You want to get in there with 2 or 3 good agencies, that way work isn't quite so inconsistent. I try to stick with 2 agencies that I'm very loyal to, then one other as a back-up that I can use to fill in work here and there. I'm currently doing Royal Mail 3 days a week nights at weekends class 1, then DHL for the other two. Take home just shy of a grand a week. Easy work, I spend most of the time sitting on a bay on POA or doing simple runs with trailer swaps at RDCs. Both are excellent companies I'd be happy to go full time with when space opens up.
There is flexibility with agency for time off. I want an holiday, I have it, with pay. Weekly pay is a bonus too. I just transfer a set amount each week to the saving account for bills etc. There's plenty of permanent jobs that require cab hopping. The third party transport suppliers have stripped away the benefits that permanent drivers were getting too. Some of the pension schemes are also comparable. It all depends which firm you get set on with.
I work for agency. £20 an hour. Never know when I'll work or for how long. So every week when payday comes I live of £350 which is pretty much how much someone on national minimum wage takes home weekly and all the extra money I have made on top of £350 goes to my saving account in case the work dries out and I don't get more than 2 shifts a week. Saving account fills up quick when doing 3 to 4 shifts a week so happy days
If you work agency and struggle to find enough work that simply means your work is crap. Good workers, who don’t complain and hit all targets are always kept in work on the agency.
Beware, very aware some so-called employed roles for the likes of DX where salaries are for max 48hr weeks are fake...usually, DX demand other duties taking worked hours towards 60hrs a week...same with numerous others trying to pay shift rate, salary etc....ALWAYS, get an hourly rate plus an OT for over 8hrs agreed. The great thing about agency rates are they are per hour regardless with thr decent agencies, paying for breaks as none can leave a unit when on a brake!
@truckitprayle thanks for the swift reply mate, much appreciated. The reason I asked that question is because I fancy doing the course but wouldn't want to quit my job, so I'd be dipping my toe in to see if it's for me.
One of the benefits of agency work is you can meet some intresting people if your out with a van boy/drivers mate some a more a great laugh some are just work shy clowns. Agency I’m currently with seem to book me for 6 days then cancel Shifts. Almost as if they “maybe” had the work but just want a body on standby by. 👋 cya I’m off. Who’s going to stick around for that?
I passed my class 2, 2 weeks ago - struggling to find a decent class 2 paid job, my plan is to get a job and save for class 1 upskilling Reckon it's worth getting on agency for a few months as a class 2 new pass? Or should I look for something with stability?
Class2 you’ll find an interesting job with decent pay and not be treated like shit EVERYWHERE you go. I’ve seen plenty of class 2 jobs that pay as much sometimes more than class 1, maybe think about an ADR course combined with class2 then you will be earning class1 money for sure. Main difference between 1 & 2 is loading and unloading times, with 1 you’ll be there for hours and hours and hours, where as with 2 you’ll be in and out in a matter of minutes most of the time. And how you get treated, class 1 you’ll be treat like shite by EVERYONE! Class2 you’ll be offered cake and biscuits and cups of teas….. the lot! The only decent job on class 1 is container work, especially if you know how to pop the seals without damaging them and take yourself a few flat screen TVs or a 3 piece leather sofa 😂 other than that, stick to the little ones and you’ll stay relatively happy.
Agree with what you say about pros of being employed but there are pros for being with an agency. Firstly, I am an agency driver, but I do have a young family. One of the things I like about agency work is the flexibility it gives me in terms of time off - especially school holidays. As an agency driver if I want to take a week off, then I can do that. If I were employed, then I'd have to ask for the time off, which wouldn't be guaranteed, and it would come off my holiday entitlement. Other advantages are variety of work. I get bored easily and the variety and range of work keeps me fresh and enthusiastic. There are cons of course, the main one is the worry of being off sick. No work means no pay. That is quite a big concern. Paucity of work at certain times of year can be a problem, January and February seem to be problematic, but having a backup plan helps - either another income stream, a list of jobs around the house that need to be done, or even taking a holiday somewhere that's nice and warm avoiding the winter weather. All in all, I prefer the agency life. I'm not beholden to any company - maybe I've been let down, and sold down the river, too many times in the past. I decide when and where I work, I get to drive a lot of different types of truck - although that does involve a lot of Mercs 😂 - and some fairly rough examples as well as the good stuff. I like it, it's not for everyone, but it works for me.
@@Paul-dv4dr 🤣 Patience dear boy, patience 🤣🤣🤣 What really gets me is the slack / delay until the clutch starts to bite on a badly maintained truck [and not only on Mercs] when you are trying to gently manouvre onto a bay.
@@Ben-3984 I'm only going through getting my class 2 but have been a self employed plasterer for over 10 years and I imagine its identical. Getting anything lending related, mortgage, car finance, loans etc is an absolute nightmare, my partner also has a pretty decent wage aswel which helped us a little. The last car we got I had to submit 5 years books, 12 months of bank statements and it still taken about 3 months of back and forth. In the end we got it under my partners name and she was approved instantly, despite her wage at the time being well under half of what mine was.
Employee has one glowing benefit - consistently! 😊
You want to get in there with 2 or 3 good agencies, that way work isn't quite so inconsistent. I try to stick with 2 agencies that I'm very loyal to, then one other as a back-up that I can use to fill in work here and there. I'm currently doing Royal Mail 3 days a week nights at weekends class 1, then DHL for the other two. Take home just shy of a grand a week. Easy work, I spend most of the time sitting on a bay on POA or doing simple runs with trailer swaps at RDCs. Both are excellent companies I'd be happy to go full time with when space opens up.
Yeah good advice mate!
There is flexibility with agency for time off. I want an holiday, I have it, with pay. Weekly pay is a bonus too. I just transfer a set amount each week to the saving account for bills etc. There's plenty of permanent jobs that require cab hopping. The third party transport suppliers have stripped away the benefits that permanent drivers were getting too. Some of the pension schemes are also comparable. It all depends which firm you get set on with.
Agency dont pay when you have time off do they?
@@junaidali5137 some do.
@@Nickbaldeagle02 Yes some do.
I work for agency. £20 an hour. Never know when I'll work or for how long. So every week when payday comes I live of £350 which is pretty much how much someone on national minimum wage takes home weekly and all the extra money I have made on top of £350 goes to my saving account in case the work dries out and I don't get more than 2 shifts a week. Saving account fills up quick when doing 3 to 4 shifts a week so happy days
I'm working for a company. £19 an hour. Work never dries out. When payday comes I live off the full £800 after tax.
Also harder to get loans, mortgage ect if your agency driver I'd say good video 👍
Thats the major reason I couldn't do agency after passing my test, I knew I was going for a mortgage in 6-9 months.
How do I get in touch with you. Love listening to you. Makafui from Ghana.
If you work agency and struggle to find enough work that simply means your work is crap.
Good workers, who don’t complain and hit all targets are always kept in work on the agency.
Beware, very aware some so-called employed roles for the likes of DX where salaries are for max 48hr weeks are fake...usually, DX demand other duties taking worked hours towards 60hrs a week...same with numerous others trying to pay shift rate, salary etc....ALWAYS, get an hourly rate plus an OT for over 8hrs agreed. The great thing about agency rates are they are per hour regardless with thr decent agencies, paying for breaks as none can leave a unit when on a brake!
Break.
As an agency worker could you just do a few shifts over the weekend?
Absolutely mate, thats what they want the most. 🤙
@truckitprayle thanks for the swift reply mate, much appreciated. The reason I asked that question is because I fancy doing the course but wouldn't want to quit my job, so I'd be dipping my toe in to see if it's for me.
Yeah thats a good idea mate, good luck!
@@truckitprayle thanks mate
Thank you 👍
One of the benefits of agency work is you can meet some intresting people if your out with a van boy/drivers mate some a more a great laugh some are just work shy clowns. Agency I’m currently with seem to book me for 6 days then cancel Shifts. Almost as if they “maybe” had the work but just want a body on standby by. 👋 cya I’m off. Who’s going to stick around for that?
I passed my class 2, 2 weeks ago - struggling to find a decent class 2 paid job, my plan is to get a job and save for class 1 upskilling
Reckon it's worth getting on agency for a few months as a class 2 new pass? Or should I look for something with stability?
Either way mate as long as your getting some experience take whatever fits you best id say!
Why didnt u just get the class 1 license because then you could have driven class 1 and class 2
Just get your class 1 and be done with it.
Class2 you’ll find an interesting job with decent pay and not be treated like shit EVERYWHERE you go. I’ve seen plenty of class 2 jobs that pay as much sometimes more than class 1, maybe think about an ADR course combined with class2 then you will be earning class1 money for sure.
Main difference between 1 & 2 is loading and unloading times, with 1 you’ll be there for hours and hours and hours, where as with 2 you’ll be in and out in a matter of minutes most of the time.
And how you get treated, class 1 you’ll be treat like shite by EVERYONE!
Class2 you’ll be offered cake and biscuits and cups of teas….. the lot!
The only decent job on class 1 is container work, especially if you know how to pop the seals without damaging them and take yourself a few flat screen TVs or a 3 piece leather sofa 😂 other than that, stick to the little ones and you’ll stay relatively happy.
Employee. Holiday pay. Secure employment.
Agency, holiday pay, secure employment, or it was for me ten years solid.
Agree with what you say about pros of being employed but there are pros for being with an agency.
Firstly, I am an agency driver, but I do have a young family.
One of the things I like about agency work is the flexibility it gives me in terms of time off - especially school holidays. As an agency driver if I want to take a week off, then I can do that. If I were employed, then I'd have to ask for the time off, which wouldn't be guaranteed, and it would come off my holiday entitlement.
Other advantages are variety of work. I get bored easily and the variety and range of work keeps me fresh and enthusiastic.
There are cons of course, the main one is the worry of being off sick. No work means no pay. That is quite a big concern. Paucity of work at certain times of year can be a problem, January and February seem to be problematic, but having a backup plan helps - either another income stream, a list of jobs around the house that need to be done, or even taking a holiday somewhere that's nice and warm avoiding the winter weather.
All in all, I prefer the agency life. I'm not beholden to any company - maybe I've been let down, and sold down the river, too many times in the past. I decide when and where I work, I get to drive a lot of different types of truck - although that does involve a lot of Mercs 😂 - and some fairly rough examples as well as the good stuff.
I like it, it's not for everyone, but it works for me.
old Mercs - selectiiing reverse!
@@Paul-dv4dr 🤣
Patience dear boy, patience 🤣🤣🤣
What really gets me is the slack / delay until the clutch starts to bite on a badly maintained truck [and not only on Mercs] when you are trying to gently manouvre onto a bay.
Can u get a mortgage working agency ?
@@Ben-3984 I'm only going through getting my class 2 but have been a self employed plasterer for over 10 years and I imagine its identical. Getting anything lending related, mortgage, car finance, loans etc is an absolute nightmare, my partner also has a pretty decent wage aswel which helped us a little. The last car we got I had to submit 5 years books, 12 months of bank statements and it still taken about 3 months of back and forth. In the end we got it under my partners name and she was approved instantly, despite her wage at the time being well under half of what mine was.
@@Ben-3984 nope.