News

Driver agencies

12 March 2008

Driver agencies provide professional drivers as temporary labour. Some also double as recruitment agencies to find you permanent drivers or managerial staff. Driver agencies can provide qualified cover for holiday, sickness or vacancy at short notice. There is also a moderate skills shortage in the UK road transport industry and driver agencies go some way to filling this gap.

Choosing a driver agency

There are a number of points to note in choosing a driver agency. There is no specific regulation for agencies within the road transport industry; however there is a general body the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) which has a code of good practice jointly produced by the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association. It is advisable therefore to choose an agency which is an REC member, has attained British Standards Institute ISO rating for its procedures, or has some other mark of quality such as an Investors in People award.

It is also important to ask about their recruitment methods:

How do they vet drivers?
Do they check driving licences are authentic and penalty free?
Do they know where else their drivers work and whether they comply with the drivers’ hours rules?
Do they check their drivers’ accidents rates?
Do they match the experience and skills you require to the driver or have a generic one-guy-fits-all approach?
Will they send someone to see your operation and fully understand how you work before they supply a driver?

When you have chosen an agency, brief them as fully as you can.

How to manage an agency driver

An agency driver is legally your responsibility. If he has an accident, breaks drivers’ hours’ rules, damages property or steals cargo, it will be your contract, truck, reputation or O-licence on the line. Make sure the driver has the right skills, driving licence and is insurance-compliant before you give him a truck. Driving licences can be forged or borrowed – ask for corroborating ID. (Identity theft is a growing problem.) Do not assume the agency has done this. Make sure the driver has enough hours left under the domestic drivers’ hours rules and the Working Time Directive fulfil your work. Ask him to sign a declaration to that effect. Make sure the driver is fully briefed.

You cannot just chuck someone the keys and a delivery docket and expect to check the best from them. Resist giving him/her the worst job and the worst truck. Respect his professionalism and flexibility and expect him to respect the professionalism and rules of your organisation. Give a full health and safety briefing and induction the first time someone comes to work for you. Ask the driver to sign to say that they have been educated about your company’s policies. The Fleet Safety Forum run by Brake offers regular courses in managing agency drivers led by Dr Will Murray.

The negative side of agency drivers

There are road transport operators who no longer use agency workers after a series of accidents involving agency drivers. Many agency drivers are extremely professional and highly skilled; however it is also the only way some new drivers can get experience, so they may not all be as practised. Even large operators who tried to follow proper procedure have been caught out by unscrupulous agencies and deceitful drivers. An accident involving an ASDA truck in 2005 revealed the dangers of accepting even declarations of compliance too easily.

Some have suggested that as a group agency drivers have a higher accident rate than salaried drivers. Unfamiliarity with vehicles and routes may make agency drivers more vulnerable to accident or incident. Agency drivers will cost more per day than a salaried driver; however using an agency in itself probably does not cost more than employing sufficient drivers to always have cover for holidays and sickness in-house. Agency Drivers offers a cost calculator.

Are agency workers employees?

This is a difficult legal definition which also affects sub-contracted labour. Generally speaking an agency driver would not be counted as an employee of a road transport operator. Almost all workers are entitled to holiday benefit although this may be the responsibility of the agency. Some agency drivers are counted as employees of the agency who are then seconded to a third party. However mostly agencies will not count workers as employees as they have no control over the organisation of their work, only attaining the work. However driver agencies and road transport operators may have to share responsibility for ensuring compliance with drivers’ hours laws as both may be held partly responsible for scheduling the work.