Hello all. Just want a bit of advice from those of you in the know please.
I’ve been doing agency work for the past 6 months in the London area. I’ve been offered full time work from a few of the companies I have been sent to but have declined because I like the flexibility of agency work and the rates paid are good (class 1 mon - fri £10 -£13.50/ weekends £13.50 -£20 p.hr).
I have always fancied doing my own thing and have failed a couple of times. But it’s last chance saloon for me and I’m seriously thinking about starting my own driving agency. The bloke who I work for started 5 yrs ago after being “just a driver” like me. If he can do it - so can I. (And he’s driving around in a big shiny Merc now).
My questions & queries are:
What advice can any of you give me please?
What rates would you suggest I charge (for London), considering my overheads will be minimal at first because I’ll be on my own working from home?
Is it Transport Managers who decides which agency to use within differant companies? In other words, whose rear end should I be licking in order to start the ball rolling?
Supplying hgv drivers is an unregulated industry at the moment, but are there any recognised bodies whom I need to get in with?
Any ideas where I can get good, reliable drivers from? Where do I advertise? Am I allowed to ask any of you good folk if you were interested in doing a bit of work?
it’s a pretty big step and you will require a bit of cash to start up.
all those drivers will want paying (if you manage to recruit any in the first place), the companies you send them to may not pay you until the end of the month following the month they received your invoice.
then there are the disputes over hours worked etc, damage to vehicles, tachograph charts lost, some companies now refuse to pay for a drivers services if they do not receive the tacho for the day or week in question.
some companies also require agencies to carry an additional damage insurance so that any drivers that damage their vehicles they don’t have to pay for it themselves but can claim of the agency insurance instead.
tax and ni contributions will also need to be deducted from the drivers pay, you may also find that you are required to offer a pensions scheme, public liability insurance etc.
it’s not an easy task or a cheap one either.
even when you have everything it doesn’t take much to lose your reputation and be the last agency on the list that anyone calls for a driver.
johnny:
it’s a pretty big step and you will require a bit of cash to start up.
all those drivers will want paying (if you manage to recruit any in the first place), the companies you send them to may not pay you until the end of the month following the month they received your invoice.
then there are the disputes over hours worked etc, damage to vehicles, tachograph charts lost, some companies now refuse to pay for a drivers services if they do not receive the tacho for the day or week in question.
some companies also require agencies to carry an additional damage insurance so that any drivers that damage their vehicles they don’t have to pay for it themselves but can claim of the agency insurance instead.
tax and ni contributions will also need to be deducted from the drivers pay, you may also find that you are required to offer a pensions scheme, public liability insurance etc.
it’s not an easy task or a cheap one either.
even when you have everything it doesn’t take much to lose your reputation and be the last agency on the list that anyone calls for a driver.
Agreed. I looked into it myself and came up against all these problems. One which John hasn’t mentioned is the need to set up a business bank account. This isn’t easy as your bank manager will want to see a business plan put together and most business accounts that I know of cost money to set up too.
Trying to get companies to come to you for driver’s is another difficult one. The question I found coming up a lot when asking about it was “can you supply a lot of driver’s?” - they all want driver’s on tap when it suits them. Completely unrealistic in a real world.
Damage insurance and public liability insurance aren’t cheap either.
There’s a lot of competition about too. You’ll find yourself faced with the dilemna of companies only wanting to pay x amount to you and then on the other side of the coin you’ll have driver’s want x amount per hour. Once you’ve taken into account all your running costs, you’ll be left with peanuts, unless you have a hell of a lot of driver’s on your books that are out working night and day.
Any ideas where I can get good, reliable drivers from? Where do I advertise?
if you are after top quality drivers you should try and recruit from any of the former eastern block countries where you will find many top quality hard working men prepared to come and work for you,
you will also have the benifit of being able to make a substancial profit on each hour worked by these drivers as you would beable to pay the min wage, which would almost certainly be cheaper then a British driver could work for, and still charge the going rate for drivers in your area which would give you a healthy profit, also the minimum wage to a eastern block driver would still seem like a decent wage so it would be a win win situation for everyone.
A good place to advertise would be any of the Truck mags or just pick up a copy of BP truckstop news and there you will find some ads from drivers from Poland etc seeking work in the UK, also another good place would be to give your details to any eastern block driver you see already driving in the UK for a British company, almost any fridge haulier is now using eastern block labour .
Maybe have some flyers printed up and hand out too fridge drivers , even if its a British driver I am sure he would be more then happy to hand your flyer to any eastern block drivers he may have working for his /her company.
agency driver1:
Hello all. Just want a bit of advice from those of you in the know please.
My questions & queries are:
What advice can any of you give me please?
What rates would you suggest I charge (for London), considering my overheads will be minimal at first because I’ll be on my own working from home?
Is it Transport Managers who decides which agency to use within differant companies? In other words, whose rear end should I be licking in order to start the ball rolling?
Supplying hgv drivers is an unregulated industry at the moment, but are there any recognised bodies whom I need to get in with?
Any ideas where I can get good, reliable drivers from? Where do I advertise? Am I allowed to ask any of you good folk if you were interested in doing a bit of work?
Don’t do it. I work self employed. I’m on 60 day payment with alot of firms. That measn that potentially for every driver you have on the books, you could be looking at needing £5000 to pay their wage until YOU get paid.
In East Yorks its around £12/hr basic and £18 OT.
Yes.
there is a trade body for employment agencies.
You’ll have to poach the best ones. Advertise in local papers, job centre, trucking mags.
DO NOT BOTHER. My mate ran an agency supplying factory workers. Had at any time about 50 out working fulltime. Ended up going bankrupt after 12 months with debts of over £50,000 and companies owing him double that. Non paying customers were the kiss of death.
Set yourself up as a self employed driver. Go to the companies you drive with on agency and tell them you’re self employed. Give them a rate about £3/hr above what the agency pay you. You’ll find that if you’re half decent, they’ll jump at the chance.
Rob K:
Trying to get companies to come to you for driver’s is another difficult one. The question I found coming up a lot when asking about it was “can you supply a lot of driver’s?” - they all want driver’s on tap when it suits them. Completely unrealistic in a real world.
Surely this is exactly what an agency does?!
Personally I think that agencies are “carving the job up”, giving drivers unrealistic earning asperations, whilst charging through the nose for, inexperienced, inferior drivers. In short, Paracites! (Generalisation I know, but observations made through personal experience!)
Thank you for your replies. I didn’t realise that a lot of you hate agencys so much!! Personally, I think they are great. I never take home lessn than £600 a week. I take off time whenever I want. There is no shortage of work whenever I need it and as I treat it like a full time job. I fully understand the pitfalls of trying to start a business - I failed twice before (although not in this business). I don’t think there’s anything wromg with being ambitious!!! As for your pretty derogatory remarks about Eastern Europeans “Suffolk reeferboy”, If I get started and any driver whether there British, Polish or from Outer Mongolia, they would be be paid the same rate as each other. Why would they work for any less than anyone else? This crap about foreign drivers coming here and working for peanuts is absolute rubbish. Thanks for advice anyway. I’ll let you know if I make a go of it or not!!!
agency driver1:
As for your pretty derogatory remarks about Eastern Europeans “Suffolk reeferboy”, If I get started and any driver whether there British, Polish or from Outer Mongolia, they would be be paid the same rate as each other. Why would they work for any less than anyone else? This crap about foreign drivers coming here and working for peanuts is absolute rubbish. Thanks for advice anyway. I’ll let you know if I make a go of it or not!!!
I think you maybe reading into my reply something that wasnt there , please accept my humblest apologies if I upset you , no offence was meant .
agency driver1:
As for your pretty derogatory remarks about Eastern Europeans “Suffolk reeferboy”, If I get started and any driver whether there British, Polish or from Outer Mongolia, they would be be paid the same rate as each other. Why would they work for any less than anyone else? This crap about foreign drivers coming here and working for peanuts is absolute rubbish. Thanks for advice anyway. I’ll let you know if I make a go of it or not!!!
I think you maybe reading into my reply something that wasnt there , please accept my humblest apologies if I upset you , no offence was meant .
Your signature on the other hand is highly offensive.
agency driver1:
As for your pretty derogatory remarks about Eastern Europeans “Suffolk reeferboy”, If I get started and any driver whether there British, Polish or from Outer Mongolia, they would be be paid the same rate as each other. Why would they work for any less than anyone else? This crap about foreign drivers coming here and working for peanuts is absolute rubbish. Thanks for advice anyway. I’ll let you know if I make a go of it or not!!!
I think you maybe reading into my reply something that wasnt there , please accept my humblest apologies if I upset you , no offence was meant .
Your signature on the other hand is highly offensive.
Mr Roo , I find your remarks about my signature to be petty and derogatory although I agree with you answer about agencys
It has come to my notice that the great town of Ipswich is now in the same poor quality league concerning football as our poorer Norfolk cousins , who in my eyes have a better chance of dragging their(Norwich) butts out of the sorry league we are now both in
But I will live in hope And I will die a Tractor Boy what ever LEAGUE Joe drags us down into
I think there’s an Agency section on the DTi website you should do some homework on. 
, please accept my humblest apologies if I upset you , no offence was meant .
