In general, truck drivers in the UK earn between £ 23,000 and £ 40,000 a year, with an average between £ 25,000 and £ 30,000. This is about the same in Belgium and the Netherlands.
There are a few factors that influence the salary of a truck driver. The first is your driver’s license. The general rule is the bigger the truck you can drive, the more you earn. So try to get all your licenses to maximize your earnings potential.
The second factor that influences your salary is your type of load. If you are transporting dangerous goods, a load that requires more work than normal or if a certain type of qualification or specialized experience is required, then this will all make a difference when it comes to how much you can ask. If you specialize in difficult loads, you can earn considerably more than £ 40,000.
A third factor is the location where you work. For example, drivers in Felixstowe and Manchester earn on average nearly £ 10,000 more than a driver in Ipswich or Leicester. If you are not worried about where you live, you might find a number of higher-paying jobs in neighboring provinces via Google.
Fourth, companies pay more for unusual working hours or longer hours away from home. Taking night shifts or driving long distance routes can have a big impact on your salary. Some employers are happy that you do this occasionally instead of always. This way you can keep the balance between work and private life under control if you don’t like to do this type of driving on a regular basis.
Fifth, the longer you stay with a company, the more you earn. In the same way, the more experience you have, the higher your salary can be. Even better is that you can show that you have a long history without incidents or accidents. Fleets allow you to be in charge of a vehicle, equipment and cargo that is worth a lot of money, so knowing that they can trust you is a very important factor in how strong your position in salary negotiations is.
In short, the rarer your skills, the more willing you are to work irregularly and the more confidence you give up, the more you will be able to ask in terms of salary.
