Yodel/MyHermes/others, any good to work with?

[caelite]

Hey folks

So been seeking meaningful employment since January when my boss let me off (it was mutual, long story). Had my car written off a couple of weeks ago, because when it rains it pours. I have been toying with picking up a small van as a replacement and seeking a position with one of these self employed man with van companies, honestly just looking for advice as I have no idea where to start.

I previously was an assistant technician for a generator Co. duties mainly consisted of towing overweight 3.5ton trailers around laden with generators and/or diesel. Then offloading them with hiab or forklift at the other end. (also making tea, in fact I believe that may of been my primary role with this company). So I have a fair whack of experience driving larger B class vehicles, but if I am honest very little of multi-drop deliveries. Basically my questions would be:

1. How flexible are these 'self employed' companies, I am currently a student(engineering) so looking for 2.5-3 days or so work per week
2. How likely are they to get a meaningful discount on hire/reward van insurance, I'm 23 and currently have an unsettled claim so this is likely to be a rather significant cost
3. What kind of requirements are there for your van? I am looking at 5-6 year old <£3000 VW Caddy/Renault Kangoo/Transit Connect sized vans, the only requirements I can find from Yodel is that it must be <3.5ton
4. Is it possible to apply with these companies on the basis of buying a van IF I am given a position, would rather not buy one only to be left high and dry.

Thanks any advice welcome, really desperate to get back in to work that isn't with a bloody supermarket
CAE

[LordHaveMurci]

Long hours, hard work & minimum pay is how I understand it, rarely see the same driver more than 2-3 times around here.

[egor110]

Although they say your self employed the reality is your responsible for your area.

If you only want work 3 days a week then its down to you to pay another driver to cover the other 2/3 days.

Same if you want to go on holiday.

Try applying to royal mail and getting a 24 hour contract which would be 3 days.

[caelite]

Tried royal mail, got a knockback. I am out in the countryside in a reasonable sized town, so decent work is fairly scarce, I'm somewhat adverse to a 20+ mile commute each way for a minimum wage contract (there isn't really 'good' jobs for students, felt like I had won the lottery with my last one) if I where to drive into the city. Minimal pay is pretty much what I am expecting, provided its enough to get by on I'd prefer to do that than get minimal pay standing behind a counter at a bar/supermarket.

Edited by caelite on Tuesday 21st February 15:08

[egor110]

caelite said:

Tried royal mail, got a knockback. I am out in the countryside in a reasonable sized town, so decent work is fairly scarce, I'm somewhat adverse to a 20+ mile commute each way for a minimum wage contract (there isn't really 'good' jobs for students, felt like I had won the lottery with my last one) if I where to drive into the city. Minimal pay is pretty much what I am expecting, provided its enough to get by on I'd prefer to do that than get minimal pay standing behind a counter at a bar/supermarket.

Edited by caelite on Tuesday 21st February 15:08

These delivery companies will have you over a barrel , you get a tiny hourly wage and a fee per delivered parcel so if you drive miles into the sticks and nobodies home you won't get paid.

Your far better off in a bar/shop as your not going to have any outgoings like van hire, insurance, holiday cover.

If your near a city give deliveroo a go , push bike or scooter based and you let them know when your free to work.

Ride to the ' rider zone' normally city center then log onto there app so they know your available to work then wait for them to contact you with a delivery.

No point starting before mid day as no works around , tea time / evenings are busy where people order food/drink online and want it delivered.

[minivanman]

My next door neighbour works for hermes, she just uses a zafira. Apparently there's bonuses to be had on some stuff like Next deliveries. If you have a larger village as your round you can clean up a bit, its when you have long drives between drops that you lose out.

[grumpy52]

You will be running around grossly overloaded having to sort your own route around an area you thought you knew but don't,for probably less than min wage .
Also aviod UK express or Nationwide express etc ,
The clue with most parcel companies is it all down to a price so you get what you pay for .

[warcalf]

caelite said:

Hey folks

So been seeking meaningful employment since January when my boss let me off (it was mutual, long story). Had my car written off a couple of weeks ago, because when it rains it pours. I have been toying with picking up a small van as a replacement and seeking a position with one of these self employed man with van companies, honestly just looking for advice as I have no idea where to start.

I previously was an assistant technician for a generator Co. duties mainly consisted of towing overweight 3.5ton trailers around laden with generators and/or diesel. Then offloading them with hiab or forklift at the other end. (also making tea, in fact I believe that may of been my primary role with this company). So I have a fair whack of experience driving larger B class vehicles, but if I am honest very little of multi-drop deliveries. Basically my questions would be:

1. How flexible are these 'self employed' companies, I am currently a student(engineering) so looking for 2.5-3 days or so work per week
2. How likely are they to get a meaningful discount on hire/reward van insurance, I'm 23 and currently have an unsettled claim so this is likely to be a rather significant cost
3. What kind of requirements are there for your van? I am looking at 5-6 year old <£3000 VW Caddy/Renault Kangoo/Transit Connect sized vans, the only requirements I can find from Yodel is that it must be <3.5ton
4. Is it possible to apply with these companies on the basis of buying a van IF I am given a position, would rather not buy one only to be left high and dry.

Thanks any advice welcome, really desperate to get back in to work that isn't with a bloody supermarket
CAE

You get payed peanuts per drop. I looked in to it when I was desperate to leave my past job and it doesn't seem like there is much profit to be had!

Look in to what you get payed per drop and see if you can make money off of it, I hope for your sake you can!

Unfortunately I found I couldn't make it work well enough to justify doing it.

[Andehh]

You would be better off looking for bar work, pub work etc - the usual haunts for students etc. Fair pay, tips can quickly add up and you can be flexible with your hours. No need to buy & maintain a van just for the job as well.

[Hawmaws]

My brother does this - my advice would be to avoid it like the plague. He clears much less than the minimum wage, before his car costs. He has to work 6 days/week, sometimes 7, with no holidays or benefits whatsoever, because he is "self employed" If he does go away for a few days he has to arrange and pay for cover.

Tax relief on his costs would be something - if he ever actually got over the personal allowance limit.

He has absolutely no flexibility and no way of influencing his income. He has been looking for something else from a few weeks in.

Bit of a scam, really.

[caelite]

Cheers lads, did a bit of reading that has indicated similar issues to what you folks have mentioned, pay is buttons and you are most likely to make a loss if you are rural. (<50p/parcel)

Jeeze options are pretty bleak, last time I worked a pub they wanted to pay me considerably less than minimum wage because, I quote; 'the state isn't the one who gives you your wage packet'. Supermarket was more of the same, wage was PAYE so minimum wage was enforced, however the amount of unpaid overtime they expected was absurd. Despised working in both, I rather back breaking unskilled/semi-skilled labour than deal with the public any day of the week .

Seems like it is too much to ask nowadays to just have a job where you show up 16-26 hours a week, give them your undivided attention for the duration of the shift then leave on the clock without any ill will.

Might end up grabbing a van anyway, been making some cash in hand doing homers for friends/friends of friends. At least I could look vaguely professional showing up in a small van rather than a chavvy hatchback with a boot full of crap.

[mike74]

So how do these businesses manage to keep operating when they offer such abysmal, if not illegal, pay and T&C's?

Do they just rely on a seemingly never ending supply of gullible and naive people who only ever do it for a few weeks before realising just how st the job is and jacking it in to be replaced by the next mug?

[caelite]

mike74 said:

So how do these businesses manage to keep operating when they offer such abysmal, if not illegal, pay and T&C's?

Do they just rely on a seemingly never ending supply of gullible and naive people who only ever do it for a few weeks before realising just how st the job is and jacking it in to be replaced by the next mug?

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/19/he...

They appear to not have been formally investigated yet. My bet is when the state comes sniffing they will find all the massive tax/employment law loopholes and do something to legislate against it. Same thing happened to a lot of the big zero hour contract companies that popped up around 2012-2014.

I was curious about them as they just seemed to be the only entity recruiting heavily in my area in a field that I found vaguely interesting. My bet is a lot of their staff are just desperate, job market really is a st show at the bottom rung of the ladder. I consider myself lucky enough to have a few months savings in the bank from working like an absolute dog for years, so hopefully something that actually pays will come up for me before I get to that point .

Edited by caelite on Wednesday 22 February 18:58

[Andehh]

caelite said:

Jeeze options are pretty bleak, last time I worked a pub they wanted to pay me considerably less than minimum wage because, I quote; 'the state isn't the one who gives you your wage packet'. Supermarket was more of the same, wage was PAYE so minimum wage was enforced, however the amount of unpaid overtime they expected was absurd. Despised working in both, I rather back breaking unskilled/semi-skilled labour than deal with the public any day of the week .

Seems like it is too much to ask nowadays to just have a job where you show up 16-26 hours a week, give them your undivided attention for the duration of the shift then leave on the clock without any ill will.

Might end up grabbing a van anyway, been making some cash in hand doing homers for friends/friends of friends. At least I could look vaguely professional showing up in a small van rather than a chavvy hatchback with a boot full of crap.

Options are pretty bleak!? Oh come on.

Guarantee it that if you go to a few of the local Brewery/Gastro Pubs & have a pleasant demeanour and cite your job history in the industry you will be taken on. Might be a zero hour contract or equiv, but if you want flexibility & casual work then that's what it is.

They will be big chains, will pay either minimum wage or just above, and with tips you will make a respectable amount. I worked in several pre/during Uni and had zero issues. Heck, I even worked in the local family run indie pubs & they never took the piss on minimum wage.

Then again, by the sounds of it you just want to buy a van & have an easy job that vaguely helps justify the purchase....

[jeremyh1]

I run a small independent courier company in Exeter . You will make less than you would make if you were employed It is a complete joke and I would not want to see car enthusiast from this site doing this type of work as from what I see people on here like to spend money and you wont have any money working with them

[duckwhistle]

Start a local dog walking service, sign write your Van, small add in the local paper. Wait for the phone to ring. Cash flow from day one. Be nice to old Ladies and small dogs. Money for old rope. Demand colossal.

[caelite]

duckwhistle said:

Start a local dog walking service, sign write your Van, small add in the local paper. Wait for the phone to ring. Cash flow from day one. Be nice to old Ladies and small dogs. Money for old rope. Demand colossal.

Good idea actually.

I'm working in the local marina now as a temp restoring their moorings for the summer, cash in hand and enough to tide me over for now. Took my van money and bought an Mx5 .

Thanks again for the advice, would still love to break back into doing transportation but it'll be on someone else's coin.