There is a bizarre tendency on this forum for moronic trolls to ridicule people that CHOOSE to work for less money than them. Somewhere on here somebody said they turned down a job with my employer because they only pay £7.99 per hour. However, he failed to mention the £12 per hour overtime rate, £27 night out, job security (My employer is a government owned trust), above average holidays, the flexible hours, profit share, good pensions, Paid for attending DCPC, 40 hrs per week on the sick, brand new trucks, and even the office staff that accept that I’m the expert, and always ask my opinion - I even get praised from time to time!So, my question to you, what do you think makes a job worth sticking with? Is there more important things than money?
People complain but rarely praise. If you have a good job you’d be mad to tell the world they might try and steal it.
Think if you want to be fulltime for a company then you have to look at the whole package and take into consideration your own circumstances.
Have to say hourly rate is my priority, then the kit and the work involved although there are a couple of companies round here I wouldn’t go near whatever the rate.
We are all fairly unique in our requirements but in general a job has to be judged on more than the hourly rate alone.
Estimated weekly earnings taking all payments into consideration are my starting point as well as pension holidays etc. Also worth looking at the basic rate without overtime to see if its viable to live on if work goes quiet.
Then I consider the job itself which is as important as the wage.
Then the kit used. I don’t need a top spec V8 with frillys but a decent fleet motor with a good spec.
I won’t enertain any company that de-specs their motors as it points to a culture of not giving a toss about their main assest (the workforce). Well unless I’m desperate for a job…
As mentioned the whole package is important and the hourly rate is less important to me than true weekly pick up.
I will also look at the max potential earnings, say being at work 95 hours in one week (couple of split rest in there to give 6 x 15 hour shifts). Obviously this couldn’t be done every week [edit to add maybe it could 
] but just for fun how much could I earn maxing out.
I have no issues being at work 70 hours a week+ and only working 45 of them but still paid for the full 70. i.e tramping.
We all differ but the hourly rate snobs don’t look at the full picture and hopefully posters on this forum have enough sense not to give them it.
Good topic, For me it,s getting along with the Transport office, and no bugger touching me stuff in my truck or should i say nicking my stuff, that realy ■■■■■■ me of big time, having a Transport office that is in touch with the real world of of gridlock Britain. 
Joey R:
Good topic, For me it,s getting along with the Transport office, and no bugger touching me stuff in my truck or should i say nicking my stuff, that realy ■■■■■■ me of big time, having a Transport office that is in touch with the real world of of gridlock Britain.
Another good point. We are given plenty of time to get there. If, as sometimes happens, we get an unrealistic delivery time from a customer, we tell them we can’t make it and that’s accepted.
I look at the big picture, pay, benefits, pension, sick pay, staff discount share offers ETC.
My contracted hours are 42.5 if I complete these within 4 days I have the option to take the 5th day off these are things that make a good job for me anyway.
Other drivers like to be away all week in a big cab they may also consider this to be a good job everyone has there preference, being treated with fairness and respect is the absolute minimal I would not tolerate being spoken down to by anyone.
I would never break the law or drive a defective vehicle if asked to do so.
I would say my job is good,now I’m changing to day shift,no pressure, one phone call a day to ask what time arriving at destination. Been with company 14 years 30 days holidays plus bank holidays £30k + a year. I was prepared to leave if I got stuck on nights. I’ve worked with bad company’s,so know when I’ve got a good thing, obviously small things could be improved but is anywhere perfect.
Used to be be the take home pay cram as many double shifts , take days in leiu on nights for the night money etc. That was when you had 2 -3 kids at home & a mortgage .
Joey R:
Good topic, For me it,s getting along with the Transport office, and no bugger touching me stuff in my truck or should i say nicking my stuff, that realy ■■■■■■ me of big time, having a Transport office that is in touch with the real world of of gridlock Britain.
I recently left my job because of this.
We were allocated our kit and we had our own motors, so easily sorted and you knew what was what, Then Brains the ‘supervisor’ wasnt chuffed that we were happy and had us swapping motors in which you take your kit with you, can be half hour of a job swapping, everyday 
Then mithering because your running behind, The guy was out of touch of reality and made the job hard work. The job was easy enough, Mon Fri 40 hours a week, but if your not happy then change something, so I did.
I’m happy in my job, despite its faults. The job suits me because I get afternoon start times, above average pay with time ½ after 8 hours, good pension, over 10 hours on break most weeks, no phone calls asking where I am.
If we had better trucks the job would be perfect but I can’t spend a truck down the pub so I grin and bear it.
sayersy:
There is a bizarre tendency on this forum for moronic trolls to ridicule people that CHOOSE to work for less money than them. Somewhere on here somebody said they turned down a job with my employer because they only pay £7.99 per hour. However, he failed to mention the £12 per hour overtime rate, £27 night out, job security (My employer is a government owned trust), above average holidays, the flexible hours, profit share, good pensions, Paid for attending DCPC, 40 hrs per week on the sick, brand new trucks, and even the office staff that accept that I’m the expert, and always ask my opinion - I even get praised from time to time!So, my question to you, what do you think makes a job worth sticking with? Is there more important things than money?
Most normal people only go to work for the money, not the enjoyment. If you can also achieve the latter with the former then you’re doing it right. It seems to me you’re doing it wrong.
yours does sound an excellent job,shame there were not more like that[I could be wrong though]
For me it’s fairly simple, if I’m happy in the job then it’s a keeper. While the money is important as long as I get enough to get by without the company taking the pish that’s good enough for me. As long as the vehicle is roadworthy I’m happy, never been interested in what I’m pulling or where I’m going.
sayersy:
There is a bizarre tendency on this forum for moronic trolls to ridicule people that CHOOSE to work for less money than them. Somewhere on here somebody said they turned down a job with my employer because they only pay £7.99 per hour. /quote]Because whilst drivers accept that it leads to wage deflation. Yes you may get £12/hr overtime but that is only £1/hr more than I earn for my flat rate. Government owned trust does not guarantee job security. 100,000s of people working in the civil service thought their jobs were OK until the govt handed out redundancy notices like confetti in 2008-11. The company I’m working at has above average holidays, profit share, good pensions, pay for doing DCPC, have 40hrs on the sick, are just about to renew the entire fleet (100+ units and over 600 trailers) as well and have office staff who respect the drivers decisions and they pay a lot more than £7.99/hr.
£7.99/hr is a joke in the current climate even with all of the above you say you get.
Conor:
sayersy:
There is a bizarre tendency on this forum for moronic trolls to ridicule people that CHOOSE to work for less money than them. Somewhere on here somebody said they turned down a job with my employer because they only pay £7.99 per hour. /quote]Because whilst drivers accept that it leads to wage deflation. Yes you may get £12/hr overtime but that is only £1/hr more than I earn for my flat rate. Government owned trust does not guarantee job security. 100,000s of people working in the civil service thought their jobs were OK until the govt handed out redundancy notices like confetti in 2008-11. The company I’m working at has above average holidays, profit share, good pensions, pay for doing DCPC, have 40hrs on the sick, are just about to renew the entire fleet (100+ units and over 600 trailers) as well and have office staff who respect the drivers decisions and they pay a lot more than £7.99/hr.
£7.99/hr is a joke in the current climate even with all of the above you say you get.
Is the company you work for an own account operator, or a haulage operation? If it’s haulage is it specialist work? It sounds to me that you’re VERY lucky in that you have a VERY good job…but is the exception rather than the rule. £7.99 may be considerably less than you get, but it is far from a joke…in fact, it is above average for general haulage in this area.
Left hand down!:
sayersy:
There is a bizarre tendency on this forum for moronic trolls to ridicule people that CHOOSE to work for less money than them. Somewhere on here somebody said they turned down a job with my employer because they only pay £7.99 per hour. However, he failed to mention the £12 per hour overtime rate, £27 night out, job security (My employer is a government owned trust), above average holidays, the flexible hours, profit share, good pensions, Paid for attending DCPC, 40 hrs per week on the sick, brand new trucks, and even the office staff that accept that I’m the expert, and always ask my opinion - I even get praised from time to time!So, my question to you, what do you think makes a job worth sticking with? Is there more important things than money?Most normal people only go to work for the money, not the enjoyment. If you can also achieve the latter with the former then you’re doing it right. It seems to me you’re doing it wrong.
I what way am I doing it wrong? I earn 30k, which is enough for me, and I’m very happy! And I disagree that most “normal” people only work for money. I would say that greedy people only work for money, and normal people work for money, the social aspect, a social conscience and a sense of self-worth.
I guess we all have different needs. I would rather do factory work for minimum wage rather than do certain types of driving work, so it not always about money. As drivers get lots of hassle just dealing with others on the road and constant hold ups, I doubt if anyone wants further hassle from transport offices, customers, etc.
Age of the truck I don’t really give a monkeys about, as long as it looks tidy, gets maintained and is fit for purpose.
sayersy:
Left hand down!:
sayersy:
There is a bizarre tendency on this forum for moronic trolls to ridicule people that CHOOSE to work for less money than them. Somewhere on here somebody said they turned down a job with my employer because they only pay £7.99 per hour. However, he failed to mention the £12 per hour overtime rate, £27 night out, job security (My employer is a government owned trust), above average holidays, the flexible hours, profit share, good pensions, Paid for attending DCPC, 40 hrs per week on the sick, brand new trucks, and even the office staff that accept that I’m the expert, and always ask my opinion - I even get praised from time to time!So, my question to you, what do you think makes a job worth sticking with? Is there more important things than money?Most normal people only go to work for the money, not the enjoyment. If you can also achieve the latter with the former then you’re doing it right. It seems to me you’re doing it wrong.
I what way am I doing it wrong? I earn 30k, which is enough for me, and I’m very happy! And I disagree that most “normal” people only work for money. I would say that greedy people only work for money, and normal people work for money, the social aspect, a social conscience and a sense of self-worth.
Its all about the individual, I would rather earn less and have a good amount of time at home than earn more and be at work all week.
I earn ■■■■ money, but am happy doing that at the moment as I am fortunate to have zero debt, other folk will chase the ££ to pay the mortgage/kids/car etc.
Joey R:
Good topic, For me it,s getting along with the Transport office, and no bugger touching me stuff in my truck or should i say nicking my stuff, that realy ■■■■■■ me of big time, having a Transport office that is in touch with the real world of of gridlock Britain.
+1
If i’m going to be late for a time slot I ring in to let the office know, realistically I would expect the office to call the customer (the small matter of them paying us for the job or at least involved in the food chain of payment would make this sound logic). Doesn’t always happen or if it does the message doesn’t filter down to goods in staff. But when it does my opening gambit is usually ‘sorry i’m late traffic problems’ followed by ‘no problem your office let us know’… this makes the whole job a doddle.
Maybe its naive utopian thinking but planners with a good head on their shoulders and the ability to nip potential problems in the bud works wonders.