Been working as an agency driver for the same company for six months now. Generally pretty happy as it’s only 10 mins from home, has regular routes which don’t involve pallets, and I get a driver’s mate who keeps me company and can also be a banksman when needed.
However, the one issue I have is rarely knowing tomorrow’s starting time until I finish a shift.
The permanent employees all do 10 hour shifts, starting at either 3am or 6:00-7:30am, while I jump between the two.
Today I started at 6am but did two hours overtime as was told I’d probs be in at 6am again tomorrow. When I got back to the yard, one of the other drivers told me there’d been a change of plan and I was with him tomorrow starting at 3am.
I appreciate this is a job requiring flexibility, but regularly leaving work with less than an hour before bed seems a bit rubbish, especially as it can take 30 mins to get back in the traffic. Today was especially bad as I’m due to go for a pint for a mate’s birthday, so if I do that we’re talking five hours sleep which isn’t ideal as I’m also in on Saturday morning.
However, I’m on track to make about £35k this year with my overtime and the job is generally good, so should I just accept this is one of the downsides of being an agency guy? It took me a while before I was offered work every day as a trusted driver and I don’t really want to mess that up.
Is it usual practise for other drivers to tell you your following days work or is it down to planners?
Problem is with agency drivers is they usually have the ■■■■■■ end of the stick, permanent drivers take the jobs that suit them leaving the crap to the agency.
There’s plenty of permanent work where you don’t know you’re start time until the end of the previous shift. Seems that you’re not on a bad thing. Not going to suggest you “man up” but I would suggest you learn to live with it.
Just my opinion and it’s obviously up to you to make your choice.
All the best, Pete 
Welcome to the land of driving. It’s par for the course I’m afraid.
Ok, cheers for the replies guys. This was the sort of perspective I needed.
My driver’s mate was telling me he wouldn’t be putting up with it so got me thinking (although he has form for talking out his rear).
I’m much less stressed than when I was working in in office for the same salary and I don’t have to stress about things like giving stupid presentations about my sales forecast to a grouo of 30 people every week (which I really hated) so I’m prepared to accept that this is one of the downsides (which also works both ways as I sometimes finish at 1pm and don’t have to be in till 6am the next day).
You have 2 options (well ok 3)
1 you say you’re happy in the job? Chill out and get on with it. Lots of places expect 15 hour shifts on the bounce.
2 get another job. I would not go with that one if I were making 35k a year, but it’s up to you.
Just out of interest, is it class one or two? What area are you in? And which agency is it?
Not to say I’m tempted for myself lol
Class 2 in the Midlands area, working on commercial waste collection. Without overtime it would be just shy of £30k, but Saturday’s are 1.5x hourly rate and bank holidays are 3x.
Unlike some companies, I get a driver’s mate so I don’t really have to navigate at all which makes things much less stressful and I’m learning the routes in my own time with a safety net.
Typical driving job. 35k for 10hrs I’d say is worth putting up with.
You might find a job with not as early starts but end up working longer hours for same pay. Swings and roundabouts.
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Think yourself lucky. I go to bed after working nights and have no idea what time I might be in or where I’m going until I wake up and read the text which tells me what time I’m in. Still don’t know where I’m going until I get in.
Permanent employed driver here, we do check what the traffic sheet says before we leave but it’s never in green and can be changed at a whim so often it isn’t right, on some occasions it is.
It’s not compulsory to have less than 11 hours off, reducing rest should be your choice, though it’s best to set your stall out on any new job when you start, once they find you are flexible to the nth degree they can’t help themselves taking the ■■■■.
Many full time jobs out there don’t tell the driver where they are going next shift, this has been put in place to stop regular sick notes doing their thing when they don’t want the planned job, and to stop other childish behaviour.
Most good full time jobs don’t expect wild variances in start times.
Sadly you are agency, and this is one of the many drawbacks of agency work, in that you are easy to punish (no more work) if you don’t do exactly as they say.
I would have an amicable chat with the planner or the TM of the client and ask if your start times could be a little more in keeping with the full timers, whilst you carry on regardless they’ll carry on putting on you, little point in speaking to the agency, they are beyond contempt in most cases.
edit…scratch that, i see from the other thread you are being paid more per hour than others for being flexible, can’t have your cake and eat it.
We never told people their start times till around 16.00, work coming in would be changing all the time, things added, things cancelled.
Just make sure you get your 3 x 9 or 11 hours off between shifts per week. Lots of bullet loaders in this industry looking for a trigger puller so try to be your own man and figure things out for your self don’t listen to gossip.