UK British Driver Wages 'V' Canadian Driver Wages

[contractdriver]

Here’s a whole new can of worms i have opened… it’s my speciality!

WARNING: This post involves maths… which is not my strongest subject! (I have a calculator though!)

In the UK, Monday to Friday i get £11 per hour for driving Class 1 (CE) which is slightly better than the average hourly rate for the UK. (I think the average is around £8.50 per hour when I ask other drivers). I am agency and work on the ‘Wing and a Prayer’ system… (I am booked to work… I might be working tomorrow… but I might also get cancelled and earn nothing.)

My average speed (checked on various truck computer’s over the past few months is around 45mph) for all types of journey… from pure ‘non stop’ ‘drop n swap’ trunking to multi-drops or start stop in the centre of London… its always around 45 to 48mph over a 13hr to 15hr working day.

So… if I divide £11 (My hourly rate) by my average mile’s in an hour (45 miles) I get paid 24.4 british pence per mile.

The average exchange rate (Pound for Canadian Dollar) right now is around $1.60 dollars to the pound and If I multiply 24.4p by the exchange rate of $1.60 I get 39c (Canadian) per mile in the UK. (I calculated the rate before I applied for a job in Canada, to see if I could earn anywhere near the UK rate)

I then emailed off for job’s paying 39c or more per mile and I ended up with a job that pays a little bit more (43c per mile, but the job is the type (I hope) I would like e.g. dedicated route’s (Oil and Gas mine work). When I was web-surfing for jobs, I came across quite a few Canadian jobs paying 55c per mile in the first year!

But what about the ‘Night Out Money and driver expenses■■?

I have also since discovered I can claim a $40 per day (£25) for every day I am away in the truck as a ‘tax free’ meal allowance whilst working in Canada and the USA (Without having to produce receipts) plus other expense benefits for ‘showers’ etc (with receipts).

So for me, the wages will hopefully work…. but I have always ‘maxed out’ my spreadover hours in the UK and give 65 to 80 working availability hours over five or six days per week. (I’ve been working these hours on Class 1 (CE) since the mid 80’s!!!)

So my question to you all is… at $43c per mile (for my first year) and $40 per ‘night out’, do you think you could survive and make a ‘living’ on two and a bit trips per month from Edmonton, AB to Austin, Texas and back using e-logs?

I think distance wise… Edmonton, AB to Austin, Texas is roughly a similar distance as lets say… Aberdeen, UK to Reggio Calabria, Italy… (about 4400 miles round trip or 6800km round trip)

[vastly_exp]

contractdriver:
Here’s a whole new can of worms i have opened… it’s my speciality!

WARNING: This post involves maths… which not my strongest subject! (I have a calculator though!)

In the UK, Monday to Friday i get £11 per hour for driving Class 1 (CE) which is slightly better than the average hourly rate for the UK. (I think the average is around £8.50 per hour when I ask other drivers). I am agency and work on the ‘Wing and a Prayer’ system… (I am booked to work… I might be working tomorrow… but I might also get cancelled and earn nothing.)

My average speed (checked on various truck computer’s over the past few months is around 45mph) for all types of journey… from pure ‘non stop’ ‘drop n swap’ trunking to multi-drops or start stop in the centre of London… its always around 45 to 48mph over a 13hr to 15hr working day.

So… if I divide £11 (My hourly rate) by my average mile’s in an hour (45 miles) I get paid 24.4 british pence per mile.

The average exchange rate (Pound for Canadian Dollar) right now is around $1.60 dollars to the pound and If I multiply 24.4p by the exchange rate of $1.60 I get 39c (Canadian) per mile in the UK. (I calculated the rate before I applied for a job in Canada, to see if I could earn anywhere near the UK rate)

I then emailed off for job’s paying 39c or more per mile and I ended up with a job that pays a little bit more (43c per mile, but the job is the type (I hope) I would like e.g. dedicated route’s (Oil and Gas mine work). When I was web-surfing for jobs, I came across quite a few Canadian jobs paying 55c per mile in the first year!

But what about the ‘Night Out Money and driver expenses■■?

I have also since discovered I can claim a $40 per day (£25) for every day I am away in the truck as a ‘tax free’ meal allowance whilst working in Canada and the USA (Without having to produce receipts) plus other expense benefits for ‘showers’ etc (with receipts).

So for me, the wages will hopefully work…. but I have always ‘maxed out’ my spreadover hours in the UK and give 65 to 80 working availability hours over five or six days per week. (I’ve been working these hours on Class 1 (CE) since the mid 80’s!!!)

So my question to you all is… at $43c per mile (for my first year) and $40 per ‘night out’, do you think you could survive and make a ‘living’ on two and a bit trips per month from Edmonton, AB to Austin, Texas and back using e-logs?

Distance wise… Edmonton, AB to Austin, Texas is roughly a similar distance as lets say… Aberdeen, UK to Reggio Calabria, Italy… (about 4400 miles round trip or 6800km round trip)

One thing i would say to this post is,If your going to compare UK wage’s to Canadian wages think again,There is no comparison you will be working in Canadian money and living a Canadian life,Unless your working in Canada and living in another country.Then you will have to compare the wage’s etc etc.
Depending on the company you are to be working for the Wing and a Prayer bit will be still present.

Overnight money normally don’t exist but you claim tax back at the end of the year.
The $40.00 a day is not the correct figure you can claim it’s more than that and there are 2 rate’s.

Forget the hourly rate,All you can do with this is keep a track on how many hour’s you are on duty for a trip,then calculate the mile’s $ss divide that by the hour’s,Then you will see how much per hour your on!!!.

Driver expenses ‘‘normally’’ you get back what you spend on the trip,ie,scale’s,toll’s etc.

Edmonton to Austin is a whole lot easier than Aberdeen to Reggio(about 50% easier i would say).
Elog’s will make it a little more stressful.

What you will have to do is go and see for your self.

[hutpik]

I think it’s very difficult to try and compare different countries using only wages as comparison.I think you have to factor in the ‘spending power’ of the money you earn[and what you do for it].Plus the ‘‘quality of life’’ which you have plays a very big part in where you live.You can earn a shedload of money somewhere,but if your life is a nightmare then maybe it’s not such a lot We move to another place to ‘‘improve’’ our lives both financially and mentally[be happier,less stress,better family life and future]so we have to look at the ‘‘broad picture’’.Mike

[contractdriver]

vastly exp:
Overnight money normally don’t exist but you claim tax back at the end of the year.
The $40.00 a day is not the correct figure you can claim it’s more than that and there are 2 rate’s.

Forget the hourly rate,All you can do with this is keep a track on how many hour’s you are on duty for a trip,then calculate the mile’s $ss divide that by the hour’s,Then you will see how much per hour your on!!!.

Driver expenses ‘‘normally’’ you get back what you spend on the trip,ie,scale’s,toll’s etc.

Cheers for the info Vastly… , Where could i find the expenses rates you were on about above?.

(The $40 figure i got was from the Canada Revenue Agency $17 x 3= 51 then multiplied 51 by 80%= $40.80c
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns206-236/229/trnsprttn/mp-lnghl-eng.html
but this the ‘simplified’ method where you can claim without keeping any receipts.)

Hutpik wrote.
I think it’s very difficult to try and compare different countries using only wages as comparison.I think you have to factor in the ‘spending power’ of the money you earn[and what you do for it].Plus the ‘‘quality of life’’ which you have plays a very big part in where you live.You can earn a shedload of money somewhere,but if your life is a nightmare then maybe it’s not such a lot We move to another place to ‘‘improve’’ our lives both financially and mentally[be happier,less stress,better family life and future]so we have to look at the ‘‘broad picture’’.Mike

I agree with everything you say above Mike. I was actually quite surprised to find that there isn’t a huge difference between the UK and Canadian pay rates.(Depending on the work you get)

My mate is currently working in Thailand (who was a £3000 per month Truck driver in the UK) and is now paid 30,000 Thai baht per month, which is about £600 in British pounds… £600 is reasonably easy to live on in Thailand… but if he ever wishes to return to the UK, he’s is going to struggle to get back on his feet…

Col

[pat_hasler]

I doubt very much you are going to find many companies that actually pay night out money ? Some pay ‘lay over pay’ after you have travelled 600 miles or more in one day, they will not pay your cell phone bill but then again some supply a cell phone but limit your personal calls etc.

[hutpik]

Hi Contract.As you say,there is not always a great difference between countries.Up here i earn a bit more than i was earning in Holland,some things are dearer,some are cheaper.BUT,the '‘quality of life’ is incomparable.I can drive out of my house on a quad or snowscooter directly into the forest.Sometimes when i drive to work[90kms,1hr]i pass 4 vehicles.I work 7days then have 7days free and still bank about £2300 net.But even forgetting the money it’s the ‘‘life’’ that you can’t put a price on.Mike

[flat_to_the_mat]

hutpik:
Hi Contract.As you say,there is not always a great difference between countries.Up here i earn a bit more than i was earning in Holland,some things are dearer,some are cheaper.BUT,the '‘quality of life’ is incomparable.I can drive out of my house on a quad or snowscooter directly into the forest.Sometimes when i drive to work[90kms,1hr]i pass 4 vehicles.I work 7days then have 7days free and still bank about £2300 net.But even forgetting the money it’s the ‘‘life’’ that you can’t put a price on.Mike

That’s the nail hit firmly on the head , go to the top of the class

[kr79]

You can’t compare like for like really. I was taking between 500 and 550 a week in England take home here about 1700 per fortnight but a lot more hours and away most nights.
But it’s just a different way of life you can get a much bigger house than back home and run a big gas guzzler as the costs are cheaper for that. Shopping and clothes and furniture are however dearer than the uk so it levels out. Obviously going stateside you can pick bits up and save a few quid. Funny enough I picked some soap powder and dishwasher tablets and stuff yesterday for someone on here at about half the cost of Canada.
You have to look at what’s in your pay packet and how far it goes in Canada not compare to the UK.
You can give you and your family a good life in Canada but you have to graft for it.

[remy]

I did the same thing when i came here, compareing my US pay with what i made in the UK to see how i was doing. I think it’s something you do automticlly but will grow out of as it will drive you nuts after a while.

Allmost all the US companies do not pay night out money, they may have a good mileage rate but no or not much pay for loading etc. Layover pay can differ too, last place i worked you had to park up for 24 hrs before they would start to pay by the hour for up to 8 hrs then it was back to sitting for free.

I don’t know if there is a perfect job but some do have more of what you want so it’s a matter of finding them. Oh and then getting on with them

charls

[jimbo47]

mm its horses for courses and what you want out of life.
We were from sw scotland and the money i earn over here is a lot more for less work (well some days )
but living in the boonies we got a house for less.
I was talking about the Edmonton -Texas runs to an O/0 good friend last night and the q he asked was is the run routed down through north portal (south of estevan) cut corner to i29 ND or the tough way through Colorado (chains ,mountains etc).he reconned when he ran it yrs back there is only 50-60mls in it but a lot less stress going down I29. another thing is dont max your hrs first wk out to make sure you can keep rolling for 14days…
One thing friends that visit notice is that i am a lot less stressed and the chips on my shoulder have gone.
jimmy.

[newmercman]

The main difference between Canada and the UK is that it is easier to work harder over here

If you want to work your tripe out and earn a lot of money, you can

If you want to be an O/D, you can, no silly O licensing etc hoops to jump through, you buy/lease a lorry, you go to work, you get paid, simple

In both instances, you have to put in the hard work, but you can get something out of it. Canada offers you an opportunity, but you need to lose the British mentality to make the most of it

A lot of stuff that’s the norm over here is a thing of the past in the UK, so comparing the two is not realistic in pound for pound terms, personally, I like it that I have the ability to control my own finances/destiny with the amount of work I do, or not

[jimbo47]

newmercman:
The main difference between Canada and the UK is that it is easier to work harder over here

If you want to work your tripe out and earn a lot of money, you can

If you want to be an O/D, you can, no silly O licensing etc hoops to jump through, you buy/lease a lorry, you go to work, you get paid, simple

In both instances, you have to put in the hard work, but you can get something out of it. Canada offers you an opportunity, but you need to lose the British mentality to make the most of it

A lot of stuff that’s the norm over here is a thing of the past in the UK, so comparing the two is not realistic in pound for pound terms, personally, I like it that I have the ability to control my own finances/destiny with the amount of work I do, or not

must be the drink in me BUT this post speaks to me …imo its easier to work smarter in Canada than work your knackers off in UK. but this post says it all and should make it compulsary reading for drivers thinking of Canada .
merry xmas and a happy Hogmanay. jimmy.

[pat_hasler]

I can agree with what you guys say about the houses and life style even though I live south of the border. I have two gas guzzlers, both 4x4, a house on half an acre in a small Adirondack town, 3 double bedrooms, huge lounge / diner, den, big kitchen large downstairs bathroom, upstairs bathroom with a jaccuzi, a full sized basment and a pool in the back yard and the whole house only cost us $54,000.00 8 years ago, you’d have job to buy a garage in England for that
Just 2 streets behind our house is the start of the Adirondack national park and a range of mountains with no roads or even paths, there are Bears, Cougars and Wolves that are often seen wandering out of the woods so it wouldn’t be wise to venture in there without a gun. We even have a local Bigfoot LOL

[fly_sheet]

& You would move back to The UK wtf

[flat_to_the_mat]

Pat Hasler:
I can agree with what you guys say about the houses and life style even though I live south of the border. I have two gas guzzlers, both 4x4, a house on half an acre in a small Adirondack town, 3 double bedrooms, huge lounge / diner, den, big kitchen large downstairs bathroom, upstairs bathroom with a jaccuzi, a full sized basment and a pool in the back yard and the whole house only cost us $54,000.00 8 years ago, you’d have job to buy a garage in England for that
Just 2 streets behind our house is the start of the Adirondack national park and a range of mountains with no roads or even paths, there are Bears, Cougars and Wolves that are often seen wandering out of the woods so it wouldn’t be wise to venture in there without a gun. We even have a local Bigfoot LOL

So is this you looking on the brighter side of life ? One of our attractions to this place was the property prices , not so appealing nowadays , or the exchange rate . No sign of Bigfoot North of the the line .

[mickfly]

Pat Hasler:
I can agree with what you guys say about the houses and life style even though I live south of the border. I have two gas guzzlers, both 4x4, a house on half an acre in a small Adirondack town, 3 double bedrooms, huge lounge / diner, den, big kitchen large downstairs bathroom, upstairs bathroom with a jaccuzi, a full sized basment and a pool in the back yard and the whole house only cost us $54,000.00 8 years ago, you’d have job to buy a garage in England for that
Just 2 streets behind our house is the start of the Adirondack national park and a range of mountains with no roads or even paths, there are Bears, Cougars and Wolves that are often seen wandering out of the woods so it wouldn’t be wise to venture in there without a gun. We even have a local Bigfoot LOL

Booze must be stronger over in the USA if it’s making you post like this lol. Happy New Year.

[pat_hasler]

fly sheet:
& You would move back to The UK wtf

Yes I would, because despite the nice house and belongings and quite high pay for this country, the amount of taxes I have to pay is so high it’s stupid and as I have pointed out in the past the USA has no proper health care system unless you are very wealthy. I would put up with a smaller more expensive house and a smaller car for the security living in the UK offers compared to a country that couldn’t give a toss about it working class or anyone that is not a millionaire.
I might have a nice life while I am working but if I shold be taken seriously ill I will loose everything because here … stop working due to illness, loose health insurance and therefore loose your home due to going bankrupt and then you can’t afford to pay for treatment yourself so as far as the US health system goes you can go away and die.
This wonderfull country doesn’ give a damm about us.
Yes ! … I would move back tomorrow.

[pat_hasler]

PS … Happy new year

[hutpik]

Hi all.Pat.It’s just the sort of random thought that sometimes goes through the mind but if it is so precarious in the USA would it not be possible[and maybe better]to move to Canada.Would your life be any better.Mike

[cliffystephens]

cracking idea that . best of all worlds then … PS you got this big snowstorm there yet…