why on earth would someone go out drive all day long risk getting locked up for nothing at all it only takes one second and theres a accident and your locked up for death by dangrous driving .
or you can go work in a factory earn the same and have no brainer of a job with no risks .
when budgeting for drivers i work out a decent wage for decent driver is 600 before tax
old saying that have always stuck by is pay penuats get monkey’s and belive in the long run paying that bit more to secure a decent driver saves in the long run and they look after you well thats my way of thinking shame these drivers tend to be far and few between though .
We have a flat rate monday to sunday, which is £11.16… between 6pm and 6am it goes up to £12.66. Pretty good imo, i normally start circa 4am and am done and on my way home by half 12. so get extra couple hours at higher rate. All that for running around at speed limits, no stress, no hassle, 1 drop…
CRISPY:
Here we go again , I bet if most are honest and put all the bull to one side they earn not much more or may be a tad less , I do 5p an hour more drive an 8 year old Foden of which i’ve heard more than once " You would’nt catch me in THAT" but as i’ve said on here before my boss is one in a million , my wife has M/S and on Thursday she rang my boss up saying she was having a real bad day struggling with the simplest things so then I got a phone call of him saying turn around and come home no moaning just home , to me thats worth £20 p/h .
Alright yea more money would be nice but I have a good life so the way I see it is The grass is’nt greener and I don’t chase the £ .
I ar’nt even going to put a tin hat on so slate away because sticks and stones etc…
well my respect goes your way fella because from reading your post i would be feeling the same but in a different way. its a job at the end of the day which brings in money and pays the bills
psv8:
why on earth would someone go out drive all day long risk getting locked up for nothing at all it only takes one second and theres a accident and your locked up for death by dangrous driving .
or you can go work in a factory earn the same and have no brainer of a job with no risks .
when budgeting for drivers i work out a decent wage for decent driver is 600 before tax
old saying that have always stuck by is pay penuats get monkey’s and belive in the long run paying that bit more to secure a decent driver saves in the long run and they look after you well thats my way of thinking shame these drivers tend to be far and few between though .
i sort of agree with most of your comments if it was a few years back, but company’s no that this shortage of drivers is untrue its shortage of work that brings the wage down, i no that through my own experience i was on 11.23 ph flat rate then time half after 8 hours,weekends were the big earning came in and if am honest we all still grumbled but then your made redundant,
so i started looking for work knocking on doors, etc etc and it was pointless the only driving jobs i could find was basically the same price band and after a few weeks knocking and phoning joining the agencies (which advertise jobs that dont exist) 7.20 was and is the choice i made and as for looking for a job in a factory like it or loathe it i enjoy driving a truck even on todays roads, so just because people get lucky and find that little bit extra in there pay dont mean there any better or less of a driver, not all company’s have an assessment or a test,
you usually no a good company by the age of there drivers if there all old timers with there steady attitude and relaxed nature then thats the job for me, but in the real world going on the dole isnt an option so stobarts here i come ( bit of a rant)
This thread is probably the biggest reason why I think, Ill never become a driver.
I think the job sounds excellent, but just over £7 an hour, just isnt enough. As some people said, McDonalds staff are on this. If there was a minimum than all drivers seemed to make, of say £11, I would definetely choose this job for the rest of my life. But unfortunately, I cant take the risk of being on £7 an hour, and therefore I doubt I will ever driver a lorry.
driverofhope:
This thread is probably the biggest reason why I think, Ill never become a driver.
I think the job sounds excellent, but just over £7 an hour, just isnt enough. As some people said, McDonalds staff are on this. If there was a minimum than all drivers seemed to make, of say £11, I would definetely choose this job for the rest of my life. But unfortunately, I cant take the risk of being on £7 an hour, and therefore I doubt I will ever driver a lorry.
fair comment but for me i drive lorry’s because thats what i wanted to do as a wee child i am hoping to emigrate one day but until then ill have to have fun being bumper to bumper on the m6, but trucking is in the blood i believe and no matter how many drivers moan about there job am sure most wouldnt change it…i may be wrong
£7ph is rubbish and it’s one thing that’s worrying me about going for my LGV and finding work, but like dusty said it’s something i’ve always wanted to do since being a kid and now I have an opportunity to give it a go and follow my dream (such as it is!)
if the average wage is £9-£11 then that wouldn’t be too bad. i don’t earn massive money now in an office, but it’s easy work for what i do get. but i figure i’d rather earn the same and work longer hours doing something i’ll enjoy than sit behind a desk wondering “what if?”
kevchalluk:
£7ph is rubbish and it’s one thing that’s worrying me about going for my LGV and finding work, but like dusty said it’s something i’ve always wanted to do since being a kid and now I have an opportunity to give it a go and follow my dream (such as it is!)
if the average wage is £9-£11 then that wouldn’t be too bad. i don’t earn massive money now in an office, but it’s easy work for what i do get. but i figure i’d rather earn the same and work longer hours doing something i’ll enjoy than sit behind a desk wondering “what if?”
personally i think the wages and work will get back to what it used to be, i think if you could find the perfect 10ph with a bit of overtime it would suit me, am sure with the extra overseas company’s that will flood the market next year will cause some effect to the whole industry and someone in goverment make take there finger out there you no what and realise its there rules and decisions that are crippling us all,
our country needs to learn how to produce things for export and turn things over more cheaply to compete, but thanks to new labour its been there arrogant view that as a country we were doing well we were all rich so the house market trebled and so on, now leaving us all skint and fighting for lower paid jobs were before only the polish would do.
but i am trying to be optimistic and hopeful that with the new law from 2014 that i have to be professional driver they decide to class it as a trade not just a job and with it you get tradesmen wage cos lets face it fellas we have alot of responsabilty behind the wheel,
but dont settle for an office job kev there not safe either the end of the day there will always be work with a hgv license and its an achievment when you pass it, and a smile you will never forget so invest in yourself and make yourself happy
ANDY1961:
Source: Jobcentre Plus - posted on 13/11/09.
LGV Driver (C+E) - 1 - 40 hrs a week
£7.20 to £11.00
“Applicants must have LGV C+E driving licence, 6 points maximum and digital tachograph essential. Duties include driving vehicles from depot to loading/unloading point. Assists with loading/unloading and ensures that load is evenly distributed and safely secured. Drives vehicle to destination in accordance with schedule. Temporary positions up to Christmas but may be ongoing. No exact dates are known”
Okay it’s only temporary and times are hard - but talk about taking advantage of the recession. Starting rate - £7.20 an hour! Scandalous!
Well Stobart have just changed their advertisement on Jobcentre Plus.
The disgraceful rate of £7.20 per hour on normal time (that will be up to 40 hours at least), and the overtime rate (which you won’t see during 1-40 hours!) of £11.00, stays the same.
However, surprise, surprise, they’ve taken their company name - and the transport managers name and contact number - off the site!
Any candidates applying, will now have to do it through the Jobcentre Plus 0845 number.
The fact is, that regardless of any Professional Driver’s own personal circumstances, the absolute minimum an LGV Class 1 driver should be getting is £8.00 per hour - although it should be more at the end of the day.
Certainly, up here in Scotland, overall that is what the majority of Class 1 drivers get - certainly from the half decent companies anyway.
Although there are quite a number who are happy to pay a lot less!
All Class 1 drivers in the UK should be on a minimum of £10 an hour at normal time.
It’s at this point, that I’d be as well asking ROG to send his FLYING PIG to this post!
dustylfc:
but dont settle for an office job kev there not safe either the end of the day there will always be work with a hgv license and its an achievment when you pass it, and a smile you will never forget so invest in yourself and make yourself happy
well this is it dusty, i’ve always wanted to drive and i’m 34 now and ended up getting stuck in this office job for the last 15 years in two stints (had a year off to go travelling in 2002-03!). The problem is now, redundancy is looming next month. there are other jobs i can reapply for within the firm, but i’ve lost all motivation and as it was never something i wanted to do in the first place i’m thinking of taking the money and running!
it’s about giving myself a new challenge and fulfilling a lifelong ambition - but I’m married and mortgaged so it’s also a bit of a gamble like!
dustylfc:
but dont settle for an office job kev there not safe either the end of the day there will always be work with a hgv license and its an achievment when you pass it, and a smile you will never forget so invest in yourself and make yourself happy
well this is it dusty, i’ve always wanted to drive and i’m 34 now and ended up getting stuck in this office job for the last 15 years in two stints (had a year off to go travelling in 2002-03!). The problem is now, redundancy is looming next month. there are other jobs i can reapply for within the firm, but i’ve lost all motivation and as it was never something i wanted to do in the first place i’m thinking of taking the money and running!
it’s about giving myself a new challenge and fulfilling a lifelong ambition - but I’m married and mortgaged so it’s also a bit of a gamble like!
Sugest you give it a few years before you jack that cushy job in. My guess it’s going to be quite some time before you match the salary you’re on now, presume it’s above £5000/per year
You can always do your test in the meantime and do w/e work as and when.
dustylfc:
but dont settle for an office job kev there not safe either the end of the day there will always be work with a hgv license and its an achievment when you pass it, and a smile you will never forget so invest in yourself and make yourself happy
well this is it dusty, i’ve always wanted to drive and i’m 34 now and ended up getting stuck in this office job for the last 15 years in two stints (had a year off to go travelling in 2002-03!). The problem is now, redundancy is looming next month. there are other jobs i can reapply for within the firm, but i’ve lost all motivation and as it was never something i wanted to do in the first place i’m thinking of taking the money and running!
it’s about giving myself a new challenge and fulfilling a lifelong ambition - but I’m married and mortgaged so it’s also a bit of a gamble like!
yer mate am 34 myself with kids mortgage and the other half spends more than i can earn, it dosent cost the earth to get your license
but does cost enough like. i would have a chat with the mrs and have a read on here your the right age for employers i think and seems to me your the type that will always ask what if…i only passed my class 1 18 months ago though driven class 2 for years but i still wanted to do it and felt like i had achieved my goal, as to finding my perfect job well thats another quest.
I’ve never seen Stobart’s pay any more, but it does seem as if they’re quite upfront about their working conditions, which is quite refreshing, as my last job interview I was just fed a string of lies. Maybe paying the drivers a bit less is their way of having enough money to keep their fleet of quite new vehicles in good condition? In our place the money they save on driver’s wages gets wasted on more junk we don’t need bought at auction (another RoRo truck turned up today and yet more skips and assorted rubbish was being picked up by one of our artic drivers).
EBGBz:
I’ve never seen Stobart’s pay any more, but it does seem as if they’re quite upfront about their working conditions, which is quite refreshing, as my last job interview I was just fed a string of lies. Maybe paying the drivers a bit less is their way of having enough money to keep their fleet of quite new vehicles in good condition? In our place the money they save on driver’s wages gets wasted on more junk we don’t need bought at auction (another RoRo truck turned up today and yet more skips and assorted rubbish was being picked up by one of our artic drivers).
yer good point there, nothink worse than starting a job with higher hopes than exist, truth is always more edible and you can make a more clearer decision on whether the job suits or not, and if it falls through you can only blame yourself, its the same with the agencies personally i carnt stand them i think they had a huge part in the demise of the trucking uk but as it stands sometimes thats all you have but there never honest which really annoys me…like advertising jobs that dont exist!!! now that really gets to me.
steve_24v:
Sugest you give it a few years before you jack that cushy job in. My guess it’s going to be quite some time before you match the salary you’re on now, presume it’s above £5000/per year
You can always do your test in the meantime and do w/e work as and when.
Well technically I’m not jacking it in, something’s got to give. There were 80 staff here on this floor, and only 50 will be re-hired so everyone has to reapply for their jobs (although the jobs have now changed due to the loss of a contract) and go through a written test and interview - and there’s still no guarantee I’ll even get a job. I’ve sounded out the redundancy terms, and if I simply don’t apply for the restructured posts and then get made redundant I will get the same money as I would if took voluntary, only I’ll be a bit better off in terms of signing on and with my mortgage payment insurance if I get finished rather than walking.
I would hope I’d be earning more than £5k per year driving anyway or it REALLY isn’t worth it! But then again, it’s not always about the money. I earn enough now to have a decent lifestyle, but the job doesn’t make me happy. There’s no guarantee driving will either, but unless I try I won’t know. I can take the redundancy and get my licences in the first few weeks of 2010, and if it doesn’t work out I can reapply at my current employer after 4 weeks WITHOUT having to pay back any of the redundancy money anyway!
dustylfc:
yer mate am 34 myself with kids mortgage and the other half spends more than i can earn, it dosent cost the earth to get your license
but does cost enough like. i would have a chat with the mrs and have a read on here your the right age for employers i think and seems to me your the type that will always ask what if…i only passed my class 1 18 months ago though driven class 2 for years but i still wanted to do it and felt like i had achieved my goal, as to finding my perfect job well thats another quest.
Well I guess most people think the grass is greener, and I’ve made a few mistakes thinking that myself in the past! But when I was a kid I always said I would never do two things - go to university (I didn’t) and work in an office. Ironic that I’ve spent pretty much my whole working life in an office now cos of a couple of wrong choices when I was younger and had more freedom to do what I wanted!
Like I said above, I’m of the opinion now that I’ll just take the redundancy and get my licences done in January if I can, and then see what happens! I just feel like it’s an opportunity now to give myself a new challenge and try something new, and if it doesn’t work out then I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it!
Pay Peanuts= Monkeys simple as that, from my experience both as a driver&mgr if you pay the staff a crap wage and T&C they wont give a s**t. hence you will have a high turnover of staff with low moral who wont go that extra mile for you when you need it.
pay drivers a decent wage treat them well, and they will go out of there way for you i have gone out of my way on many occasions so have the other lads the reason being we got a decent wage and T&C
from what i heard Stobart in dublin is having an awfull time trying to hold on to drivers paying them the minimun wage 8.45e while kids working in McD get 11e an hr.i knew a lad that lasted about a month with stobart he has been driving for over thirty years and the other experienced guys are up in arms and have there eye on the gate.
so were will that leave stobart if no one here wants to drive for him get in the lads from the eastern countries he will then see his nice&shinny units wrecked.
