Ok I know there have been various posts on here before regarding S&K and I have looked through them but still will ask again for any updates on them.
I have seen on job sites they are looking for drivers but does anyone know if this is just a generic add they place all the time or are they actually looking for drivers ? I am looking at getting back over the water again for various personnel reasons and not bothered about spending time away. I have a mate who worked for them about 18 months ago and said the job was ok. The money wasnt great but if you put the effort in and did the work then you can earn the money, those that didnt earn were those that wanted to park up early and start late as he said you where never pushed.
I live up north and know they are a fair distance away but does anyone know if when on your weekend home after a couple of weeks away, do they employ drivers who are not local and will they try and get you a load to your area and allow you to take the truck home ? (I can get secure parking for the weekend near my home ).
I know they may not be the best company to work for regarding wages and trucks but they appear to be the only ones advertising for Euro drivers, and you usually hear of other jobs whilst actually doing the job, unless someone on here actually knows of any other companies looking. Got experience all over europe although its a while since I went over on a regular basis
I am not looking for any slagging off of the comapny just solid hard facts,
From what I could gather from the drivers I met, there is always an A Team and the others, but much of the work seemed to come out of the valleys and they backloaded to there as well. We did a lot of automotive stuff at Transalliance and S&K seemed to do a lot of the same to the same customers. I am going back three years or more, and I know there are a lot of companies have left the Welsh Hills and moved to Poland and Hungary.
People have always called them Skint and Knackered but some of the vehicles and trailers were quite modern.
The only way is to give them a call and get down there to talk to them, they must be doing something right!
i see quite a few around the french ports and the lorries dont look any different to anybody elses doing european work. i thought they were tied in with schenkers.
Seems to be a mix, some drivers like it and some don’t, I love the job and can’t say I have ever had any problems, give them a call and see, there always seems to be drivers turning up at the door.
There are few long haul drivers that live all over the uk, not sure how they arrange weekends,
You could always send a pm to ‘the sarge’ despite what everyone else says I think he’s ok
Trucks and trailer are ok but I don’t have much to compare them against.
They don’t seem to bother you when ur out on the road, like anything really, don’t take the ■■■■ and they won’t bother you.
Just don’t brake the prop shaft on your truck, they don’t like that
John I take it you are on with them at this moment ? I know they are one of the old school of haulage and to be honest thats how I was brought up in this game and have found it hard to be in the new school of taking the ■■■■ out of a boss. My old firm when I was running the continent had 7 trucks when I started but because us drivers where from the old school and knew what a proper days work was, there were nearly 30 trucks when I left so hard work to earn a crust I aint scared off, what I wont do ( anymore) is run bent. All I am looking for is a job with a firm that aint gonna go bump owing me money and they seem to have been around for a while. I will call them and hope for the best
That’s one thing I have found is that the guys in the office would rather you miss a timed delivery than run over your hours, I have never felt the pressure to run bent at all.
Some of the trucks are older than the likes of stobarts but they still run all over Europe so there has to be something in it, I must admit that the sign writing on the trucks does look really nice and with a nice new trailer.
I think s and k have their way of doing things which some drivers don’t agree with but they must be doing something right to have so many trucks on the road.
hi John , just a quick question for you, well 2 actually,
First up , what contract have you got in Kent, I often see at least 10 trucks parked up in various lay-byes around the Ashford area ?
Second one is, I live in France, would like to know if they would employ someone based abroad.
Cheers for any info
I’m only on uk work but have done a few trailer swaps in ashford, since it was a two day bank holiday this week in the uk and not in Europe I was sent with trailers to swap for the euro boys,
I think they have had drivers from over the water work for them but depends if they can get u a load in your area so you can have a weekend at home, don’t quote me as I’m not too sure how that works, always worth a phone call, can’t hurt to ask
berewic:
Look at it this way, drivers aren’t leaving S&K in droves for nothing.
If the job was any good (A) there wouldn’t be any vacancies. (B) they would never have to advertise.
Are they leaving in droves though?
Any international job has always had a few movers, wives cannot hack it, drivers get homesick, people & personalities clash!
When I worked for Norman Lewis there were probably 2 or 3 new starters every single week yet none of the real regulars left very often, the money was decent, the job was a piece of ■■■■ and you could see all of Europe. I don’t know whether it is a clique or a clan thing where not all new faces do not fit, some do.
S&K say they are now running 100 units and 300 trailers plus a VOSA Testing station
Paul:
John I take it you are on with them at this moment ? I know they are one of the old school of haulage and to be honest thats how I was brought up in this game and have found it hard to be in the new school of taking the ■■■■ out of a boss. My old firm when I was running the continent had 7 trucks when I started but because us drivers where from the old school and knew what a proper days work was, there were nearly 30 trucks when I left so hard work to earn a crust I aint scared off, what I wont do ( anymore) is run bent. All I am looking for is a job with a firm that aint gonna go bump owing me money and they seem to have been around for a while. I will call them and hope for the best
Cheers
Maybe if the old hands, who were brought up in this game and actually had a set of balls, said no to their employer when they didn’t have the time to do the job, we wouldn’t be in such a ■■■■■■■ mess Very easy to blame the new breed of driver for the legacy left behind by the old school eh?
A very good friend of mine was there for a while and left last year. The job was a doddle and never pressured to run bent. Wages were not the best by far and if you had a break down or accident then god help you! He lives up north and they used to let him take the lorry home no problems.
Monday morning. Given mobile phone, fuel card 52 plate Volvo fh12 ( I honestly thought it was a shunter)
2 local drops Swansea , llantrisant
Loaded for illford they wanted me to have a night out I said no took my 9 and back I came
Start 8am finish 8 pm
Tues
5 am start
Illford tipped
Collected ashford for delivery Southampton
Finishe 8 pm Night out
Wednesday start 8 am
Tipped Southampton
Had tex message load Maidstone now running low on fuel with a as24 card finally find truck stop for fuel enter card low and behold blocked phoned sk told me wait 30 mins 3 hours later another driver turns up with BIG attitude to use his card for fuel
I can’t be bothered to tell you the rest but I ended up out 3 nights that week drove I must say on my own discretion over hours on the Thursday/Friday to get hom pack my bags and get the flock out of s&k
Sat 9 6 hours
Mon. 12 hours No night out
Tues. 15 hours night out
We’d. 15 hours night out
Thursday 15 hours night out
Friday. 6 hours bye bye s&k
2 Severn bridge tolls my expense
Following Friday no pay in bank mmmmmmmmmm
Ring up they say cat find bank detail Application form back page bank details easy
2 hours later phone call money in bank yippee how much
69 hours
3 nights out
2 Severn bridge tolls
£234. Take home I’d rather deliver fish and chips in a noddy van
End off
Soon as I jumped in cab I felt like I already had a night out absolutely discusting
Cheers Welshmale60, fortunately I haven’t had to call them as I have landed a job running on the continent with a local company, decent truck Daf 105 SSC and decent gauranteed money, only do weekends away if due o unforeseen circumstances or at MY request ( previous driver only had 3 weekends out in the last year ) but I am a greedy get so will do them to earn more
Sounds like you didn’t really want the job from the get go and did everything possible to make out it was really a ■■■■ number but I bet it was a really good crack but you were determined to undermine it Gotta a feeling your little plan didn’t work out for you but might have done for some others and thats why you are up the road and having a whinge on here
Regardless of what the company is like. I do take my hat off to the driver that got me out of a bind on Friday in slough.
I gaffed up a bit, and got my spray suppressor snagged up in the wheel locking device at Gillette in Slough.
He could have just let me blindly carry on and do more damage, but his actions and advice saved some costly expense and embarrassment.
Top geezer in my books, and things like that don’t just reflect on the said driver but reflects on the company too. You never know when your in the position to repay the favour to another S+K driver.
Maybe if the old hands, who were brought up in this game and actually had a set of balls, said no to their employer when they didn’t have the time to do the job, we wouldn’t be in such a ■■■■■■■ mess 
Very easy to blame the new breed of driver for the legacy left behind by the old school eh?
Gotta a feeling your little plan didn’t work out for you but might have done for some others and thats why you are up the road and having a whinge on here 
