Harry Monk:
The golden rule is large or small, drive for a company where transport is not the core business.
That’s the gig I’ve been doing for 3 years and I fully agree. Everybody’s on first name terms including the MD.
Did the boss mention what happened to the guy/gal youre replacing ? When you think about it bit of a lucky coincidence you drop on by and theres a truck ready with vacancy that you fit the bill perfectly.
Conor:
Wait until you start to be asked to run bent, you end up running in every Saturday, you get done for not securing your load cos you didn’t have enough ratchet straps to do it, that annoying warning light on your dash is still there three weeks later and your missus is going mental at the amount of your own personal clothing you’re ruining at work and you’re off work with an injury because you hurt yourself doing something that the rose tinted halfwits out there refer to as the good old days.I’ve spent the last 20 years living with the consequences of how we used to do it in the good old days of “proper old school trucking” and I’ve now got a permanent life restricting reminder of it until the day I die. Stuff working for small family companies. Done it in the past, never again. Much rather work for large companies that have better terms and conditions, decent fleet maintenance, provide workwear so I don’t have to knacker my own clothing and who demonstrate on a regular basis their belief that people don’t go to work to get made ill by their job, get injured or worse.
I have found over the years that small family run businesses worked for me, no pointy shoes in the office, only the gaffer, and he has done what he expects you to do, whereas in a very large company theres lots i cant deal with. A small company is not going to call you to a disciplinary, he will call you in and sort it himself, and yes sometimes you work for the big boys through him, but no issue there, been there and done it…however, not all companies have healthcare/sick pay in place, including the big ones…unless you want to pay for it…pensions have to be offered to all employees anyway. But one firm i did work for, gave us a wage packet every week…which was generous i might add, trucks were great, well maintained, trailers too…but when i became ill, and had to claim SSP…they refused as they said i hadnt paid my stamps…i explained i was an employee, and after some checks came back and said i was self employed…and i hadnt worked for him…however, i always kept wage packets ( with deductions for tax and N.I. ) which he wasnt paying…and i also managed to collect weighbridge tickets from companies i had tipped at…and so i managed to get some money coming in …but just shows ya what can happen in an emergency.
All in all, i still preferred to work for small companies, as i always believed in too many chiefs and not enough indians kind of company., one large company i did work for, had everything in place…replaced units and trailers every 5 years ( leased and 75 of them in fact ) had all the departments…H&S…Wages…training…clothing…you name it, they had it…but the wages were atrocious and wanted max hours too from the pointy shoes who never had a clue…neither did the transport manager who was in house trained from a clerk, as no one would take the job for £17 grand a year…just shows ya.
corij:
Did the boss mention what happened to the guy/gal youre replacing ? When you think about it bit of a lucky coincidence you drop on by and theres a truck ready with vacancy that you fit the bill perfectly.
I find the harder I work, the luckier I get!
The person I’m replacing was supposed to retire a couple of years ago, but stayed on for reasons that weren’t explained. They’ve now gone part time and share the bosses truck which frees up what will be my truck. Lucky coincidence? Certainly, but I’ll take it.
corij:
Did the boss mention what happened to the guy/gal youre replacing ? When you think about it bit of a lucky coincidence you drop on by and theres a truck ready with vacancy that you fit the bill perfectly.
Drivers can leave jobs for any number of reasons, often because a change in their personal circumstances means that the job no longer suits their domestic situation.