Trucking Report From England Part 3

Hello again from the UK.

When I read back over my last post, I couldn’t help feel that it was all a little
gloomy, so I’m going to try and tell you of some of the good things about truck
driving over here.

As you may be aware, our island is only about 900 miles from top to bottom,  and not more than 200 miles wide. This means that a British truck driver is never far from home and, as I’m pretty much in the middle, I’m never more than one days travel from the family. Long distance drivers are the ones that choose to stay away from home all week, as there are financial rewards for doing this, but most of us can get home once or twice during the week if we choose. My employer has about ten terminals throughout the country, and they prefer to move goods longer distances during the night, for local delivery the next day, so nights away from home are becoming less and less frequent.

Our system of payment is much different to yours, and I personally think it’s much more fair. The drivers hours regulations (HoS) don’t allow any form of payment that would encourage rule breaking, so payment by the mile is out. I think it’s fair to say that the majority of drivers are paid by the hour, although some, especially those on fixed working weeks, are paid a monthly salary. The best example I can give is my own employer and this pay scale is fixed for every driver in the group, and is reviewed every April. My basic rate of pay is £7.20 ($13) per hour and is paid for the first 39 hours of every week. Anything over 39 hours is paid at £10.80 ($19) per hour, and we are paid from the moment we start to the moment we finish. We also
receive a small meal allowance and £40 ($70) each week attendance allowance. For every night we spend away from home there’s a £20 ($35) tax-free subsistence allowance. We are paid by direct deposit every Thursday for the previous weeks work. Deductions are made for income tax and national insurance (which pays for health care, social benefits, sick pay and pensions) and usually run to about 25% of your wages.
It all boils down to about $650 – $750 in my pocket at the end of the week.

Legally, every worker over here is entitled to 4 weeks paid vacation every year, although most good employers offer more than this. I started on 5 weeks and 3 days, and this rises to 6 weeks and 2 days depending on length of service. My rate of holiday pay is determined by my average wage over the previous 13 weeks.

We don’t have to pay lumpers either – the vast majority of stuff is unloaded by the delivery locations own staff. We make much greater use of curtain sided vehicles than you, and loads are always on pallets, so loading and unloading is usually quick and easy. Places like Asda, which is the UK division of Walmart, may make you wait a couple of hours, but, as you’re paid by the hour, it’s not too hard to handle.

And, of course, there’s Britain itself. As I’ve said, Britain is crowded and can be a pain to drive around – but it’s also overflowing with history and you’re never far from something to look at. 8 miles from my house is the old city of Durham. It has a magnificent castle and cathedral, built by William the Conqueror 950 years ago. If I head north, I pass Alnwick (pronounced ann-ick) Castle, home to the Duke of Northumberland, which is the oldest continually inhabited castle in the country. A bit further north, and I’m in to Edinburgh, a fine and noble city, filled with culture and heritage. Add green rolling hills, forests, rugged coastlines and pretty villages and a relatively benign climate and you soon realize that English truckers have a lot to be thankful for, and we all forget this from time to time.

That’s all for now folks

Take care
Ian