The aforementioned Job ad, which concerns a vacancy at P M Rees & Sons, can be seen on the Indeed website.
On its website, the Welsh haulage firm describes itself as a “family-run business which prides itself on providing exceptional levels of customer service.”
The company adds that its Managing Director “has always insisted on implementing and maintaining the highest standards of working practices.”
However, in return for being part of offering this quality service run at the “highest standards”, the haulier is seemingly offering prospective ADR drivers a wage that could work out as little as £10 per hour.
This is only 50p above the current national minimum wage in the UK for anyone 23-years-old or above. The advertised vacancy does offer higher hourly rates for overtime (£15) and a 6-month rolling loyalty bonus of £1,500. In addition, nights out are paid at £23 per night.
Nevertheless, all things considered, the view among most lorry drivers on social media is that the overall package is still well short of what an ADR driver should expect.
The full advertisement reads as follows:
Here at PM Rees & Sons we are a company that specialise in the transport of bulk liquid chemicals, based in Barry, South Wales. We offer a one stop facility to chemical manufacturers and tank operators – storage, cleaning and transport.
We are looking for qualified class 1 drivers, preferably with ADR experience although this is not a necessity as training will be provided if necessary.
We have a mixture of local and tramping positions available, pay is £10 per hour on your first 40 in a week or 8 in a day and then £15 per hour thereafter. Nights out are paid at £23 per night with a £3 a day meal allowance.
We also offer a Driver Retention Bonus, this is a £1500 bonus paid after each 6 months of continuous employment with us.
If you are interested in a position, please send in your CV or alternatively call Kris 07850 469 102.
Besides the hourly rates advertised, lorry drivers in the Professional HGV Drivers UK Facebook group also slammed the £3 per day meal allowance.
One driver claimed the sum should be enough to cover “a loaf of bread and a tin of beans”. Another trucker joked: “at least you know you’re guaranteed a mars bar and a can of coke each day.”
As for the conditions of the vacancy itself, there was no shortage of criticism in the group. One truck driver wrote: “it’s an absolute joke and then they wonder why they can’t get drivers.” Others labelled the job ad as a “p*ss take,” while one even went as far to describe the vacancy as “exploitation and slave labour.”
Not everyone was so critical however, with one driver arguing “there’s a potential there to earn £1,110 gross per week”. Another claimed the offer was “realistic” and that there are “too many superheroes out there”.
The Indeed job ad is dated more than 30 days, though the website’s policy says that in most cases job postings stay active for 30 days. Indeed’s website adds that “the time a job posting stays active depends on the company, the industry, the industry’s employment rate and the position.”
Therefore, barring an error, it would appear that the job advertisement has not been there for such a long period that inflation has made the money on offer look much worse than it would have done at the time.
Photo Alan Jamieson from Aberdeen, Scotland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped and used for illustrative purposes only)
