Of course, I am completely out of touch with driver qualifications, but one thing I do know is that French companies love French paperwork and hate anything from another country. I have always had the devils own job getting anything foreign recognised, but is suppose Europe has moved on. When I first changed my drivers license I had to get my Brit’ license translated by a “Certified” translator and it took around 3 years to process. In the meantime I drove with an international driving permit from the RAC. Interesting point; the translator made a mistake and they gave me a full motorcycle license which I used for over 20 years. One fine day the “Prefet” woke up to the fact that I had never passed a test and they took it off me - I sold the bike 
Does anyone know how pensions work? I have worked for several Brit’ companies and must have paid a fair sum, over the years, somewhere, can I get that money back?
Thanks for the good wishes - off to Saint Nazaire the Ancenis wash the truck and finished 
Maybe it’s just the firm i work for,but to make all the numbers match up i had to exchange my driving licence,get a new tacho card and get the Fimo card registered with the same number;It all seemed a load of tosh,but it’s what they wanted.I drove for them for years on a uk licence ,cpc,etc and then they wanted to change it.Except my haz cert,which i kept until the validity ends.
3 monts for the Prefecture in Angers to exchange my plastic card for a pink paper one.They kept my uk licence,and tacho card for return to the uk.
OwenMoney:
Maybe it’s just the firm i work for,but to make all the numbers match up i had to exchange my driving licence,get a new tacho card and get the Fimo card registered with the same number;It all seemed a load of tosh,but it’s what they wanted.I drove for them for years on a uk licence ,cpc,etc and then they wanted to change it.Except my haz cert,which i kept until the validity ends.
3 monts for the Prefecture in Angers to exchange my plastic card for a pink paper one.They kept my uk licence,and tacho card for return to the uk.
Prefecture at La Roche sur Yon have just told me it will take 6 - 9 months to exchange my UK licence for a French one 
They no longer give you a paper as a temporary licence, you hold on to your current licence and when your new one is ready they contact you. You then have to go in person to the prefecture with some identification to collect it and surrender your old one at the same time. 50 km trip, the sous prefecture at fontenay le comte (15 km) do not do driving licences!
I too have UK licence no. on my FCO card and Tacho card (both French ones) so I guess they will need to be changed too!
At the end of 9 months you may only get a plastic card replacing what you already have.Take a photocopy of your uk licence as the numbers wont match,until you get new cards or medicals or such.Not that the police will care much unless you get an officious one.ive never had any problems.I also was made to do the french caces licence for forklifts as my firm didnt want my english one.Hope the sun is shining on the Vendee today.Very quiet so came home for lunch and a nap !
it will definitely be a photocard type Owen. That, I believe is where the huge delays are as before the pink paper one was printed at the prefecture, now everything has to go to a central point for processing. A friend of mine changed hers earlier in the year she told me it took abt 6 or 7 weeks and that included all her paperwork being sent back to her because her capital letters didn’t comply 
So perhaps the fonc was just being a bit of a drama queen 
I’m still on my hols, (well RTT this week) the factory has been on closedown for the whole of August, but it is back to the grind on Monday
Have a good sieste
Have you been off all August ?
I have had 17 days Rtt so far this year, and with 23 more already booked, including next week for the rentrée. That will see out the year, and that leaves me with 27 paid days to take before the end of May.Rtt having to be taken before the end of the year,otherwise the firm has to pay me and the Impot.
Sometimes its a hard life,
Have a good start back.
OwenMoney:
Have you been off all August ?
I have had 17 days Rtt so far this year, and with 23 more already booked, including next week for the rentrée. That will see out the year, and that leaves me with 27 paid days to take before the end of May.Rtt having to be taken before the end of the year,otherwise the firm has to pay me and the Impot.
Sometimes its a hard life,
Have a good start back.
Yes, I finished on the 1st Aug and go back tomorrow 1st Sept, afternoons ,13h - 21h not keen on the afternoon shift it drags a bit and it is looking like it will be hot here next week. Mind you, if I was going back on the morning shift I would have to take the excavator back to the clay pit and I hate having to put it on the low loader so I mustn’t grumble!
Well that’s it then, Les vacances fini! happily I don’t go back on early shift, end of holiday season bash at a good friends place. Too much beer, wine & food, feel like a stuffed pig now! but, if you are lucky I might take some piccy’s of my lorry and excavator and post them here, I bet you can’t wait on the other hand I will probably forget ha!
> OwenMoney:
> Have you been off all August ?
> I have had 17 days Rtt so far this year, and with 23 more already booked, including next week for the rentrée. That will see out the year, and that leaves me with 27 paid days to take before the end of May.Rtt having to be taken before the end of the year,otherwise the firm has to pay me and the Impot.
> Sometimes its a hard life,
> Have a good start back.
Isn’t it crazy, the RTT system? With 40 days RTT you get 8 weeks, or 2 months off + 5 weeks leave + 10 bank hols., or 2 weeks. This means you work around 8 months a year! (Retire after 25 years) Wouldn’t it be better to pay a decent living wage?
I have worked all the systems - Monthly pay, weekly pay, hourly rate, trip money, load bonus and a few others. The best was trip money, sadly illegal now. Even on a monthly fixed wage the bosses were better off, the Poles all work for that! I wonder if the wage structure is part of the problem in transport today?
I start my new job next Monday and automatically get 10 days RTT a year, crazy!
What ?
Another new job ?
Aren’t there 10 million unemployed;Get out of it whilst you can still breathe and play with your very pretty sheep.
Do you shear your sheep or shall i get my own ?
Owen
OwenMoney:
What ?
Another new job ?
Aren’t there 10 million unemployed;Get out of it whilst you can still breathe and play with your very pretty sheep.
Do you shear your sheep or shall i get my own ?
Owen
I am and will always be amazed at the ease I get new jobs (Good reputation?). For the last 15 years I have only ever taken CDD or short term contracts (4 this year). I always finish the jobs and almost inevitably get offered a CDI, or long term contract. As I have the farm it never suits me to work the whole year through. I have taken this latest job because it is 35 hours a week with loads of perks! I will also be part of the management team. If it doesn’t work out I will take my retirement under the “Congé fin carriére” system (co-ef 150m for 25 years + 57 y.o.).
One of the reasons I work is that by earning more through working for someone else than myself, the farm never makes money (cough), I am exempt from MSA payments of around 8000 euros p.a. So with anything over a 3 month contract I start off with a wage of 8000 Euros p.a. + wage + 10% + RTT (paid) + overtime + holidays (paid) + perks. Not bad, eh?
I have spent years getting to this point. I got back, this year, over 750 euros “Prime d’emploi”. I am also registered for VAT and I get back more than I take (negative solde) so, I don’t pay the TV license fee either.
Over the years I have paid a veritable fortune to both the UK and French governments, I am now legally getting some back. I have worked hard all my life and am still doing so. I hate scroungers and have never claimed a penny off the state social security system. I also pay my own FCO, ADR, ADR MD and CACES. I took a long time to learn how the system works!
I mentioned a couple of days ago that I would tell you a story about wages - tomorrow?
I had, last year, around 300 ewes which gave me around 450 lambs. Until 2 years ago I sheared (badly), but now I have an apprentice who does a lovely job. I stopped because I am now an official handicapped person (no joke!).
My farm, and gite, is now for sale, buyers are plenty bank loans are not. I am now down to around 120 ewes and hope to sell the rest soon.
France is a great country! I have given loads but got loads back. It is very easy to get into a debt situation and be unable to change jobs, but if you can stay flexible here, you can make a fortune and live a good life!
By the way Owen, I shall be in Angers tomorrow. I am going to visit a driver I worked with a few years ago who has just been operated on for his back problems. I also know a fellow Welshman driving from Angers - Barrie O’Dare - who used to own a resto in rue de Mail, called the “Gastronaute Anonyme”. Maybe you know him?
Bonsoir les amis, early finish tonight for a change so thought I may as well post up some pics from work this week, just to keep up the momentum of this thread.
Intermarché just opened a new ‘base’ on the outskirts of Toulouse at Montbartier. I think it’s the biggest RDC I’ve been to, can’t recall how many bays Sainsbury at Waltham has, but this place has over 200 loading docks for frais, sec and surgelées. Here’s the beloved (!) Premium in front of door 201. There’s a one way system in place and from the gatehouse entrance to the exit barriers it’s a kilometre around.
Whilst loading poultry out in the Gers one of our subbies also turns up with a smart new Renault T460. He was singing its praises to all and sundry, and admittedly it looks a fine piece of kit. Excuse the dodgy photo exposure, the sun was in hiding, albeit temporarily.
Had to pay a visit to the Renault dealer yesterday for a quick repair and spotted this old NG series Merc having a new tacho fitted. It’s owned by Aiguillon town council and was completely rot free. I had to have a look inside as I drove a similar truck 25 years ago.
Am off a bit farther afield next week, but in the meantime where are those tipper pics Tim??
Tim85:
if you are lucky I might take some piccy’s of my lorry and excavator and post them here, I bet you can’t wait
Is that a hint Craig I changed my facebook header photo earlier this week, Mrs Tim called me a sad b’stard I can do even sadder, For a bit of fun today I put my phone into the lorry as a dashcam, so if you really want to be bored I can post the trip from the factory to the quarry, me loading the lorry and the trip back 
if the mrs sees that she will call me an effin sad b’stard, do I care nah not really I am just a sad b’stard 
hay, you might be lucky though, I’m not sure I know how to post piccies, let alone a video 
Just a subtle hint matey
Anyway, have a look here for photo posting info:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=62414
Bon courage!
That’s not a bad looking Actros Tim, looks like a day cab? Like the Volvo swing shovel too. How often do you move it on the low loader?
Ideally I wouldn’t mind a job like yours, (got to be better than night work) but I haven’t got any CACES certificates and my UK plant certificates all ran out a long time ago, apart from the HIAB one which I renewed last year when I was over in the UK for a few weeks. Yours seems like a low-stress life, the ideal that Brits always think of when they consider moving to France … or maybe it’s just the usual case of the grass always being greener elsewhere 
Sounds & looks good to me!
Craig 111:
That’s not a bad looking Actros Tim, looks like a day cab? Like the Volvo swing shovel too. How often do you move it on the low loader?Ideally I wouldn’t mind a job like yours, (got to be better than night work) but I haven’t got any CACES certificates and my UK plant certificates all ran out a long time ago, apart from the HIAB one which I renewed last year when I was over in the UK for a few weeks. Yours seems like a low-stress life, the ideal that Brits always think of when they consider moving to France … or maybe it’s just the usual case of the grass always being greener elsewhere
I did nights for a while I couldn’t hack them. Yes a day cab, the furthest I have to go is 35km so I will have never have to do a night out .
Volvo excavator, how often do I move it on a low loader, NEVER if I get my way I have never been trained or shown how to do it safely, so I just say NO! I would, however do it if it was absolutely necessary, I can do it but…
The actros is a 4X4 unit (kind of handy in a clay pit) unfortunately it is an auto box so it takes a few seconds for the puter to realise that the drive wheels are turning but the lorry is not moving! 2 seconds is enough to plant the lorry in soft ground
I have said before in this thread, but I really did resist taking this job when my mate first said go and see the boss. I was more scared about the digger bit as I had never used even a mini-digger in my life, I have grown to like the job. I still miss the open road though.
I will (probably) never return to that (never say never!) but, I read things on here that remind me of times gone by, my feet are getting a bit itchy!!
Well, getting late, 5am start in the morning (first early after my hols) plus quite a busy week outside of work bonne chance for tomorrow Daidog
Tim85:
The actros is a 4X4 unit (kind of handy in a clay pit) unfortunately it is an auto box so it takes a few seconds for the puter to realise that the drive wheels are turning but the lorry is not moving! 2 seconds is enough to plant the lorry in soft ground
4x4 Actros: that’s a serious bit of kit Tim, I guess that with the crosslocks in you don’t get stuck very often? Shame about the auto shift box though, a manual would make all the difference, but I guess you’ve learnt to recognise the truck’s limits before it’s too late?
Tim85:
I have said before in this thread, but I really did resist taking this job when my mate first said go and see the boss. I was more scared about the digger bit as I had never used even a mini-digger in my life, I have grown to like the job. I still miss the open road though.I will (probably) never return to that (never say never!) but, I read things on here that remind me of times gone by, my feet are getting a bit itchy!!
Well, getting late, 5am start in the morning (first early after my hols) plus quite a busy week outside of work
+1 on that, hope it all goes well at Pomona Dai
~ Craig