nights at short notice - something not popular with other drivers, who prefer the whole week given them at once, and make social plans for friday if they’ve not been given friday earlier in the week. I also keep sundays free until friday afternoon for bookings as well. Any weekend socialising I’ve got to do usually gets done on Saturdays, thus I can put my social life around my work moreso than the other way around.
stobarttrucker:
For those weeks were you might get bugger all 2 or 3 weeks on the spin - that’s what your holiday pot is for. Don’t have one? Find another agency.
holiday pots are for going on holiday with
Oddly enough, holidays don’t seem to be very cheap where the weather is nice during late January and mid April which are currently the “dead” times of the year around here.
I’m not one for fancying a dirty weekend in Scarborough in the snow, and can’t seem to afford a nice trip away during the Easter holidays, 'cos prices have only dropped for places where I don’t want to do like Turkey, Greece, or SPain right now.
If you get say, 4 weeks holiday pay @ £500pw even as takehome, you’re not going to get a lot of holiday resort for that - unless you intend going somewhere on your own.
I used to like Egypt as a cheap holiday destination, but have not been back there since all the troubles started. It’s still as cheap as chips though, just not very safe-feeling from a family perspective.
If I were a single man, I’d jump at the chance though, since Egypt is a place where you’ll spend money slower than you’re earning it in holiday pay, and hence you’ll actually find more in your bank account by the time you come home than when you set out!
Must admit alarm bells rang with me; Most tipper operators wont touch inexperienced drivers with a barge pole.
All I can offer is my experience so far as there is no “BS” to it. For now its working for me and I have suggested inbox me and I’ll gladly supply agencies and the Tipper Co. NAME (Renowned for taking on Newbies)
I work on facts and here is the caption;
"C Hi-ab driver
Job description
This position is being advertised by The Best Connection, who are operating as an Employment Business.
We are seeking Class 2 drivers for delivering of building products throughout the Country. Deliveries will be made with the use of Hi-Ab crane so certification will be required. Experience in this line of work is preferred but not essential so long you hold Hi-Ab licence.
Shifts are days and occasional weekends.
Regular work with good pay and overtime rates available.
Contract of Employments given from the start with a choice of optional travel and subsistence scheme available.
I know the company and the job your on about so i know hes not bs LOL, seems to be your dammed if you do dammed if you dont on here,
hes got himself sorted got on with it then gets ripped by fellow drivers, as for agencys been there because of redundency and its much better than dole when you theres no one taking on full time, hows about a bit of support for each other, each to there own, its only a job.
Muckaway:
Best Connection; One of the biggest Directgov Job site spammers.
I think they phoned me a couple of times around 5am to “demand” me to come in and do some £8ph dustcart work.
Not bothered about the work, but I was bothered about being phoned at 5am (just gone to bed on 6pm-3am shift that week) when I specifically stated in my sign up that I want 10am-8pm starts ONLY.
Obviously they thought I was some DSS “pushed into my lap” bod who’s ‘gotta take this shift or die’ or whatever happens to people who turn down the stupid O clock crap pay starts and is actually signing on at the time.
Turned it down? Since then… Nothing. If they don’t have any work for clean licence holders, then they clearly are only looking to fill shifts with any old dross that mostly are being forced in some way to do the work.
Avoid Avoid Avoid. They work for Potiphar and are only interested in lickcocks and desperate unemployed to work their crappy bits and pieces work.
Although anything written a paper like the mail can be considered 90% ■■■■■■■■, The agency I last worked for over 2 years ago has sent me emails in the last couple of months asking if I’m interested in working for them again. Obviously they like to have plenty of drivers on their books, but every time I signed up with them I got plenty of work. So maybe companies are seeing an upturn, but don’t want to commit employing permanent drivers.
Pimpdaddy:
The only best connection they have is up their own ring-piece. Btw wtf is DSS…?
When you are on benefits. DSS. Department of Social Security.
Unfortunately some of us have had the misfortune of being unemployed.
So have I, over last Christmas. Signing up with an agency to me, felt embarassing and only slightly better than signing on. Made worse by the umbrella scheme. Thankfully I jumped ship and went to work for one of the companies who hired me.
The only driving jons in my are to come up on Directgov recently have been from spam merchants like Best Correction.
muckles:
Although anything written a paper like the mail can be considered 90% [zb], The agency I last worked for over 2 years ago has sent me emails in the last couple of months asking if I’m interested in working for them again. Obviously they like to have plenty of drivers on their books, but every time I signed up with them I got plenty of work. So maybe companies are seeing an upturn, but don’t want to commit employing permanent drivers.
Beats me why they don’t sign up some drivers with a single shift a week guaranteed on a particular day? I thought ADN were offering this with their “12 hour contract” but it turned out to be 2x6 hours whenever they felt like (meaning stupid O’clock midweek near minimum wage) instead of say, 12 hours on a single weekend day £11-£14ph, which I was really interested in. Got conned into coming in again for another waste of time sign-up.
The agencies in the Thames Estuary area seemed dead keen to sign me up when I said I was after “nights and weekends in particular”, but clearly lied when they explained to me after signing up that “You have to work the low-rate weekday work to earn your right to do some plum-pay weekend stuff”. WTF? Why DO they bother knowing that I’m just gonna walk?
I like working weekends and nights because that’s the only damned way I can get the majority of agencies to pay me my minimum callout FFS!
Take less than £10ph on the commutes I often get asked to do, and once tax/NI and fuel, and commute time has come out, I’ve got bugger all left.
Occasionally I get offered rates like £14ph to do a last minute midweek shift. I’m there of course… Shame I can’t get work like that more often than a handful of times per year though.
Has anyone out there found an agency that’ll give you a block of work longer than some bods annual leave? Where are these 13 week rolling contracts I hear about?
Honestly I didn’t have a clue what it meant in that respect-I’m not extracting urine, I’ve only only ever known it as ‘benefits/dole’. I have been unemployed several times but never long enough to claim anything…
I think the system has changed from “having to be out of work so many weeks” before you get any money dated to it.
Today, you have to predict how long you’re gonna be out of work for - at least that’s what I was told last year when I had no work or holiday pot for a few weeks.
Couldn’t get out of the place quick enough, but got asked the proverbial 101 questions. I couldn’t understand how all these other folk around me - single mums, no speke English women with babes in arms, and 6 stone blokes looking like they need some drug money - got any money out of this system as it is now?
They lie of course. How naive of me. If any of them actually took a job, they’d be docked the same amount they got given free in benefits, and lose the cost of the commuting on top.
The system isn’t fit for purpose. Perhaps the Universal Credit will work in time if it’s only paid to those who actually get some work, even voluntary, rather than just pay it out to those who look like they’ve yet to work day one of their lives…
If I was on the desk looking at some of these lowlifes, I’d say "You’re a junkie, and you’re just gonna spend the money on drugs. No handouts for YOU until you’re clean, AND you’ve started work. For the single mums - Get yourself a new fella - there’s plenty out there. No Tax credits unless you’re a couple dammit! No JSA because you’re not looking for a job! No housing benefit, because you didn’t apply for planning permission to have kids out of wedlock!
A qualified driver can walk into a recruitment agency anywhere in the UK today and get a shift right now:
Yes,and pigs might fly!!!
Funnily enough last time I signed up at an agency the girl asked when could I start I asked why and she said there a company waiting for a driver now so I went home got changed and was straight off
The other agency I signed up with I was given work from the day after signing up and worked every day I wanted to (5/6) days a week for a good few months
40% less commuting time and expense too!
My perfect week’s work is probably going to be something like 6pm-6am 5 days one week and 4x12 hoursacross the weekend the next week if it’s about maximising pay. 15 hours makes more sense if the work is “bitty”, and so far I’ve never been up for doing an entire week of supermarkets, thus what I do get may be considered to be a bit more varied as a result. Supermarkets, Catering, Farmwork, and Palletwork have been the only jobs so far where I’ve done 15 hour max-outs in the 18 months I’ve been on agency. I do them as odd shifts NEVER the whole week through, since I still believe that 75-90 hour weeks week in, week out is dangerous and illegal you see. Most others on here disagree with me, but it’s my life and my licence so I’ll stick with my own plan that’s kept me accident-free for over two decades already. 
If they don’t have any work for clean licence holders, then they clearly are only looking to fill shifts with any old dross that mostly are being forced in some way to do the work. 
For the single mums - Get yourself a new fella - there’s plenty out there. No Tax credits unless you’re a couple dammit! No JSA because you’re not looking for a job!