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Charlotte Haye 10th November 2020

Is Being A HGV Driver A Flexible Job?

If you asked this question just 10 years ago, you probably would have been laughed out of the building. But now, flexible working has gone from non-existent, to a luxury not many companies offer, to an absolute necessity. Especially with the pandemic still causing chaos, being able to decide your own hours and work a schedule that suits you is more important than ever. But of course, there are lots of different types of jobs, and some of them are easier to make ‘flexible’ than others. And you might be wondering – is being an HGV driver a flexible job?

Not A 9-5

If there’s one thing that’s true for all HGV drivers, it’s that you’re never working a 9-5. Your hours may change depending on the day, the time of year or even the weather, and no two days will look the same. So you can definitely say goodbye to going into the office the same time every day! Instead, your routes will be planned out in advance, and you will be off to different places, delivering different things, every day. So on Monday you might be delivering to multiple customers in London, on Tuesday you might be driving from London to Manchester and back, and on Thursday you could end up doing a long-haul journey to deliver in Europe. To a certain extent, you can choose the days you work, and the distances, depending on who you work for.

Time Off

Following on from our above point, being a HGV driver often means you can choose your working hours and working days to fit into your own preferences. This also means you can have some control over your time off. HGV drivers are rarely limited to ‘whatever the boss says you can take off’, and instead get much more say in when they take time off, and for how long. This isn’t just when you take your annual leave – it’s also when in the week you work. So if you need to be at home certain days of the week for the kids, then you can arrange your working schedule so that your days off fall then. This is a perk not many drivers talk about, but can make a huge difference.

Control Your Working Environment

There aren’t very many jobs where you have complete control over your working environment. True, you can’t make structural changes to the inside of your cab, but as an HGV driver you can do a lot to really make the place your own. You can decorate your sleeping space, put in mini-fridges, hang decorations (as long as they don’t interfere with your vision) and generally make it a nicer place to spend a lot of time. You can also play whatever music, audiobooks or podcasts you want (however loudly you want), wear whatever you want, and have whatever snacks you want stocked up in your cab, without worrying about other people nicking them. Having no flexibility in your workspace is often a complaint of office workers – and not something you have to worry about has an HGV driver.

Job Security

This one might not scream ‘flexibility’ – but bear with us. In the UK HGV driver are in high demand. Not just because the pandemic has boosted the delivery industry, but because the economy relies on delivery drivers to survive and thrive. But there is a driver shortage right now, and it’s been going on for a while. So there is plenty of work available for HGV and LGV drivers in the UK. So you have all the flexibility you could want when it comes to choosing who you work with, what company you work for, and even what type of HGV and cargo you want to drive.

Go It Alone

Of course, once you’re qualified, you don’t have to go and work for a specific retailer, or a logistics company. There is a secret third option – you could go it alone. Setting up your own business could be seen as a risky move in the current climate, but independent HGV drivers are also in high demand. If you do this, you get all the benefits we’ve discussed above, as well as the flexibility of being your own boss. So you dictate everything about how you work, which customers you work with, and how you do business.

So all in all, we would say that being an HGV driver is, indeed, a flexible job. There are a lot of elements you can control within your career as an HGV driver, without having to struggle for work. And that’s before we talk about setting out on your own! So if you’re looking for the ultimate flexible career option, you couldn’t get much better. If you’d like to know more, all you have to do is get in touch with us today.

Charlotte Haye

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