mrginge:
^^^^One of my considerations is: Is the job interesting? It’s why I don’t work for supermarkets
The job might be a bit on the dull side, but the pay is “interesting” enough for me. 
Winseer:
If this job were “only about the money” and nothing else - we’d all be agency, and all queuing up to work at Stobarts and Royal Mail, where you get the decent work AND the decent hourly rates.For many though - there are other considerations than the hourly rate/easy work.
(1) Decent Kit
(2) Work yard close to where they live
(3) Offers a shift/working week pattern they like, eg. 4 shift week or start times to suit
(4) The job gets you to meet people that expands and enhances your social life, Eg. delivering Ann Summers products, arriving in the middle of the night, where local gaffer is a decent looking bird who insists upon “not using the company products…”
(5) No other jobs in the area
(6) Other staff are friendly, rather than backbiting or would grass you up if you even tried to use the toilets when not on official break…
(7) You get decent company benefits, like “money off staff purchases”
(8) The drives and the shifts themselves are not too long, so you don’t have any issues with fatigue.
(9) You’’ still have a job at this particular yard, post-Brexit.
Exactly.
For me my company is about middle of the road. Conditions are good, kits good, there’s better paying jobs out there, some of the works good some is ■■■■. But because of your point number 2 I will probably be here for s long time unless I move myself. The yard is so close home, I could go and get a job for a couple of quid an hour more but would have to commute a 60 mile round trip every day for them. So suddenky that extra couple of quid an hour after tax has turned into a loss because if the petrol money I have to spend, plus the extra 2 hours a day that I lose.
“What you don’t spend - is as good as what you earn extra or what you win…”
Now imagine how lucrative one’s job and working lifestyle can be - if you excercise both thrift AND earn decent money to boot?
…I tried a variety of different jobs at different yards over my time on agencies…
The closest work yards to where I live would be Chatham Docks (C&H, now Downtons) and Medway City Estate (Christiaan Salversen, now XPO) and I even put a few shifts in at a wagon & drag Victoria Carpets, on the same estate.
All three - would be low payers there, £9-£10ph some 5 years ago when I last worked at any of them.
The highest paying yards during the same period for me were Langdons in Dover, which is a 50 mile commute for me, and Palletliner work, mostly out of Croydon. Pay was £13-£15ph.
I found that Palletwork was utter misery, with endless time in tip queues, and “snatching breaks” whilst doing curtains, taking a 15m on MSA derv Islands, and worst of all - a long night shift with no shuteye in the official “unpaid break”… 
Langdons - was my first experience with Fridges. The work was fine, the pay was fine - but the commute was a complete ■■■■■■■■ especially at this time of the year, when full timers tend to throw sickies because of the snow on the North Downs (A2 Bridge-Dover stretch) - with muggins being called in at short notice to cover… The transport clerk there use to have the rather annoying habit of clipping my shifts at both ends as well, which I am able to avoid happening these days.
Supermarkets - were good in that one could clock up a lot of hours at reasonable pay quickly (£11-£12.75ph at the time) - but you did have to be prepared to work 12-15 hour shifts almost every time you got called in!
If you’ve had a reduced rest, then you crossed your fingers you’d get stuck behind a bread wagon and an arla artic - so you could get your head down for an hour or so at least whilst waiting outside the delivery store… 
Courier work - has to be my favourite though. That’s Yodel, Fedex, Royal Mail, UK Mail, DPD etc.
I never got to work at DPD because all the agencies around here were offering sub-standard hourly rates for it.
The other three though? - Decent work, proper trunking where you’re paid to just drive, and not ponce about in the warehouse doing picking duty for them etc.
I enjoyed my time being put into Fedex and Yodel on the whole. Now I find myself back at RM again, having been a full timer there before I went agency in the first place.
There’s nothing wrong with it, and if anything - I do believe you get the better runs on agency, because of the way overtime shifts are “un-doable” by the full timers if they are over 12 hours long, it seems.
(I think the max overtime one can get as a full-timer is 11hrs48ms, so any shifts 12hrs+ in length - go straight to agency)
This suits me fine, 'cos I happen to like the trunks! Drive, and be out of the office all the time… That’s the life! 
RM is local to where I live, and so is the supermarket work I pad my agency shifts out with. Thus, I’m getting local work, plenty of it - and it is well-paid.
Three rather important boxes ticked at once!
I’m at my happiest I’ve ever been on agency now. Gotta earn my money in the snow over the next few days though, so let’s be the pro I’m supposed to be, and step up to the mark!
Winseer:
“What you don’t spend - is as good as what you earn extra or what you win…”Now imagine how lucrative one’s job and working lifestyle can be - if you excercise both thrift AND earn decent money to boot?
…I tried a variety of different jobs at different yards over my time on agencies…
The closest work yards to where I live would be Chatham Docks (C&H, now Downtons) and Medway City Estate (Christiaan Salversen, now XPO) and I even put a few shifts in at a wagon & drag Victoria Carpets, on the same estate.All three - would be low payers there, £9-£10ph some 5 years ago when I last worked at any of them.
The highest paying yards during the same period for me were Langdons in Dover, which is a 50 mile commute for me, and Palletliner work, mostly out of Croydon. Pay was £13-£15ph.
I found that Palletwork was utter misery, with endless time in tip queues, and “snatching breaks” whilst doing curtains, taking a 15m on MSA derv Islands, and worst of all - a long night shift with no shuteye in the official “unpaid break”…
Langdons - was my first experience with Fridges. The work was fine, the pay was fine - but the commute was a complete [zb], especially at this time of the year, when full timers tend to throw sickies because of the snow on the North Downs (A2 Bridge-Dover stretch) - with muggins being called in at short notice to cover… The transport clerk there use to have the rather annoying habit of clipping my shifts at both ends as well, which I am able to avoid happening these days.Supermarkets - were good in that one could clock up a lot of hours at reasonable pay quickly (£11-£12.75ph at the time) - but you did have to be prepared to work 12-15 hour shifts almost every time you got called in!
If you’ve had a reduced rest, then you crossed your fingers you’d get stuck behind a bread wagon and an arla artic - so you could get your head down for an hour or so at least whilst waiting outside the delivery store…Courier work - has to be my favourite though. That’s Yodel, Fedex, Royal Mail, UK Mail, DPD etc.
I never got to work at DPD because all the agencies around here were offering sub-standard hourly rates for it.
The other three though? - Decent work, proper trunking where you’re paid to just drive, and not ponce about in the warehouse doing picking duty for them etc.I enjoyed my time being put into Fedex and Yodel on the whole. Now I find myself back at RM again, having been a full timer there before I went agency in the first place.
There’s nothing wrong with it, and if anything - I do believe you get the better runs on agency, because of the way overtime shifts are “un-doable” by the full timers if they are over 12 hours long, it seems.(I think the max overtime one can get as a full-timer is 11hrs48ms, so any shifts 12hrs+ in length - go straight to agency)
This suits me fine, 'cos I happen to like the trunks! Drive, and be out of the office all the time… That’s the life!RM is local to where I live, and so is the supermarket work I pad my agency shifts out with. Thus, I’m getting local work, plenty of it - and it is well-paid.
Three rather important boxes ticked at once!I’m at my happiest I’ve ever been on agency now. Gotta earn my money in the snow over the next few days though, so let’s be the pro I’m supposed to be, and step up to the mark!
I swear you could bore a ■■■■■■■■ into a wooden horse.
toonsy:
Winseer:
“What you don’t spend - is as good as what you earn extra or what you win…”Now imagine how lucrative one’s job and working lifestyle can be - if you excercise both thrift AND earn decent money to boot?
…I tried a variety of different jobs at different yards over my time on agencies…
The closest work yards to where I live would be Chatham Docks (C&H, now Downtons) and Medway City Estate (Christiaan Salversen, now XPO) and I even put a few shifts in at a wagon & drag Victoria Carpets, on the same estate.All three - would be low payers there, £9-£10ph some 5 years ago when I last worked at any of them.
The highest paying yards during the same period for me were Langdons in Dover, which is a 50 mile commute for me, and Palletliner work, mostly out of Croydon. Pay was £13-£15ph.
I found that Palletwork was utter misery, with endless time in tip queues, and “snatching breaks” whilst doing curtains, taking a 15m on MSA derv Islands, and worst of all - a long night shift with no shuteye in the official “unpaid break”…
Langdons - was my first experience with Fridges. The work was fine, the pay was fine - but the commute was a complete [zb], especially at this time of the year, when full timers tend to throw sickies because of the snow on the North Downs (A2 Bridge-Dover stretch) - with muggins being called in at short notice to cover… The transport clerk there use to have the rather annoying habit of clipping my shifts at both ends as well, which I am able to avoid happening these days.Supermarkets - were good in that one could clock up a lot of hours at reasonable pay quickly (£11-£12.75ph at the time) - but you did have to be prepared to work 12-15 hour shifts almost every time you got called in!
If you’ve had a reduced rest, then you crossed your fingers you’d get stuck behind a bread wagon and an arla artic - so you could get your head down for an hour or so at least whilst waiting outside the delivery store…Courier work - has to be my favourite though. That’s Yodel, Fedex, Royal Mail, UK Mail, DPD etc.
I never got to work at DPD because all the agencies around here were offering sub-standard hourly rates for it.
The other three though? - Decent work, proper trunking where you’re paid to just drive, and not ponce about in the warehouse doing picking duty for them etc.I enjoyed my time being put into Fedex and Yodel on the whole. Now I find myself back at RM again, having been a full timer there before I went agency in the first place.
There’s nothing wrong with it, and if anything - I do believe you get the better runs on agency, because of the way overtime shifts are “un-doable” by the full timers if they are over 12 hours long, it seems.(I think the max overtime one can get as a full-timer is 11hrs48ms, so any shifts 12hrs+ in length - go straight to agency)
This suits me fine, 'cos I happen to like the trunks! Drive, and be out of the office all the time… That’s the life!RM is local to where I live, and so is the supermarket work I pad my agency shifts out with. Thus, I’m getting local work, plenty of it - and it is well-paid.
Three rather important boxes ticked at once!I’m at my happiest I’ve ever been on agency now. Gotta earn my money in the snow over the next few days though, so let’s be the pro I’m supposed to be, and step up to the mark!
I swear you could bore a ■■■■■■■■ into a wooden horse.
This is a very interesting thread and thought id add my thoughts to it. Im currently a chef working what are regarded as magic hours in the trade. 8.30-5.30. Im on £28400 per year and that is topped up with gratuities to around 30k. I’ve just spent 3k getting my class one licence because I want to be a truck driver. Noooo many of you may be thinking lol. In my current job, as is the case in 99% of catering, if I do overtime, I dont get paid extra. This has been a big gripe for me for many years. I love the fact that in the haulage trade, you are mostly paid by the hour and sometimes its enhanced overtime. I know I’ll be working more hours (Currently 45) but I’ll be glad that im getting paid for it. I have 2 assessment drives in couple of weeks and I’ve worked out I will earn between 32k-38k which is a lot better than what I’m getting now. I think at the end of the day, if im happy at work then, enjoy what I do then thats half the battle.
Jasesonix:
This is a very interesting thread and thought id add my thoughts to it. Im currently a chef working what are regarded as magic hours in the trade. 8.30-5.30. Im on £28400 per year and that is topped up with gratuities to around 30k. I’ve just spent 3k getting my class one licence because I want to be a truck driver. Noooo many of you may be thinking lol. In my current job, as is the case in 99% of catering, if I do overtime, I dont get paid extra. This has been a big gripe for me for many years. I love the fact that in the haulage trade, you are mostly paid by the hour and sometimes its enhanced overtime. I know I’ll be working more hours (Currently 45) but I’ll be glad that im getting paid for it. I have 2 assessment drives in couple of weeks and I’ve worked out I will earn between 32k-38k which is a lot better than what I’m getting now. I think at the end of the day, if im happy at work then, enjoy what I do then thats half the battle.
My lad has just packed in cheffing for a job on the buses; he’s been on it nearly a year, likes it and says it’s far less stress than any kitchen plus the money’s better. And he’s driving in Glasgow!
Forget the money side; catering is a young man’s game, often with working hours and shifts that make lorry driving look an absolute holiday by comparison. Been there myself, would never do it again.
Sidevalve:
Jasesonix:
This is a very interesting thread and thought id add my thoughts to it. Im currently a chef working what are regarded as magic hours in the trade. 8.30-5.30. Im on £28400 per year and that is topped up with gratuities to around 30k. I’ve just spent 3k getting my class one licence because I want to be a truck driver. Noooo many of you may be thinking lol. In my current job, as is the case in 99% of catering, if I do overtime, I dont get paid extra. This has been a big gripe for me for many years. I love the fact that in the haulage trade, you are mostly paid by the hour and sometimes its enhanced overtime. I know I’ll be working more hours (Currently 45) but I’ll be glad that im getting paid for it. I have 2 assessment drives in couple of weeks and I’ve worked out I will earn between 32k-38k which is a lot better than what I’m getting now. I think at the end of the day, if im happy at work then, enjoy what I do then thats half the battle.My lad has just packed in cheffing for a job on the buses; he’s been on it nearly a year, likes it and says it’s far less stress than any kitchen plus the money’s better. And he’s driving in Glasgow!
Forget the money side; catering is a young man’s game, often with working hours and shifts that make lorry driving look an absolute holiday by comparison. Been there myself, would never do it again.
Yes cheffing is very stressful all the more so when your boss has very little catering experience.
Jasesonix:
Sidevalve:
Jasesonix:
This is a very interesting thread and thought id add my thoughts to it. Im currently a chef working what are regarded as magic hours in the trade. 8.30-5.30. Im on £28400 per year and that is topped up with gratuities to around 30k. I’ve just spent 3k getting my class one licence because I want to be a truck driver. Noooo many of you may be thinking lol. In my current job, as is the case in 99% of catering, if I do overtime, I dont get paid extra. This has been a big gripe for me for many years. I love the fact that in the haulage trade, you are mostly paid by the hour and sometimes its enhanced overtime. I know I’ll be working more hours (Currently 45) but I’ll be glad that im getting paid for it. I have 2 assessment drives in couple of weeks and I’ve worked out I will earn between 32k-38k which is a lot better than what I’m getting now. I think at the end of the day, if im happy at work then, enjoy what I do then thats half the battle.My lad has just packed in cheffing for a job on the buses; he’s been on it nearly a year, likes it and says it’s far less stress than any kitchen plus the money’s better. And he’s driving in Glasgow!
Forget the money side; catering is a young man’s game, often with working hours and shifts that make lorry driving look an absolute holiday by comparison. Been there myself, would never do it again.
Yes cheffing is very stressful all the more so when your boss has very little catering experience.
Fear not mon brave, you’ll soon be working for various bosses in transport (especially in the large logistics chains) who haven’t got a bloody clue either 
Winseer:
mrginge:
^^^^One of my considerations is: Is the job interesting? It’s why I don’t work for supermarkets
The job might be a bit on the dull side, but the pay is “interesting” enough for me.
12 weeks on agency - and they ask me to sign up to a new contract…
I assume this is the “parity pay” thing, where if your agency pay is higher than the full timer’s pay - your pay drops DOWN after 12 weeks…?
Juddian:
Jasesonix:
Sidevalve:
Jasesonix:
This is a very interesting thread and thought id add my thoughts to it. Im currently a chef working what are regarded as magic hours in the trade. 8.30-5.30. Im on £28400 per year and that is topped up with gratuities to around 30k. I’ve just spent 3k getting my class one licence because I want to be a truck driver. Noooo many of you may be thinking lol. In my current job, as is the case in 99% of catering, if I do overtime, I dont get paid extra. This has been a big gripe for me for many years. I love the fact that in the haulage trade, you are mostly paid by the hour and sometimes its enhanced overtime. I know I’ll be working more hours (Currently 45) but I’ll be glad that im getting paid for it. I have 2 assessment drives in couple of weeks and I’ve worked out I will earn between 32k-38k which is a lot better than what I’m getting now. I think at the end of the day, if im happy at work then, enjoy what I do then thats half the battle.My lad has just packed in cheffing for a job on the buses; he’s been on it nearly a year, likes it and says it’s far less stress than any kitchen plus the money’s better. And he’s driving in Glasgow!
Forget the money side; catering is a young man’s game, often with working hours and shifts that make lorry driving look an absolute holiday by comparison. Been there myself, would never do it again.
Yes cheffing is very stressful all the more so when your boss has very little catering experience.
Fear not mon brave, you’ll soon be working for various bosses in transport (especially in the large logistics chains) who haven’t got a bloody clue either
No matter what job you do or compare it with depends on what an individual wants or needs.
At the end of the day money is money and its all good,its just that sometimes there`s just not enough of it