The honesty needs to come from the client as well, which means knowing their operation and being able to make certain things clear clear to them about what you expect, so that the job you are providing a driver for is the actual job he is expected to do.
This means being able to recognise that it is a Friday afternoon return that none of the employee drivers will do, because it means sitting at the client’s worst delivery point for hours on end, with the prospect of your driver not getting back to base.He thus misses out on the pre-booked Saturday job that you can’t cover and that will leave the driver with no work for the day other than his run-in time which is going to create three- way arguments over guaranteed pay.
It means convincing the client that if he really wants 23 drops done on the delivery round, then it would be in his interests to swap his own drivers around, so that one of them who knows the job does the 23 and your driver only has 12 to do, so all 35 get done rather than 11 get brought back.
It means that ‘one hit Doncaster’ means one delivery point and not three different divisions of the same company, each with its own queue of lorries waiting to unload. It also means that is the job and not the first job or the job after he has taken a trailer ‘round the corner’ to unload.
It means knowing that your driver is not being fobbed off with a vehicle which has been defected by the company drivers and which they won’t take out, or because there is some problem with the load.
ckm1981:
I didn’t argue whether they were “allowed” to do it,but a mate of mine took the time to travel into town and spend a hour or so filling in forms and taking a theory test on the back of a advert advertising jobs through an agency only to be told a few days later he is now “on the books” and will be contacted when work is avail…seems the advertisement was actually just a ploy to get people registered IF jobs came avail not when.
I refer you to my second paragraph. If they were completely honest and said they’d got no work till next week, would he have signed up?
It’s legitimate advertising. No different to applying for any other job if you’re honest. Doing the assessment/form-filling etc don’t guarantee you’ll get it.
That Truck
bjd:
If i worked for an agency which unless i was desperate i wouldn’t ,apart from the usual i think its important to deal with office staff who actually have experience in transport not some one who has no idea
Hi Kate, I agree with bjd, I believe best connection in middlesbrough is run with a couple of ex drivers and I don’t hear of too many complaints from drivers who have worked there in the past.i did a bit for them years ago to get some adr experience and couldn’t fault the way I was treated. You could be the face that changes the attitude towards agencies and I wish you good luck with that 
To end paying a employer paying a agency to pay a driver to work for them why not just pay the driver a fair wage
thetastytrucker:
To end paying a employer paying a agency to pay a driver to work for them why not just pay the driver a fair wage
If only it were that simple. Evidently you are or you wouldn’t have written that.
To bang his wife !
Respect.
A reasonable workload.
Well maintained equipment to do the job.
The same level of professionalism I give them.
A decent wage.
Thankfully, I get all of the above from my current employer. However, my previous employer fell short on the top 4 in my list.
Reasonable work for reasonable pay.
Not to be forced onto umbrella/self employed. It isn’t legal, you know it isn’t legal, it meets none of the tests applied by HMRC or under the Social Security Act since changes came into force in April 2014 so don’t penalise people for wanting to be on PAYE.
If you do have umbrella/self employed don’t fob them off with an extra quid an hour. It costs you roughly 25% more than you pay to employ someone in Employers NI and Statutory Holiday Pay so pass at least that on.
Work clothes, at least PPE so boots, hi-viz, gloves. You’re the employer so its your legal duty to provide it. My agency also provide polo shirts and fleeces.
Cancellations. Cancelling when the driver is a mile from the customer and not paying them is not on. Put something in your contract with your customers regarding cancellations and minimum notice under which they’ll be billed a fixed amount.
Holiday pay. The fairest way to do this is to put 12.7% of the hourly rate in a pot for every hour the drivers work. You can choose to include overtime or not as you’re not legally required to. This average over 13 weeks just gets people’s backs up because it shafts those who work their backsides off for you during the busy period but choose to take their holidays after its been quiet for a few weeks.
tachograph:
I want an employer to be having as little as possible to do with recruitment agencies
+1
i work in recruitment so firstly best of luck. If the work is decent you should have a head start, however drivers tend to stay loyal to the £ 1st and if you are any good the consultant 2nd.
i am honest and deal with drivers on a daily basis who think i run around like the wolf of wall street blowing the ‘millions’ they make me each week, having said that i am also a driver so try to pay a decent wage and i give both sides of the coin if asked about ltd paye or umbrella (from my own experiences) and let them choose or go away and seek specialist advice.
the main issue you will have is what other work you have once your family work dies down (even the big boys have quiet periods).
being a driver or having genuine knowledge will also help, being pretty / flash / everyones best mate wont last very long.
tachograph:
I want an employer to be having as little as possible to do with recruitment agencies
+1
Thanks to everyone for all the advice and support. I didn’t expect so many comments!
It’s been really useful seeing the bigger picture from all sides ( the driver, the employer & the consultant )
It’s always scary starting a new job yet alone a new business but you’ve helped put some of my concerns to bed!
Mrmack65:
To bang his wife !
Did that, wasnt the best career move
KLSCOTT:
Evening all,I’m posting on here as I’m after some feedback as to the question above.
I will shortly be setting up a recruitment agency & am interested in what would make you choose an employer over another.We are planning on offering Free CPC Training to all drivers
& have contract work for a good reputable company (which drivers in our area already like working for)Would any of these benefits help you decide or is it just down to plain simple MONEY?!
Please help
Thanks,
Kate
Actually you’re not an an employer, you are in fact an agency, the utter dregs of humanity.
mike68:
KLSCOTT:
Evening all,I’m posting on here as I’m after some feedback as to the question above.
I will shortly be setting up a recruitment agency & am interested in what would make you choose an employer over another.We are planning on offering Free CPC Training to all drivers
& have contract work for a good reputable company (which drivers in our area already like working for)Would any of these benefits help you decide or is it just down to plain simple MONEY?!
Please help
Thanks,
KateActually you’re not an an employer, you are in fact an agency, the utter dregs of humanity.
You’re entitled to your opinion. Thought it was only a matter of time before the haters chimed in to this thread. Personally I’ve come across a few drivers who’d more than live up to that description too.
Sidevalve:
mike68:
KLSCOTT:
Evening all,I’m posting on here as I’m after some feedback as to the question above.
I will shortly be setting up a recruitment agency & am interested in what would make you choose an employer over another.We are planning on offering Free CPC Training to all drivers
& have contract work for a good reputable company (which drivers in our area already like working for)Would any of these benefits help you decide or is it just down to plain simple MONEY?!
Please help
Thanks,
KateActually you’re not an an employer, you are in fact an agency, the utter dregs of humanity.
You’re entitled to your opinion. Thought it was only a matter of time before the haters chimed in to this thread. Personally I’ve come across a few drivers who’d more than live up to that description too.
So your calling people who disagree “Haters” How many drivers will not understand who work for agency’s “You mean nothing to the employer or agency” just a bum on a seat. A guy said “lots of jobs seen the boards with agency’s wanting drivers” He rather naively thought they had real jobs. Sorry to throw cold water on it but they just want your number to record.
Wife and kids = 1 weeks work, next nothing, next week 3 days and so on…get real!!!
miketaurus:
So your calling people who disagree “Haters” How many drivers will not understand who work for agency’s “You mean nothing to the employer or agency” just a bum on a seat. A guy said “lots of jobs seen the boards with agency’s wanting drivers” He rather naively thought they had real jobs. Sorry to throw cold water on it but they just want your number to record.Wife and kids = 1 weeks work, next nothing, next week 3 days and so on…get real!!!
Been there and got the t-shirt mate. I’ve probably done more days as an agency driver than most people. And much of it back in the days when you didn’t even get holiday pay too.
I also had a wife and kids, and yes it was difficult; as you rightly say the work levels can be unpredictable, but the fact remains that it is work, and as far as I am concerned some work, or even the chance of it, is better than none. Might interest you to know that private employment agencies, in one form or another, have been around much longer than lorries have; since 1893, to be precise.
Some of you guys cannot get your heads round the fact that agencies never have offered what you think is a “real job”; in reality agency work has far more in common with being self-employed inasmuch as you only get a limited amount of job security, at least until you get yourself established. That much is clear to anyone with half a brain who signs up for them; provided of course that they read their paperwork properly, which since you evidently jumped on the first post and didn’t bother to read the rest, would be something that may benefit you in future. For the record, I am by no means keen on speculative advertising myself but it exists in every medium; look in the window of any betting shop for classic examples.
The OP came on here asking reasonable questions, to which, until you posted, she had received reasonable answers. Yours was downright insulting whether you like it or not. Nor did it contribute anything meaningful to the discussion, other than to perhaps confirm to the OP that some drivers lack basic good manners and suffer from an attitude problem.
have done both too and have wife and kid!
i have found go in as an agency driver do a good job they end up using you more i have never had a quiet period on agency as always been requested, same as a few of my guys who have followed me frmo one to another (they actually got less work the moment i left).
but yeah we are all scum and just rip off drivers, if you want go and source the work direct see how far you get see what happens when someone decides not to pay you for x amount of hours or delay your invoice for no real reason, or even worse go under owing you loads.
I like doing agency. I see people flying around like blue arsed fly’s because they are on salary, I poddle along as I’m paid hourly. Same goes for waiting time to be tipped, I sat at an RDC for 5-6 hours waiting to be tipped, not bothered a jot as I’m paid by the hour. 6 hours pay for sitting sleeping.