I recently saw an ad for HGV/LGV (and various other three letter acronyms) training. Naturally the ads had the usual claims of a massive nationwide shortage of drivers and big bucks, which made me wonder the realities of being qualified to drive those kinds of vehicles, especially these days.
How much work is out there and how much does it pay?
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Pat will know for answer for sure but I have seen HGV jobs in agencies for about £8 an hour, not a lot at all really.
No doubt it will be a lot higher for tramping or specialist loads such as fuel.
From what they pay I can't see there is a massive shortage of drivers but training companies will tell you anything. They will tell you there is a massive shortage of computer technicians and I know for a fact are actually far too many.
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This should give an idea but there dosn't seem to be that many HGV jobs, it is all 7.5 tonnes which would I assume be quite a bit less pay.
tinyurl.com/4qpkw5o
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My wife works in a big courier company and she says some drivers earn £4000-5000 per month (which includes overtime).
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If the vast majority of truck drivers earnt £60k a year I think our food would be a bit more expensive! No doubt if you're transporting nuclear waste you could easily earn that though!
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£60k was more of exceptions. Not everyone get overtime.
Average salary tends to hover around £30k mark AFAIK.
>> massive shortage
The massive shortage of anything is said so that more people join in that profession and thus keeping wage lower for employers.
A good communication skill is hearing what is not said.
Last edited by: movilogo on Tue 8 Feb 11 at 16:29
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I think many of the courier companies operate on a pay-per-parcel basis.
So it's a bit like taxi work, if you flog your nuts off, 12 or 14 hours a day, you can bring in a nice few quid.
I think the OP was referring to traditional lorry driving - the sort of jobs which have gone at the firm we are talking about in the pre-pack administration thread.
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Also with courier work if you're driving a Transit size van does the working hours which effect HGV drivers apply?
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No they don't Rattle that's why they can work so long hours and make so much money.
They don't have to have the vehicle inspected every 6 weeks or have £6000 per vehicle in the bank ( spare) to get an operators licence to run them either.
Pat
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>> I think the OP was referring to traditional lorry driving - the sort of jobs
Really I was asking about the whole range of jobs that fall under that type of qualification (i.e. for heavy/long vehicles)
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>> My wife works in a big courier company and she says some drivers earn £4000-5000
>> per month (which includes overtime).
>>
Possibly, but they would be owner-drivers, so it would be unrealistic to use that as a basis as they'd have their vehicle running costs to take out of that.
I'm on £24K a year which is considered extremely good for this area; I'm salaried but get occasional overtime. Plenty of HGV 1 and school bus driving jobs to be had for a gnat's nut above the minimum wage, and not just down here. Part of the reason for the job having a long hours culture is the poor basic rates; boasts of large wage packets don't tell the full story.
On top of that there's the money for nights out; a bit over £20 for the privelege of kipping in a cramped metal box in a lay-by miles from anywhere, plenty of creature comforts in the cab perhaps but still an outside loo!
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We have tried all ways to have those adverts banned SS, to no avail.
They are made by brokers usually who don't own anything more than an office.
They make a percentage from referring trainees to a firm in their local area, and promised to find them jobs once they have passed their test.
In many cases the trainees pay the money up front to the broker, and before the training takes place the have vanished from the face of the earth.
Gone into administration and then started up again as a phoenix company within a couple of days.
There isn't a driver shortage at all, but to train from car driver to HGV1 will cost around £5000 nor for both sets of training and tests, Initial CPC training and test, driving licence, medical and Digi card.
That's with a first time pass both times too.
To persuade an insurance company to cover a driver without 2 years experience is almost impossible without a huge premium, which in some cases the driver is asked to foot the bill if he wants the job.
After that 2 years the average earnings would be around £28,000 depending on what part of the country you live in and what sort of work you do in the industry.
This would be for a minimum of 70+ hours per week and more often nearer 80 hours with times ranging from 2am starts and 10 pm finishes fluctuating daily. No pension, only SSP, and 4 weeks holiday per year at basic pay, usually around £300 per week.
The agencies will offer more but will only employ you as an when needed so it then ends up with January and February very little work and a patchy 2/3 days a week apart from the lead up to Christmas.
Phoenix companies, prepack administration...easy to see why I hate them both:)
BTW, we do it because we love it not for the money too!
Pat
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Thanks Pat, that's very interesting, including the issue with getting insured for the first couple of years.
The whole "shortage of drivers" thing is pretty standard of course, for example companies that tell trainee driving instructors that they have a job for life.
Thanks again for the insight, really was interesting.
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Petrol tanker drivers are said to earn fairly well.
I think what little public support they had for their strike vanished when people were told some of them were already on £35-£40K a year.
Last edited by: Iffy on Tue 8 Feb 11 at 16:40
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>>Tanker drivers are said to earn fairly well.
And I was told, many years ago, that car transporter drivers earned a fortune.
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Both tanker and transporter are at the top end of the list.
Quite rightly so.
Pat
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How much do HGV/LGV drivers earn?
A damn sight more than they get paid in the overwhelming majority of cases.
I differ from Pat in that though i've done the job for many years it's not something i enjoy that much, it's just a well paying job to me, though i take a pride in doing the job well...i have never enjoyed sleeping in a tin can, and hopefully will never do so again, the tramp asleep in the ditch, the truck driver 12 feet from him in a tin shed.
I've been fortunate enough after a lucky break about 25 years ago to have been at the better end of the earnings scale, though it's usual that if you are at the higher end you are working in dangerous or specialised work sometimes both, there will usually be muck and bullets too.
Exceptions as in everything.
Without fail any properly paid jobs will be unionised, otherwise exactly as Pat says.
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>> Without fail any properly paid jobs will be unionised, otherwise exactly as Pat says.
Like the mines perhaps? Opps - All gone.
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My cousins husband was probably one of the most qualified for driving trucks ever:
- Transporting tanks and the like
- Transporting nuclear weapons
- Transporting logs (including felling the trees) - useful when recovering downed planes in the middle of a forest apparently
- Driving senior diplomatic types
- Driving tankers
- list goes on...
You name it he'd been trained... by the forces. He left the forces and did some very well paid driving and then joined the police with a desire to end up as a driver there too.
I doubt there's many with a qualification for transporting nuclear weapons though.
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>> I doubt there's many with a qualification for transporting nuclear weapons though.
There's never any kids to hand the skill down to.
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:-)
I have relatives either running businesses now or had them in the past. Struggled to fill apprentice schemes. And these weren't backed by government grants either. Just a local business need for skilled staff. Some lazy sods about.
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>> This is eaxactly the reason we try to discourage drivers dealing with firms like this.
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Firms like what? How do you know there is anything disreputable about the company?
Perhaps, just perhaps, the man may be deranged!
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They went into liquidation in March, but are still resident in their offices and have the website still up offering services and jobs....according to Companies House.
I know the reputation and the past history of the firm as well, but if you know better then I'd love to hear it Duncan.
I've spent the afternoon fending off calls from reporters wanting interviews and quotes, giving me information.....surely you trust me a little more than that?
Google Advantage HGV Complaints if that isn't sufficient
Pat
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I believe you were quoted on the subject in my paper today Pat. Not by name but I bet it was you.
What will happen to the crazed ripped-off would-be trucker (if such he was)? He put on quite a show but may be able to plead mitigating circumstances, and didn't hurt anyone.
He may have to suffer a bit for disrupting the West End on a Friday.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sat 28 Apr 12 at 18:12
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Guilty M'Lud:)
I hope the mitigating circumstances and the past and present reputation of the Company helps him in court. It has been very well documented over the last few days and that alone will mean similar firms are now looking at their practices.
Look at this scenario, it isn't this case or this firm, but a good example of what happens and one I've dealt with in the past...
Man has a good job in manufacturing earning around £500 per week, gets made redundant and comes out with £3,500 redundancy money but no prospects of finding another job in his own trade.
Sees the Advert in the The Sun saying HGV drivers earn £600 per week and this firm has 1000's of jobs available with immediate starts just as soon as you have passed your test which will cost you £3000.
He sits down with his wife and 3 small kids to discuss whether to use the redundancy money to pay the next few months mortgage payments but no prospect of getting a job, or to use it to retrain with a 'guaranteed' job at the end of it.
He has no knowledge of the haulage industry or that the claims are untrue and vastly exaggerated.
The firm in the advert talks to him on the phone and they assure him it's true, all he has to do is pay the money up front and they will do the rest ( book training and tests and find him a job).
Money paid the man then waits for contact, but nothing happens, phoning the firm results in false dates and promises and eventually no answer at all, or the phone not being put through.
Desperation sets in, his financial cushion has gone, he's let his wife and kids down instead of providing for them, will he lose his house?
He contacts us, we advise did you pay by credit card...No, he didn't want to get anymore into debt so paid by Debit Card. We contact Trading Standards, they tell us they are aware and have many complaints on file ( but seem to do nothing)
Companies House search by us reveals company in liquidation.
That scenario happened over 4 years ago, but it's STILL happening, and it shouldn't be.
Desperate people are gullible and will believe what they read in the national Press.
Don't forget either, the company in this weeks case have branded the man as 'unhinged'
BUT, they were apparently perfectly happy to put him through his HGV test and let an 'unhinged' person loose on the road with a fully loaded lorry, to get their hands on his money.
Morals? They have none whatsoever.
Pat
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Just as a small point of information CAB (and other groups) now give information that Debit card payments can be claimed back through chargeback - I've no experience of anyone pulling it off but an interesting change
tinyurl.com/crmsk5k - www.adviceguide.org.uk/
Last edited by: VxFan on Sun 29 Apr 12 at 18:14
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I'm on a simillar amount to Harleyman, just calculated differently :)
I couldn't put in sixty plus hours a week if I didn't enjoy it, and I must enjoy it because I've been driving lorries longer than I've been doing anything else since I left school.
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How much do HGV/LGV drivers earn? - RattleandSmoke
