Hey guys, interested in getting into the industry for various reasons (rubbish degree, stuck in retail management going no where)
Got a few questions, first is the medical, I currently get dialysis 3 times a week would i fail the medical because of this? considered healthy enough to Humph pallets about all day in work so i imagine i’d be ok to drive?
Also how flexible are most companies with regards to shift patterns?, as said above currently get dialysis 7.30AM-12 Monday/Wed/Friday Would companies be flexible with starting times/days off with this? (working all weekend and day off monday/wednesday late start friday for example)
Also Im wondering if there are better and worse parts in the country for jobs. Im in Glasgow, but I would assume there would be more jobs going at port cities?
cheers guys! 
Don’t know how dialysis would affect the medical but if you need flexibility with your shifts then agency work sounds better for you.
Also being in a major city is a bonus as there’s bound to be lots of agencies located in and around the local area with jobs suitably close by [emoji106]
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk
Thanks Stuw! I was thinking that might be the case! - Ill have a look around, working weekends with mondays/wednesdays shouldnt be too hard!
Kidney problems & driving Gov.uk
Try this site , it may shed some light on the subject for you. Kidney problems are with serious consequences if things go wrong.
Drivers hours aren’t a set finish time by any means.
I don’t know if it would be possible or realitic for you to arrange certain days off that you need dialysis on. Starting to sound more like part time.
Would night shift work be possible for you & still allow for the dialysis?
bonnie lass:
Kidney problems & driving Gov.uk
Try this site , it may shed some light on the subject for you. Kidney problems are with serious consequences if things go wrong.
Drivers hours aren’t a set finish time by any means.
I don’t know if it would be possible or realitic for you to arrange certain days off that you need dialysis on. Starting to sound more like part time.
I did let the dvla know when I passed my car driving test and they had no issue with it so i assume i’d be ok to drive as a profession
I wouldn’t say i’d be looking for part time per say, the dialysis is set times, very early in the morning, I have had dialysis 7-12 then worked 1-9.30 in my current work many times and i still manage 45 hour weeks in work consistently so I wouldn’t even need anyone to be super flexible, My thoughts were find a company that could possibly give me a consistent later in the day start or a Monday and Wednesday as my off days then a slightly later shift friday and i’d be free to work what ever hours on the other days as required. Not sure how realistic that is though
Sounds like agency might be a better fit for you
Some Courier companies run later shifts starting at mid day - 3pm for trunks.
Failing that, regular night trunking might be an idea too if you can get back in time. Generally Class 1 work though.
Suspect you might gave to wait longer for licence to return after sending off medical forms since car drivers don’t need to inform DVLA but truck / bus drivers do. They tend to be stricter on “professional” drivers than cars. Don’t think you need to send off that form initially but would need to be declared on a medical.
gov.uk/kidney-dialysis-and-driving
As for timing, personally I’d seek the route of having those days off as you could easily be doing 12+ hour days depending on job.
You don’t want to be doing that along with treatment as if you had an accident, they might look at your timing and decide you’d not had enough sleep, ie: you’re in serious ■■■■. They throw the book at us, them the entire bookshelf (and Kindles hurt! ).
There are plenty of companies who’ll start afternoons like logistics companies. Pretty sure Culina had something like that for example and others will too. Also avoids the parasite agencies. Most likely the bigger logistics companies will have a bigger range of shifts. If you do treatment early, you might be better off sticking to early starts.
Where theres a will there’s usually a way, just a slightly more complicated path perhaps.
trevHCS:
Suspect you might gave to wait longer for licence to return after sending off medical forms since car drivers don’t need to inform DVLA but truck / bus drivers do. They tend to be stricter on “professional” drivers than cars. Don’t think you need to send off that form initially but would need to be declared on a medical.
gov.uk/kidney-dialysis-and-driving
As for timing, personally I’d seek the route of having those days off as you could easily be doing 12+ hour days depending on job.
You don’t want to be doing that along with treatment as if you had an accident, they might look at your timing and decide you’d not had enough sleep, ie: you’re in serious [zb]. They throw the book at us, them the entire bookshelf (and Kindles hurt! ).
There are plenty of companies who’ll start afternoons like logistics companies. Pretty sure Culina had something like that for example and others will too. Also avoids the parasite agencies. Most likely the bigger logistics companies will have a bigger range of shifts. If you do treatment early, you might be better off sticking to early starts.
Where theres a will there’s usually a way, just a slightly more complicated path perhaps.
Great help mate! Ill look into that, dont want Dome’d with a kindle 
I was unsure about agencies, I guess i’ll need to do them anyway to get some of the experience ill need to begin with,