HGV Class 1 Driver Bristol UK 8 + years.
Pros
The wage is okish. Lots of work on infact too much a lot of the time. You get a black uniform which is better than the old brown uniform. The trucks are OK _ newish and most are maintained. They amazingly manage to push some staff so much you can do the work of 2 ppl which is a skill. Occationaly you get rocking horse manure items.. These are mystical items like gloves apparently they are to do with something called health and safety. They give extra unscheduled breaks (POA) during your day through the incompitance in the office to sort out a workable schedule how nice of them ...who actually needs to have normal work hours and a social life, hu! Vosa trafic light colour was green but has recently been down graded.. But let's face it since Vosa was changed to be self funding there want to sort out dodgy companies instead of ......... drivers is bias. Note: this text has been dictated and added to the site on behalf of the worker as they are to exhausted from working ridiculous hours for this company!
Cons
Getting increasingly worse levels of work with too many drops \ pickups and many being added with no notice. Office lies all the time with ........... about having planned 12 hour or less days that are actually maxed out 15 hours or 13 if lucky. They change next day start times with too little notice and interfere with peoples home/private life by calling people up. The use of sub contracter deals have largely back fired as far as normal worker conditions are concerned... With regular drivers being increasingly overloaded fixing sub's .... Mess.,. ups and having the joy of getting abuse meant for the ... Poor... sub company drivers. Sub company drivers and other businesses who should not be touching our trailers regularly leave them damaged and tell no one _ this is increasingly ruining the planned runs. Ridiculous hours wise for drivers its unsafe and unessesary it used to be 10h days _ there are enough drivers out there if only the company would take them on instead of using agency or subbing jobs to sub standard companies. There is said to be some union involvement on site but I'm unaware of it it does any good for workers...they certainly have not helped with contracts that the bosses change in stealthy ways when workers are on holiday or at appointments! Despite giving lots of notice about doc or dental appointments this work place routenly ...... Mess ... up your work day so you almost never get to the appointments . The culture onsite is sometimes unfriendly with EU drivers not letting you finish your paperwork or sort your tacho card out properly _ all things which we are supposed to do to keep legal and avoid the potential 2k fines.