drainage engineer

truck driver

engineer

assistant

field manager

Lanes-Group-PLC

Absolutely no point in working for this company if you want a semi decent packag or don't want to be lied to or if you'd like to be treated with respect or want a fair crack of the whip.  Because it doesn't happen and the higher management are either blind to it or don't actually care.

The interview and assessment stage will definitely pull you in, with the pictures or new vehicles and kit and togetherness, but once you're sent to your depot the truth begins.  I enjoyed my job to start with but the company seem to do everything they possibly can to turn you to hate it.  Forget about replying to surveys or voicing your ideas or concerns because they are not takin into account at all.  No matter how many times we are told they are.

Kit is always ordered on the say so of someone not in the field, engineers are always given kit that isn't how they need it or what they need.  The engineers are up against it constantly and don't have the support theh need from Techs or FMs or even RMs because 75% of them don't even have drainage experience, if they even bother to pick the phone up or reply to emails. 

If you stand up to the hierarchy in any way at all, even if you are right or it's for the right reasons all of a sudden you will find yourself under intense scrutiny and they will try their best to get you out of the door.  And this is all the complete truth whether the company like it of not.

The vehicles and equipment are of poor standard compared to other drainage company's and it is all about cost, not safety or even being fit for purpose.

You'll get an email telling you about processes and then you get a call or a word in the ear about not following process. 

The money is good but only for Hgv and if you work overtime, basic is poor, and zero package.  Pekbox  isn't a benefit at all nor is all the training they 'give' you, because you'll have to pay that back up to 2 years after the course.

The payrise is done on a tick box basis and the public who score your visits is taken into account which is disgusting as they regularly score engineers low because they hate Thames Water. Also can take up to a 9 months to even get done from your FM. Progression isn't great although it's said that it is,  moving onto different things within the company will also get halted if management decide, even if you have the qualifications, training and experience and there is a position.

To stop the reply of - if you hate it why are you still here,  I'm actively looking to leave this company well behind me, and as soon as I find the right move, I'm off. 

My advice is don't waste your time working for a company who won't care about you in the slightest but will try to paint that picture.

If only the management would interact with the field staff and listen to the guys and girls on thd front line, so to speak, then this could be a good company. But they don't, and it isn't.

A V O I D      L A N E S      G R O U P

After more than several years at this company, I am finally having my say. 
It's a stop of company to learn drainage. It's not what you know or how much experience you have or how much you go above and beyond for the customers, or even say yes to management to make them happy. It's all about about if your face fits and who you know (family) the promise you easy to move up in the company....lies. they promise you pay rise and progression.....lies. they tell you what you want to hear hoping that you will accept this and disappear. Management come and go like a revolving door and it's worse with engineers. Yes the money is good but you have to work on average about 300hrs per month to take home a decent comfortable wage. They expect you to do everything and even go out on call after a 15+ HR shift. No work life Ballance and are happy for you to work 12 days straight and even work more if you want to, the company says the care for you as engineers and how important you are. I've seen alot change and happen in my time here. And let's put it like this. Management will throw you under the bus, middle management will do exactly the same, you're not a human, you're considered a robot and the truth is.....you are just a number to them. Come work here if you want good money but that's it. I wouldn't even recommend this place to my worst enemy. 

This company is a joke to say the least. Management lie to employees on a regular basis.

They have meetings on a regular basis and never invite employees to any of these meetings, they just exit these meetings and email to employees, more responsibility and no extra pay.  

The company advertise high rates of up to £33,000 per annum knowing that this is a lie to get people in the door, promise pay review after six months, then find every excuse in the book not to increase the pay.

In London, Drivers Assistance/Back Lads are on £7.50 per hour for working in serious health risk situations.

Drivers after a year are still on £10.50 per hour for driving and working with dangerous equipment  and very smelly stomach churning situations and no sick pay if you get injured, they find every excuse to blame employees for this and don't even pay Statutory Sick Pay.

They are so desperate for staff all the time, they now take anyone on and put these inexperienced people out to work with dangerous equipment after 3 days training, some are still waiting for training but yet pushed out to get on with it.

This company has the highest turnover of staff probably the highest in the country.

You have been warned, AVOID!

They don't just offer excellent training it is mandatory. It can be a high stress environment to work in and some exchanges with management can get heated but never personal. In some roles you get perks like being able to take your vehicle home such as a CCTV operator although this is a privilege that is not part of your contract and can be withdrawn if abused. Hourly rate on the face of it doesn't always seem great, but it is competitive and they pay overtime from 40hrs unlike other drainage company's so on a P60 comparison often you are better off.
They have an ever expanding client base and so working hours can change throughout the day. If you have an appointment just outside your working day better to let your manager know in advance to help with planning, because the downside of this company and indeed the drainage industry is that it is a reactive industry and customers mostly want your services  when the drains have already blocked meaning you could be asked to work later even if you are not the on call engineer. If that fact puts you off then the drainage industry is not for you not just Lanes


This company is overall the worst drainage company to work for in the whole of England, from senior management down, they bully engineers into thinking they are only worth the sub standard salaries they offer. 

I would give them a wide birth and if you’re new to the water industry but are thinking off applying because you have a class 2 lorry licence, gain your experience elsewhere. Lanes will employ you then use your “lack of experience” against you for years, this being the reason why they pay you northern wages Inside of London. 

Senior management pressure lower management into making engineers take risks that would go against health and safety laws, but these are covered up with lanes appearance to the outside world by winning awards for such things as a “well being practitioner” being on the firm, basically if you’re depressed or have a drug or alcohol problem lanes will support you with full disgression but will announce publicly how many engineers they have helped yearly to make them look good.

If you’re not friends with management then you won’t progress with this company!

I honestly don't know where to begin so I won't bore anyone with the details of my own personal nightmare working at lanes no brains as an engineer but in my experience when issues become highlighted the only thing highlighted is you, you are now the problem and they will stop at nothing to get you out of the door and shaft you in the process.

If you value a social life/work balance then stay well away, wages are kept low so you will do the overtime, when promised a pay rise you will be asking months Down the line "where is it?" and your health and safety does not matter to them.

If you want to do the job properly and get frustrated about how your tax money is spent then steer clear as lanes want jobs complete, not suspensions.

It is a company where if you're not invited within the inner circles then your life could very well be you waking up and not wanting to go into work out of fear of another bad day.

A truly harrowing experience and if you look at the ratings, the ratings don't lie.


I worked here as a HGV jet/vac driver/ drainage engineer a while back and unless your face fits, you ain’t going anywhere. In house training was non existent, but training carried out by third parties, for first aid, London Underground, working at height etc was excellent. Progression as I said is very slow/static unless you are best buddies with someone in management. Regular drug tests carried out, but the known users in the workforce are always sick those nights, rumours flying around saying they’ve been tipped off by friends in  management - not good at all. To sum it up, most of the people doing the actual work are decent people, but there are a lot of people there who accidentally on purpose forget equipment or take kit that doesn’t work knowing full well the job will be called off, so they get an easy night. 

I used to work there not too long ago and had to get out for the sake of my mental health, if you had any issues there they just did not care and swept it under the rug rather than resolve it. There is no direction for the company, no support from management. If they are even there at all, mine was off more times than they was in but yet when this got brought up to higher management, nothing comes of it. God forbid you go to HR with a problem because they dont give a toss as well. There is no salary review although they will tell you differently but in 4 years there I had 1. A measly £250 after 6 months there and nothing since. The company does not reward loyalty, in my experience the longer you was there the less the company cared. Poor recruitment process and high turnover of staff. Poor training provided, there is no progression. I have never worked in a worse place in my life. People getting hired into positions with no experience and are rewarded for their incompetance. AVOID LANES AT ALL COSTS!!

I have been working for Lanes Group for a total of 3 years now.What I love about my job is the interactions I have with different sectors of the business as we work on behalf of Thames water at the new CSC building in Slough. I absolutely love the fact I have to manage people as I always want to see people develop, and to have an input in their growth and personal development really gives me self satisfaction. There are a few obstacles in the way and given the environment we work in, employee motivation is key as I mange a team on a 4 on 4 off shift pattern and working 12 hours is not an easy task to say the least. Fortunately I have always been a people person and find it relatively easy to garner peoples trust and have them perform at the company standard. No day is the same at Lanes which is why I have worked here for 3 years now; but I feel a change is required to better develop my own skill set.

Management are very low trusting.  If you enjoy being watched like a hawk, including cameras in the cab and constant monitoring of your driving then this job is for you.  Management only interested in bettering themselves and not employees.  When you actually need help, you can never get an answer.  Colleagues who make your life a misery and nothing done about them. I genuinely believe you have to be a narcissist to work here.  Every colleague is out to get you.  If you have a young family forget ever seeing them as you will be expected to work all available hours and are shadow punished if you do not comply.   And to top it off they have no real control of their contracts and will make you redundant with no warning.  One of the most uncomfortable working environments I've ever had the displeasure of working in.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Drainage engineer 248 salaries reported	£34,430 per year
Truck driver 117 salaries reported	£17.00 per hour
Engineer 21 salaries reported	£15.79 per hour
Assistant 39 salaries reported	£13.02 per hour
Field manager 42 salaries reported	£36,774 per year

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