truck driver

driver

transportation coordinator

transport planner

transport manager

Eddie Stobart

Poor management that you will never see, they never speak to you and don’t acknowledge you unless you’re in their clicks group. Planners are unhelpful, most a rude, a lot are inexperienced and their decision is final. 
If you are new to driving then this is a good place to start, however don’t hang around. Get your time in and learn the ropes. You will gain a lot of experience coupling and uncoupling, pulling curtains, securing loads etc. Lots of practice to reverse into a multitude of depots and RDC’s throughout the UK. Gives you a good idea of all the different health and safety rules at all the sites. Most are different and you need to ask every time you attend. Most RDC you go to dislike drivers. The big names, are rude, offer no help, minimal eye contact, minimal conversation and assistance. If there’s something wrong - you contact your customer services. They are not interested, unless its presented to them on a plate.
Trucks are good if your a tramper (DAF XG ). If your not, then its a mixed bag of any old condition, most are filthy, some are smelly and some clearly get damaged and not reported by drivers. A lot of agency drivers make up the short fall of permanent staff as the turn around of drivers is high. Agency staff earn more.
The pay is poor and at the moment, the daily rate is only just above minimum wage. Nights get a little extra, but that’s were it ends. 
You can swan around doing local routes getting the same rate of pay and allowances, or drive for most of your shift swapping trailers numerous times in a shift, in all weathers. A lot of the time your planners don’t care how you get back, so long as the delivery is made. They just give the option to rescue you if you run out of time. 
£25.00 a night tax free allowance if your a tramper and £50 per week taxable tramoer allowance. No overtime rate.
The depot is in a poor state of repair, the trailer park is very poor with holes all over the surfaces, Trips and falls are common, as is the poor lighting to assist you.
There is free parking and the shop facility, although over priced is handy. 
Your day will end when you get back. Planners arrange short shifts on the enhanced weekend rate and max you out on weekdays at the much lower rate.
If your considering this company as new driver then its worth doing the job there, then leave and get a better job elsewhere. 
The company loose drivers a lot because of the way they are treated and dealt with. Infringements are common place and the damage to trucks is just as common.

The kit they use is pretty good, modern and well maintained if a little dirty.

Planners and management are only interested that the job is covered, not interested that you are running out of time, or that it will stretch your working time to the limit.

The academy they have for Training  is second to none, fantastic facilities and training, only downside is that once you leave the training facility and reach the depot, the office staff do exactly the opposite of what is told at the academy and you are pushed to the limit!

Typical days are anything from 11 to 15 hours, mostly the latter, so if you are a family man......look elsewhere! 

Best part of the job is some of the lads on the yard (on the Widnes port) are true characters, always up for a laugh and there to help and support you in any why they can. Always there to lend a hand when anything goes wrong and give any advice they can to make the job easier! To be honest they are the only thing I miss the most about the place!

Deteriorated so much since I started just over two years ago. The planners don’t care about you as they don’t know what they are doing. You can be sent out on a job then pulled off it within 10 minutes. You can be sitting on a site with only a couple of working hours left and you have to tell them you need to go; they aren’t bothered making you sleep in your vehicle with no prior warning. 
Unpaid breaks means you are working around 55-60 hours average to make half decent money. If you want holidays or an early finish or anything from them expect them to want something in return such as overtime or an extra job. 
Upper manager is fairly new and seems to like being at work more than home, which means for us we are just looked at as workers that should spend every hour of our lives here. 
Like I said such a deterioration, even the work has all changed and the work we would usually do is getting split among other departments of drivers, but we have no say as we are “just drivers” who have to get on with whatever they tell us to do. 
No people skills from anyone so it just brings you down. Favourites are picked and do get specialist treatment and will finish when they want, I still need to work out how they manage that. 
To summarise very poor management, clowns running the show and expect to put life out the way to fit more work in.

Have worked for Stobart’s twice in the last 15 years and it’s shocking how far both the kit and standard of their drivers has deteriorated! They’re not bothered who they put in a trampers truck when they’re on a rest day it’s just bums on seats which means you are constantly cleaning up after agency drivers on your return to work. Planners are ok and had little conflict with them over the years but it’s all about individual attitude. Work is easy and there’s always a stipulation to ‘keep it legal’. All yards are concrete with showers at most and canteen facilities at some. Money doesn’t sound great at £9 (ish) per hour but works out ok when tramping with the £15 per day meal allowance and the night out money. I worked a weekend shift and if I did 6 cards could put over £800 in my account each week. Middle management is top heavy at Stobart with too many b£&@ends trying to justify their job by calling you into the office for stupid things, it’s almost like being back at school! Overall I will give them 3 stars. It’s a nice steady number once you get away from the yard, sort your wagon out and get the delivery notes in your hand. Just avoid the operations management trying to justify their pointless existence.

As a new pass driver they took me on for that I’m grateful, the work is mainly traction to rdc’s and is an absolute doddle, huge yards and bays with very few hazards.  The heath and safety is well above par and no truck or trailer will leave yard unless it’s in perfect working order.  Ideal for a new pass to get experience.  The pay is terrible! You can earn more in Aldi stacking shelves!  The hours are very long, they will max your hours out then stand you down without pay at the end of reference period to get your average in line with WTD.  That being said if you take an additional break because you’re tired or take longer than your 45mins they’re not on your case and will pay you for it too.  Like most driving jobs the worst part is the planners! I’ve never done planning but if I have two drivers one on 16 hrs for 2 days and one on 30 hours for 2 days, I’d give the driver on less hours the longer shift? Not here they seem to put jobs and drivers in a hat and pull their names out seemingly at random.  Management are a bit mixed, my personal experience, management was good and fair however I’ve been witness to the opposite.
I guess it’s the same anywhere, rub them up the wrong way and they’ll treat you in kind.
Overall I’d say it’s a good place to start your journey as a driver to gain experience 

Was really excited to work for a revered UK company, within the first week I already picked up clues of the work culture being one of blame, always joking and scoffing at the people who came before and didn’t make the cut for whatever reason. I’m sure I am part of the joke now.

I soon experienced this for myself, training consisted of being shown/told what to do, not being taught what it is you’re doing. After a week I was off my training wheels so to speak and any and all mistakes were solely my own with no support offered or provided.

This is a company who wants you to hit the ground running with 0 complaints and will not bring you in to nurture you or help you professionally develop.

Any and all overtime I have done were solely my own fault and I was told that I should work on better time management and maybe I’ll get home in time

I cannot stress enough how much there is a blame culture here, sure people make mistakes but there is 0 tolerance with any mistakes made and you will soon find yourself on the chopping block.

If you’re there to make friends there is a very strong cliques within the team which can feel elitist but that’s something I can live with.

Drivers don't park on charge parkings for nights out, You often don't get money back. This issue cost me over  £150. New manager in Cannock is focus on empty milage. Charge services parking over company free  parking because it is 6 miles Empty Milage or stay where you are and take night out even if that was street to distribution centre. 
Official statement "priority for Stobart Parking and services, truck stops" in reality it is very different. I left after 2 months mostly because they don't give me money back for parkings. 
Planers often don't answer phone and then ask why you doing nothing and not coll them. Night planers especially. Not helping with finding way through restricted routes to difficult to get place. I heard " You are the driver it's your job to find a way" and only advice to look on Google maps. Google Maps is for cars and not solve restrictions for trucks.
Long hours shift if you want overtime.
Per hour rate before taxation, you get less per hour.
Sites in Stock-on-Trent and Dagenham in London very poor toilets and showers. In Appleton very good.
Good accesstment days you get pay with some CPC hours.
They have some new trucks and trailers.
Company uniform.
Meal allowens.
Possible 6 days if you want.

Were do I start? 

The place although seen as an amazing place to work for because people see the trucks on the road 24/7 means that the company must be good to work for right?  No, no it is not.

The shift managers have no idea how to do the basic jobs there and so do not listen to the front line managers when they say they need support. They struggle to keep staff because the conditions, health and saftey and unsocialable working hours are abysmal. 

I was just a gatehouse admin and which is a basic job however they use to ahve 2 gatehouses per warehouse and since Covid they got rid of that. So you're basically doing the job of 2 people, I however was doing 3 because the job role above me kept having people leave because it was miserable. 

The job affected both mine and my managers mental health in more ways then you can imagine. Never have I worked at a place that didn't give two f*s about you. There is so much more I could say about them prmising pay rises that never happend, fights that broke out that they tried to keep quiet and them not even telling the high-ups about the real situation about mental health and why people where not working. 

AVIOD AT ALL COSTS!

15 yrs no redundancies payments to the entire fuel division which was laid off, historically this company have never paid out …just simply other another job …..regardless it has one of the worst pensions very little home work life balance …..push push push!
Wages often wrong.
Encourage to use POA at every opportunity even for a minute……
New scheme now ….to many infringements can equal a process which can eventually loose you your job
Lastly once regarded one of the better paid jobs in the country and now days will have to pay a pension namely pay as you earn due to the wages barley passing national minimum ……this company is simply hanging on to a reputation that simply has long gone.
For new comers to the industry I would say 2yrs with this company make your mistakes as we all have and move  on …..as some of you leave you will be on far more money…..please do your home work and you will know what I say is correct and simply based on fact.
The very wages they advise is a lie, with 25/or 50 pound tear payment then meal allowance all integrated into the contracted hours of 45hr after which wages for overtime drops!!!!
Pass for me folks if I was ever to do it again.


Been here a year and have enjoyed every shift despite not being in “the gang” that get the good runs, long shifts or are able to drive the newer units. Relaxed. Friendly place. Office staff good for a laugh and good at planning work, typically at 9:45hrs. Driver trainers reasonable and hang about like H&S advisors, watching what you do (which is fine). Good spread of locations however, I seem to get stuck with stores inside the M25 but on the rare occasion have been allowed to venture to Portsmouth and Nuneaton. Maps provided. Plenty of time for vehicle checks. You are responsible for your load security and there are plenty of straps and bars to use. Plenty of room to make a hash of any easy reverse 😀. Some drivers leave defects for others to sort and the office could do with updating fuel cards as many do not work. Occasional purge on vehicle cleanliness. Free Wifi if you’re at the depot. Access to discounted food. Taken through an extensive SSoW pack before starting. Will not let you out with a LST or DD trailer unless you are Stobart trained. I’m trained elsewhere but that doesn’t count. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Truck driver 29 salaries reported	£525 per week
Driver 4 salaries reported	£28,648 per year
Transportation coordinator 11 salaries reported	£23,091 per year
Transport planner 3 salaries reported	£26,993 per year
Transport manager 9 salaries reported	£35,056 per year

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