The Changing World of HGV Driving

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

Grandpa’s 2019 Agency Employment Tour
I’ve spent the last month not just looking for work, but the type of work where my wage is not being skimmed, the job description fits the reality and it’s a job where I don’t join the rest in walking away from it after a few days. They’re agency jobs presented as “wonderful opportunities” and “fantastic rates.” They’re anything but and I could fill a page detailing the lies and deceit within the ‘gig economy’ these agencies have sprung up around.

After a few weeks those of us who drive for agencies become adept at spotting the same jobs advertised across multiple agencies. The ‘We are proud of our exciting new contract …’ is simply a re-hash of the skimmed wages, cancellations and stress you’ve just walked away from by another agency who said the same thing. Laugh as the umbrella companies pile in, or believe you’ll need a wheelbarrow to take your wages home …

I’m not normally one to wish bad on anyone, but in the predicted coming recession I do hope that the agency ‘consultants’ sitting behind a desk and who earn a living based on lies and deceit find themselves on the receiving end, because in a recession their ten a penny agencies will be the first to collapse. Harsh words, but those with experience of agencies will know what I mean. It’s called Karma. There, that’s better, I’ve been dying to say that. :slight_smile:

“Having recently renewed my class 1 licence, a personal opinion and sometimes tongue-in-cheek look at agency driving and what I’ve encountered re-entering the world of professional driving …”

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
A change of tactics and I started applying to companies directly. The first was a well-known company but as the wages were being discussed the HR man’s voice speeded up and rattled off the details. I was writing them down as quickly as I could and they go something like this. Nights out and £133 per day for up to a 12 hour day. Average(ish). Then came the scam. The night allowance is included within the £133, so minus £20/25 makes it a minimum wage! Certainly novel, I haven’t come across that one before and probably why they’re using agencies because they couldn’t find anyone permanent to do it.

Yet it all goes a bit deeper than that and I’m discovering that it’s not just about an hourly rate. First, what is being offered is a lifestyle wage. It’s above the basic minimum wage, but provides just enough to keep us coming back for more after a weekly rest period.

The Classroom Shuffle
Second and increasingly, I’m seeing companies moving towards not just hiring a driver to do a job, but to produce someone in their own image. A compliant micro-managed worker without any individuality who will obey any rules or directions given. From H&S managers and driver trainers to fuel saving experts and in-facing cab cameras; these companies even have in-built class rooms to train their future monkeys how to perform and compete against one another. They will even teach you how to open the rear doors of a trailer, or the correct ‘procedure’ to enter a cab – the company way. I know three companies in my area who already engage in these practices and they’re all major players. Yet they all have three things in common; they’re permanently recruiting for drivers, have extremely high turn-over rates and use agencies. The costs involved in these practices must be huge and only produce a deficit of workers and an increase of those unproductive ‘experts’ who probably earn more than you by teaching you something they don’t do themselves.

This morning I went for an interview for a permanent job and found them in the early stages of the class room shuffle. First the interview and tick box tests. Over a two day period other applicants will be interviewed and a decision made. Those short listed will be invited back for a driving assessment. Further weeding out and those successful will again be invited back for another interview. I don’t know what for, nobody said. No one really cared what experience I had and I didn’t say anything, but I thought, ‘guys, don’t go down this route because in six months-time you’ll be just another company to avoid.’

I plod on trying to avoid the obvious agency scams and the permanent position return to learn classroom inductions. No one ever asks if I can deliver a load from A to B and I don’t think they care as long as I tick the right questionnaire boxes and nod my head every few minutes. I’ll continue looking for the job I want; clean licence <1991, five year CPC and digi-card; recent experience on double-deckers, fridges and boxes, rather than join in the changing world of HGV driving.

2

When looking at “agency rates” - ALWAYS get the PAYE DAY rate - which should be the lowest of what they have.
THEN ask about the “extras”, bearing in mind the most commonly available shift to the newbie agency driver WON’T be “monday-friday 9am-5pm”…

There’s plenty of agencies paying a minimum PAYE hourly rate of the formula: “Stobarts Inclusive Rate +£2.50ph” for example.

So, if Stobarts rate happens to be the equivalent of £9.50ph - then there are many agencies paying £12ph for daytime monday-friday driving work - is what I’m saying here.

I left my last agency @ £10.75ph in 2015. When I re-enquired a year ago, their rates had only risen to £11.50 in the three years hence - so I moved along to elsewhere, and secured the rates I wanted for the hours I wanted to work (nights and weekends) in due course.

You MUST get their minimum hourly rate in writing then, before you accept a first shift with that agency.

If you don’t - then you run the risk of being promised £21ph over the phone, - only to end up getting minimum wage when you’ve already done the shift - the £21ph being promised in actual real-life being the night time bank holiday rate when on overtime (already done 55 hours that week), Self-Employed via Umbrella rate that you don’t get holiday/sick pay on, plus you have to fork out both lots of NIC stamp out of rather than the mid-week rate, days or nights.

“We didn’t promise you anything driver, you can’t prove anything, there’s plenty of other mugs in the sea. Now bog off, and don’t forget you signed a contract stating that you wouldn’t bad mouth us on-line anywhere.”

3

The rot started when it went from XYZ haulage to “bespoke logistical solution ltd”. Far too much dead wood in non justifiable middle management positions who manage (perhaps wilfully) to forget that their whole reason for existence is to move tat from A to B and sometimes C.

4

The biggest and saddest change in the job since I’ve been doing it is the death of the British continental transport industry. “How would you like to go to Thurrock?” doesn’t arouse me in quite the same way as “How would you like to go to Istanbul?” used to.

I used to love the job, used to live for it. Now all I do is get the day’s work done and scarper as soon as possible, counting down the days until I’ve saved enough money to go off narrowboating again.

5

the maoster:
The rot started when it went from XYZ haulage to “bespoke logistical solution ltd”. Far too much dead wood in non justifiable middle management positions who manage (perhaps wilfully) to forget that their whole reason for existence is to move tat from A to B and sometimes C.

Does “Nobby Dingledangle” going to “XPO” mean that this is a two-way street then? :stuck_out_tongue:

6

There is…

No way as a family man with a mortgage and all the other responsibilities, that I would entrust my weekly wage to an agency. Any industry that is self governing will be full of shysters and by god the agency game is full of money grubbing twisters.

I’ve worked the agencies for over twenty five years now. For a great many of those years I was Ltd company status. I had an accountant and paid corporation tax as demanded by the local tax office (including a tax inspection). I wound all that up over seven years ago after the flat rate scheme VAT income was stopped. It just wasn’t worth the hassle. When it was good it was really good but, over the years it just got less and less profitable. Nowadays I work for two agencies on the PAYE system. Both tried to force me to go through their own brolly schemes and both were told PAYE or nothing. Incidentally they’ve both stopped brolly schemes and one is now considering stopping Ltd company one man bands. If you don’t tell them how it’s going to be from day one, you will be rail-roaded into poor rates doing crumby work. I call the shots, you need me on Friday? That’ll be for Sunday rate then. Need me short notice because you put a blobber in? That’s another £50.To begin with, I had them text me the agreed rates but now they just pay it without question.

The biggest jokes could be found in the advertising posters in the windows of their high street shops. ‘We carefully match our clients needs with our drivers experience and abilities’ was the most frequent rubbish. Smiling drivers climbing into top of the range lorries wearing new boots and a clean hi-vis pictures all over the walls. Utter bollox.

I’ll finish my career on the agencies becuase I don’t need a full time job and I like the flexibility I have to do what I want when I want.

7

yourhavingalarf:
There is…

No way as a family man with a mortgage and all the other responsibilities, that I would entrust my weekly wage to an agency. Any industry that is self governing will be full of shysters and by god the agency game is full of money grubbing twisters.

I’ve worked the agencies for over twenty five years now. For a great many of those years I was Ltd company status. I had an accountant and paid corporation tax as demanded by the local tax office (including a tax inspection). I wound all that up over seven years ago after the flat rate scheme VAT income was stopped. It just wasn’t worth the hassle. When it was good it was really good but, over the years it just got less and less profitable. Nowadays I work for two agencies on the PAYE system. Both tried to force me to go through their own brolly schemes and both were told PAYE or nothing. Incidentally they’ve both stopped brolly schemes and one is now considering stopping Ltd company one man bands. If you don’t tell them how it’s going to be from day one, you will be rail-roaded into poor rates doing crumby work. I call the shots, you need me on Friday? That’ll be for Sunday rate then. Need me short notice because you put a blobber in? That’s another £50.To begin with, I had them text me the agreed rates but now they just pay it without question.

The biggest jokes could be found in the advertising posters in the windows of their high street shops. ‘We carefully match our clients needs with our drivers experience and abilities’ was the most frequent rubbish. Smiling drivers climbing into top of the range lorries wearing new boots and a clean hi-vis pictures all over the walls. Utter bollox.

I’ll finish my career on the agencies becuase I don’t need a full time job and I like the flexibility I have to do what I want when I want.

I’ve got a big mortgage, and an A level student kid. I’m still with my wife as well.
I wouldn’t have been able to take voluntary redundancy nearly ten years ago to deliberately seek a future on agency at the time - without that “Best Investment of my Life” - represented by a BoE base rate tracker mortgage that to this day - is saving me four figures per year in interest payments alone, not to mention the flexibility in paying less when I get a “short month”.

In actual practice, I struggled throughout the first year after leaving full-time employment, as there was a recession on, and agency rates were crap, with most of the work being “Not local” at that time.

After one year, it picked up enough to live on, and in 2015 I went back to full time, only to consider going back to agency again - following the referendum result!

I stand by all my own decisions. The main mistakes I’ve made in my life - have been trusting those people whom I should have been able to trust, but in the end - I got shafted by, one way or the other.

I don’t regret the way my work pattern has gone this past decade, and if I went back ten years - I’d do it all again, except believe the thieving gits that promised me one hourly rate on agency, only to pay me NMW in actuality. Week done, Paid short, Moved on. I went through a total of 19 agencies over that ten year period since leaving full time in 2010, and just under 3 at Brakes which I regreted when I found out I could not adjust my “any five from 7” contract without leaving to go back on agency again. Thus, - that’s what I jumped at when Brakes laid me off last October. I got an assessment the very next day, and my first shift - the following weekend after that. No Worries!