At the moment were rushed off our feet, I’ve been maxing out my hours (well almost, between 3 - 5 short a week), which is not a good thing when your on day rate.
Apparently we’re 20 full time drivers short at our place, the money isn’t amazing but it used to seem half decent for the area (Lincolnshire) and its guaranteed as it’s a day rate, so when I used to do a 7/8hrs day i got full whack, but since the hours have increased a 7/8hrs day doesn’t exist.
So how does the company improve things? There is a lot of waiting around for your load in the morning as there isn’t the drivers to collect the product, so the situation just snowballs, also new drivers see this and think, f this for a game and jack it in,I just don’t see how things can improve.
You can’t keep maxxing your hours out on a day rate Newlad or you run the risk of ending up hating the job, I know that you personally do nights out so if I were you I’d gradually start lowering my working days until I ended up doing no more than 12 hours a day. Over time the planners get to know individual drivers styles and eventually they’ll accept that you aint gonna be banging out the 15’s for them any more.
I’ll admit that I tend to max my hours out but I’m paid hourly with time and a half after 8, so it’s a bit easier to stomach imo.
NewLad:
So how does the company improve things? There is a lot of waiting around for your load in the morning as there isn’t the drivers to collect the product, so the situation just snowballs, also new drivers see this and think, f this for a game and jack it in,I just don’t see how things can improve.
…By sorting the driver’s wages out & paying them a fair hourly rate plus overtime, NOT a day rate■■? Or am I missing something■■?
Your low hourly rates/day rates help to pay for new lorries which is what attracts new drivers or so we are told. In other words you subsidise the company, maintain or increase profits and keep the boss happy!
That’s why they all pay ■■■■ wages around here,if peeps max out all the time they think that they are happy doing the job for peanuts,sorry if that offends anyone but that’s how I see it after over 25 years of transport in Spalding area that’s why I gave it up couple years ago after culina shut there depot here.
stev:
That’s why they all pay [zb] wages around here,if peeps max out all the time they think that they are happy doing the job for peanuts,sorry if that offends anyone but that’s how I see it after over 25 years of transport in Spalding area that’s why I gave it up couple years ago after culina shut there depot here.
There is no way I would work for a day rate. The way the majority of companies seem to work these days you might aswell just bend over & relax your slacks.
Do you find it odd that when you’re hourly paid there is little to no overtime, but sign up for day rate or salary and they want you to work every hour possible.
BillyHunt:
There is no way I would work for a day rate. The way the majority of companies seem to work these days you might aswell just bend over & relax your slacks.
Do you find it odd that when you’re hourly paid there is little to no overtime, but sign up for day rate or salary and they want you to work every hour possible.
Shockingly managed to get a 9 hr day today, first sub 12 hr day in 3 weeks, although I wasn’t hanging around, had a half hour chin wag at the start with an office bod, Bicker to Skelmersdale tip 26 pallets on a bay and back to Bicker, fuel up, paperwork and booked off inside 9. Days like today make the Saturday day rate of £120 + bonuses seem good, would be happy with one short day a week, they know I’m not happy and to be honest there going to have to do something as I’m always close to the 60hr max working time, so they need to get that back under control to average the 48hr.
Hopefully things might get better soon, still going to send out some cv’s and see what happens but to say how much work and jobs there are around here, I don’t understand why the money is so bad, the best hourly rate without going on agency I’ve found is £8.40ph at Gist.
Gist only paying £8.40 per hour wether you do 8 or 15 hour shift no overtime rate & only £1 more per hour on a weekend,I know that because they’ve rung me loads of times trying to get me to go back ( I left bout 4 years ago)& we were on more money then .
NewLad:
So how does the company improve things? There is a lot of waiting around for your load in the morning as there isn’t the drivers to collect the product, so the situation just snowballs, also new drivers see this and think, f this for a game and jack it in,I just don’t see how things can improve.
To be honest why would they want to ‘improve things’ for their drivers if (a)they’ve got people who will bang out the 13s and 15s week after week for flat day rate, and (b)the only competition of any substance for steering wheel turners is Gist paying £8.40 per hour?
To think the majority of companies give two hoots about their drivers is rather naive. In most cases drivers are bums on seats, nothing more.
NewLad:
So how does the company improve things? There is a lot of waiting around for your load in the morning as there isn’t the drivers to collect the product, so the situation just snowballs, also new drivers see this and think, f this for a game and jack it in,I just don’t see how things can improve.
To be honest why would they want to ‘improve things’ for their drivers if (a)they’ve got people who will bang out the 13s and 15s week after week for flat day rate, and (b)the only competition of any substance for steering wheel turners is Gist paying £8.40 per hour?
To think the majority of companies give two hoots about their drivers is rather naive. In most cases drivers are bums on seats, nothing more.
That’s just it they haven’t got people banging in the 13s and 15s because they can’t keep drivers, there are multiple leaving on a weekly basis, they then either sub the work out to a competitor, deliver late or lose the contract all together.
Why wouldn’t they want improve things?
I was going to put more, about putting bums on seats but it could just make a rod for my own back.
NewLad:
That’s just it they haven’t got people banging in the 13s and 15s because they can’t keep drivers…
OK, but in another post you say you’ve just done your first sub-12 hour day for three weeks? It suggested to me that you’ve been banging the maximum hours out on a regular basis. On that note, eff that for a game. Working those kind of hours is neither natural nor good for you which is why the vast majority of people come nowhere near them through the course of their working lives.
NewLad:
That’s just it they haven’t got people banging in the 13s and 15s because they can’t keep drivers…
OK, but in another post you say you’ve just done your first sub-12 hour day for three weeks? It suggested to me that you’ve been banging the maximum hours out on a regular basis. On that note, eff that for a game. Working those kind of hours is neither natural nor good for you which is why the vast majority of people come nowhere near them through the course of their working lives.
Your not getting my point, they are short 20 drivers, the new drivers jack it in after a week, the people who are there and haven’t jacked it in are being pushed to the max recently, I was only asking how does this circle end? The long days are because were short on drivers, were short on drivers because of the long days.
NewLad:
That’s just it they haven’t got people banging in the 13s and 15s because they can’t keep drivers…
OK, but in another post you say you’ve just done your first sub-12 hour day for three weeks? It suggested to me that you’ve been banging the maximum hours out on a regular basis. On that note, eff that for a game. Working those kind of hours is neither natural nor good for you which is why the vast majority of people come nowhere near them through the course of their working lives.
Your not getting my point, they are short 20 drivers, the new drivers jack it in after a week, the people who are there and haven’t jacked it in are being pushed to the max recently, I was only asking how does this circle end? The long days are because were short on drivers, were short on drivers because of the long days.
Well park up after 12 hrs then they’ll soon get the message that’s what we do sometimes.
