HGV Driver shortage

[Bavarianbrit]

All over Germany the truck autobahn toll charge that came in a few years ago is being fed back into the infrastructure in the form of building large modern truck rest areas with all facilities so that the "mostly eastern European drivers to be honest" can have a humane pause/downtime. The UK gov was always mean with allotting space and I believe it will never happen here. Forcing drivers to find somewhere to park overnight on industrial parks with f/all facilities, shameful.

 

[willie_gunn]

All over Germany the truck autobahn toll charge that came in a few years ago is being fed back into the infrastructure in the form of building large modern truck rest areas with all facilities so that the "mostly eastern European drivers to be honest" can have a humane pause/downtime. The UK gov was always mean with allotting space and I believe it will never happen here. Forcing drivers to find somewhere to park overnight on industrial parks with f/all facilities, shameful.

Yes, the LKW-Maut is a neat solution, particularly (as you say) so as least some of the tolls collected are hypothecated for improving trucking infrastructure.

Typical German efficiency!

 

[JTO]

They are , but they expect their pound of flesh . You can expect to be working a six day week and maxing the hours out .
There's no such thing as a free lunch , haulage needs too see radical change.

How would you change it?

 

[mathieson]

Ive just surrendered my class 1 after 36 years never want to get in the cab of one ever again I,m in my 60’s too old ,grumpy and worn out for all the shite that goes with the job these days many friends my age have done the same

 

[308tikka]

Would it be worth temping a couple of days a week with other income?

whats the average wage?

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Yes, the LKW-Maut is a neat solution, particularly (as you say) so as least some of the tolls collected are hypothecated for improving trucking infrastructure.

Typical German efficiency!

Typical German efficiency? After 3 years of back and forthing I have given up on ever getting issued a German citizenship and that after me being over here since 2002 fulltime, The Brexit exit agreement now gives me a 10 year renewable residence permit here, so bugger them.

 

[JTO]

When the last of the pits were handing out £60k severance plus free HGV training the industry also ended up with quite a few new owner drivers in brand new kit living really well but not saving for the next one when it was worn out.

Similar situation with digger drivers! Once the machine is worn out, that's it!

 

[Mick9abf]

Rather than ploughing money into vanity projects the government would do well to create incentives to retrain as HGV and provide bursaries of which if you remain in a driving job for at least three years can be paid back at a super low rate and or reduced cost if not free on a points scoring system.

 

[User00044]

How would you change it?

Mick9abf has hit on part of the solution and I believe they did something similar for a time .
Unfortunately the industry has lost its way and is going round in a vicous circle . More pressure on existing staff due to a lack of drivers and vice versa . The answer for me personally is to vote with my feet , its becoming a drivers market .I have just walked away from a job , not because of the money , because the job wasn't achievable without breaching tacho laws . There's an awful lot of hauliers that simply lie about the job , problem is the drivers aren't trapped anymore , if more of them grew a pair , a lot of employers would be in deep excrement .
Personally if I could find a good employer working 4 on , 4 off for an acceptable wage it would address many of the issues and redress the work/life balance . Sadly in our corner of England, these jobs don't exist.

There's a Sea Change required .

 

[Big_Sparky]

There’s a simple reality when you get down to it - even the jobs that are offering crazy money (I saw an add for £60 per hour this last week down south) - but the majority of larger hauliers that are offering circa £55-65k per year are ultimately expecting you to max your hours out. When they say “occasional” weekend work - what they really mean is every other Saturday. So 71 hours one week and 84 the next and yes, a bloke with very little (or even none) academic qualifications can earn over £60k per year. But just think that through… get up Monday morning about 4am - Chuck your gear in the car and head for the yard…. Graft until Friday afternoon if you’re lucky…. Friday evening if you’re not…. Get home at some point and pretty much fall asleep…. Saturday & Sunday…. Washing to do, the list of jobs the wife has come up with during the week, shopping for next week…. Hope the washing is dry and pack your bags ready for Monday morning….. early night Sunday as you’re up at 0400 again tomorrow….. and then the following week exactly the same - oh - except the Gaffa wants you to work Saturday too - so that’s the rest of your life to now squeeze into one day…. And they’ll wanna know what’s the matter with you if you say no….

i mean. Don’t get me wrong….. I love my job….. well…. Aside of suppliers, customers, management, other road uses and forklift & shovel drivers…..

 

[NP435]

No doubt many of you will have seen the figures relating to the above . I have watched , read and listened to various reports on the reasons for the aforementioned shortage , so as a driver , here's my 10 pence worth .

The driver shortage isn't a new problem , a good few years back it was already evident . Fortunately for haulage , the EU's open boarder policies, meant drivers from across Europe could come and work here in the UK . Now ,let's be clear, they were not taking jobs from anybody, they simply filled the gaps within the haulage industry . During this time, hauliers have had a strangle hold on their work force . A strangle hold that has now weakened .

Of course, Brexit has taken much of the blame . To a degree that is true , but of recent, it has become less financially viable for EU nationals to remain here anyway, so why would they ?

Now with these drivers returning home , the industry is left with a massive driver shortage. A fault of Brexit , hardly . This is the result of an industry living in the past , an industry that refuses to respect its employees and does nothing to attract . This isn't just about wages ! It's about conditions at work , the poor work life balance , the lack of basic facilities on the road , being ripped off in the services ... etc . The haulage industry needs a good shake , 2/3 of drivers are in the last 1/3 of their working lives , there's a lot more leaving than entering . The government's answer is to relax the driving hours , once again giving hauliers the opportunity to get more from their drivers . Wake up , this won't work anymore, the tide is turning .

The job market has become more buoyant , drivers have more choices . To prove my point I have jumped ship 3 times in 3 months and I'll continue to do so if employers don't behave in a respectful manner .

Drivers sacrifice a lot ,in particular their home lives , perhaps if the industry gave instead of just taking it wouldn't be in this mess . They could start by increasing holiday allocation, if you work a normal 40 hours a week you'd expect 4 weeks and bank holidays . HGV drivers work 60 plus hours a week and spend very little time at home , surely, holidays should be proportionate . That , at the very least , would be a start .

So , to all you hauliers out there who have treat their staff badly for years , TOUGH , I hope you are suffering . Perhaps lessons will be learnt !


Thoughts?

On my side of the great pond this is also an issue, I chased the lines down the road for 1.5 million miles before changing jobs where I sleep at my house. Pay is one issue never being around is another, and constant asking to fill in on days off wore on my nerves. 60 hours ya I would love that I did up to 70 hrs in 8 days. good luck sir.

 

[unicorn71]

The industry has suffered the perfect storm over the last couple of years , brexit , ir35 affecting the number of ltd company drivers and Covid have put a strain on the amount of drivers then the growth of Amazon etc has created a demand the industry can’ t fill.
I am a driver manager for a large company and since January we have lost 18 full time drivers and many agency staff as everyone plays chase the £ , our wages are going up nearly 21% this year but I still have 20 vehicles stood on Monday morning. There is no new blood coming into the job and my average age of driver is 54 years old.

 

[User00044]

The industry has suffered the perfect storm over the last couple of years , brexit , ir35 affecting the number of ltd company drivers and Covid have put a strain on the amount of drivers then the growth of Amazon etc has created a demand the industry can’ t fill.
I am a driver manager for a large company and since January we have lost 18 full time drivers and many agency staff as everyone plays chase the £ , our wages are going up nearly 21% this year but I still have 20 vehicles stood on Monday morning. There is no new blood coming into the job and my average age of driver is 54 years old.

Apart from an increase in wages , what is your company doing to attract drivers? Has anybody asked the drivers if there are other issues?

Wages aren't everything , there's an old saying ,"you can't do enough for a good boss " . An example of this , a local company are now advertising a job at 1k a week , a good 20% more than the other best in area . The reason is simple , they treat there drivers appallingly and word has spread .

None of this is aimed at you or your company , as I don't now you personally . Though , like many drivers I'm sure , I find it difficult to empathise with hauliers .


P.S. Don't get me started on Amazon . Those adverts on the TV telling us all to act on global warming issues , whilst it's founder has a jolly into space . Boils my urine .

 

[Franchi Matt]

No doubt many of you will have seen the figures relating to the above . I have watched , read and listened to various reports on the reasons for the aforementioned shortage , so as a driver , here's my 10 pence worth .

The driver shortage isn't a new problem , a good few years back it was already evident . Fortunately for haulage , the EU's open boarder policies, meant drivers from across Europe could come and work here in the UK . Now ,let's be clear, they were not taking jobs from anybody, they simply filled the gaps within the haulage industry . During this time, hauliers have had a strangle hold on their work force . A strangle hold that has now weakened .

Of course, Brexit has taken much of the blame . To a degree that is true , but of recent, it has become less financially viable for EU nationals to remain here anyway, so why would they ?

Now with these drivers returning home , the industry is left with a massive driver shortage. A fault of Brexit , hardly . This is the result of an industry living in the past , an industry that refuses to respect its employees and does nothing to attract . This isn't just about wages ! It's about conditions at work , the poor work life balance , the lack of basic facilities on the road , being ripped off in the services ... etc . The haulage industry needs a good shake , 2/3 of drivers are in the last 1/3 of their working lives , there's a lot more leaving than entering . The government's answer is to relax the driving hours , once again giving hauliers the opportunity to get more from their drivers . Wake up , this won't work anymore, the tide is turning .

The job market has become more buoyant , drivers have more choices . To prove my point I have jumped ship 3 times in 3 months and I'll continue to do so if employers don't behave in a respectful manner .

Drivers sacrifice a lot ,in particular their home lives , perhaps if the industry gave instead of just taking it wouldn't be in this mess . They could start by increasing holiday allocation, if you work a normal 40 hours a week you'd expect 4 weeks and bank holidays . HGV drivers work 60 plus hours a week and spend very little time at home , surely, holidays should be proportionate . That , at the very least , would be a start .

So , to all you hauliers out there who have treat their staff badly for years , TOUGH , I hope you are suffering . Perhaps lessons will be learnt !


Thoughts?

Utter tosh!

The diggest impact on new HGV drivers coming through the industry was Coronavirus, lock down and social distancing guidelines.
A friend of mines dad is an HGV instructor, spent so much time off work he now drives for DPD parcel delivery.
He said he use to put through roughly 100 drivers a year to the point of test, thats just one instructor, how many instructors do we think are nation wide that have also not been putting through their 100 ish test candidates? So for that reason and that reason alone there would naturally be more drivers finishing their careers than those beginning. Then there is the daft 'you need to self isolate for 10 days issue' although we like to think a drivers job is a solitary one- they cover great distances, factoring in fuel stops, loading bays, docket offices and the like and theres a high risks of picking up and transmitting the virus over vast distances in the line of duty. Also Im still seeing just as many European lorries on my journeys as pre covid and brexit, whilst brexit had an initial impact on cross channel movements- thats been resolved now and although slightly slower all my European parts orders are pretty much back to the timescale of pre brexit.

Any - I wouldnt worry, theres a new wealth of unemployed stepping up to the plate... this time next year we'll be drowing in Afghanistan diesel gypsies, unlike you allegedly gone home Europeans- these visitors will be allowed to stay.

 

[kamyonsofor]

I just surrendered my class 1, I saw Eastern european trucks on our roads with enough saddle tanking to come here & return load without ever sniffing at a UK fuel stop, for donkey's years.

Like you Finnbear I gave mine up with full ADR ,on one agency I was with I was paid £24-00 per hr at weekends with a well known supermarket they then change agencies that is the supermarket and the money offered was £8 days £10 nights ,the work was good the company was one of the best I had ever worked for they respected the drivers but I was not prepared to work for the money ,then found a private company pulling the supermarket trailers same work he paid me £135 a day ,job and knock, some days 7hrs some days stuck in traffic on the M25 12 hrs ,he had /has various contracts some paid nearly a grand a week,this 13yrs ago, he was a gent to work for, on nightshift he would be there in the morning in his work gear as he was on the spanners to see how you got on and say thankyou.I only left him to move abroad.

 

[unicorn71]

Apart from an increase in wages , what is your company doing to attract drivers? Has anybody asked the drivers if there are other issues?

Wages aren't everything , there's an old saying ,"you can't do enough for a good boss " . An example of this , a local company are now advertising a job at 1k a week , a good 20% more than the other best in area . The reason is simple , they treat there drivers appallingly and word has spread .

None of this is aimed at you or your company , as I don't now you personally . Though , like many drivers I'm sure , I find it difficult to empathise with hauliers .


P.S. Don't get me started on Amazon . Those adverts on the TV telling us all to act on global warming issues , whilst it's founder has a jolly into space . Boils my urine .

You make some very good points , money definitely isn’t everything and the company I work for has got to change its management style and currently it’s stuck in the 1970’s - I started with the firm as an agency driver and worked my way up to driver trainer and then driver manager , all the drivers know I will support them 100% but it’s harder changing the attitude of upper management and they are now reaping what they have sown.

 

[User00044]

Utter tosh!

The diggest impact on new HGV drivers coming through the industry was Coronavirus, lock down and social distancing guidelines.
A friend of mines dad is an HGV instructor, spent so much time off work he now drives for DPD parcel delivery.
He said he use to put through roughly 100 drivers a year to the point of test, thats just one instructor, how many instructors do we think are nation wide that have also not been putting through their 100 ish test candidates? So for that reason and that reason alone there would naturally be more drivers finishing their careers than those beginning. Then there is the daft 'you need to self isolate for 10 days issue' although we like to think a drivers job is a solitary one- they cover great distances, factoring in fuel stops, loading bays, docket offices and the like and theres a high risks of picking up and transmitting the virus over vast distances in the line of duty. Also Im still seeing just as many European lorries on my journeys as pre covid and brexit, whilst brexit had an initial impact on cross channel movements- thats been resolved now and although slightly slower all my European parts orders are pretty much back to the timescale of pre brexit.

Any - I wouldnt worry, theres a new wealth of unemployed stepping up to the plate... this time next year we'll be drowing in Afghanistan diesel gypsies, unlike you allegedly gone home Europeans- these visitors will be allowed to stay.

May I ask , are you directly involved in haulage?

Ask yourself, why are less entering the industry ?

If you'd read all of the posts you'd have seen that I'd already made reference to the aging workforce . For those in the cheap seats , 2/3s of drivers are in the last 1/3 of their working lives . Do the maths , they represent the thick end of the wedge .

Lock downs had no real direct impact on haulage , locally to me at least , drivers were classed as "key workers " and haulage essential.
Though it may have had an impact on the spread of covid .

Sympathy to your friends father , instructors have my respect .

 

[spanj]

No doubt many of you will have seen the figures relating to the above . I have watched , read and listened to various reports on the reasons for the aforementioned shortage , so as a driver , here's my 10 pence worth .

The driver shortage isn't a new problem , a good few years back it was already evident . Fortunately for haulage , the EU's open boarder policies, meant drivers from across Europe could come and work here in the UK . Now ,let's be clear, they were not taking jobs from anybody, they simply filled the gaps within the haulage industry . During this time, hauliers have had a strangle hold on their work force . A strangle hold that has now weakened .

Of course, Brexit has taken much of the blame . To a degree that is true , but of recent, it has become less financially viable for EU nationals to remain here anyway, so why would they ?

Now with these drivers returning home , the industry is left with a massive driver shortage. A fault of Brexit , hardly . This is the result of an industry living in the past , an industry that refuses to respect its employees and does nothing to attract . This isn't just about wages ! It's about conditions at work , the poor work life balance , the lack of basic facilities on the road , being ripped off in the services ... etc . The haulage industry needs a good shake , 2/3 of drivers are in the last 1/3 of their working lives , there's a lot more leaving than entering . The government's answer is to relax the driving hours , once again giving hauliers the opportunity to get more from their drivers . Wake up , this won't work anymore, the tide is turning .

The job market has become more buoyant , drivers have more choices . To prove my point I have jumped ship 3 times in 3 months and I'll continue to do so if employers don't behave in a respectful manner .

Drivers sacrifice a lot ,in particular their home lives , perhaps if the industry gave instead of just taking it wouldn't be in this mess . They could start by increasing holiday allocation, if you work a normal 40 hours a week you'd expect 4 weeks and bank holidays . HGV drivers work 60 plus hours a week and spend very little time at home , surely, holidays should be proportionate . That , at the very least , would be a start .

So , to all you hauliers out there who have treat their staff badly for years , TOUGH , I hope you are suffering . Perhaps lessons will be learnt !


Thoughts?

Have held a class one for the past 33 years. Chose not to remain a driver for a lot of the reasons you have cited. The acid test is would you recommend your kids become a driver…… definitely not. Your last paragraph does you no favours really, respect works both ways. The people suffering will be those whose ESSENTIAL supplies can’t get through (I don’t mean flat screen tvs or cheap Chinese goods)

 

[spanj]

All over Germany the truck autobahn toll charge that came in a few years ago is being fed back into the infrastructure in the form of building large modern truck rest areas with all facilities so that the "mostly eastern European drivers to be honest" can have a humane pause/downtime. The UK gov was always mean with allotting space and I believe it will never happen here. Forcing drivers to find somewhere to park overnight on industrial parks with f/all facilities, shameful.

Big difference between most of the mainland European countries and the UK is space. Housing will always take priority (rightly or wrongly) over lorry parks

 

[User00044]

Have held a class one for the past 33 years. Chose not to remain a driver for a lot of the reasons you have cited. The acid test is would you recommend your kids become a driver…… definitely not. Your last paragraph does you no favours really, respect works both ways. The people suffering will be those whose ESSENTIAL supplies can’t get through (I don’t mean flat screen tvs or cheap Chinese goods)

Absolutely true , I have lost a lot of respect for various hauliers. With good reason .
I wanted to try something new within driving , the 1st job had me working off my card when subbied out (not the bosses fault, he is a true gent ), the 2nd just lied and had me off card as did the 3rd . I explained politely to the 3rd my reasons for leaving and worked out my notice , he owes me 2 weeks wages 139 hours and 8 nights out . I was respectful throughout and am returning to my old.employer , who I may add didn't want me to run bent in any shape or form and paid wages on time and for whome I have a good deal of respect .
So yes , respect does work both ways . Unfortunately, there are far too many bad employers within the industry.