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We've survived a year of lockdowns and restrictions and we seem to be coming out the other side 😊 It is now time to get into action for those of us that have enjoyed the leisurely lifestyle in the last year, (not to mention for those of us who have gnawed our way through a few hot cross buns and Easter eggs, the odd Mini Egg or seven and, oh yeah, those Crème Eggs we munched with a cuppa!) No guilt trips here, but you can see our article further down about how to gear up for the other side of lockdown in the Health Hub.
The really great news is now we're allowed to meet up in a garden with other people who are not our family, even go
to a gym class – outside of course! The roadmap to getting us out of lockdown continues and as every few weeks pass we are given more freedom to do more of the activities we took for granted just over a year ago.
On the driving side, with the easing of lockdown, we're getting really busy and are now, more than ever, on the lookout for more great drivers like you. We've raised our Refer-a-Friend incentive to £200 for EACH driver friend you refer to us - check out more on this further down...
So now that the clocks have gone forward and finally we have lighter evenings signifying that Summer is on it’s way - here’s to Spring and better days ahead 😊
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Update... Driver Require's doors might still be physically closed but it's business as usual for us as we work from home.
Please remember that in line with government restrictions and in order to maintain the safety of all our staff and drivers, we will be conducting remote registrations only. If you need to chat with one of our team, please give us a call, we'd love to hear from you.
Contact us at any time by phone, text or email.
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Our Northampton branch has nominated Maksim Petruks as our March Driver of the Month. Maksim is completely flexible for us and he has been a regular Class 2 at DHL Express Brackmills, but he will happily drive a van there if we need him to. He drove to Papworth, Cambridge for 3 days to ensure we did not let a new client down and recently drove to Corby where he had excellent feedback from the client. Today he has gone back out in a van to help us out.
Thank you Maksim, from us all at Driver Require.
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WE'VE REACHED THE IR35 DEADLINE!
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If you still haven't transferred from are a Ltd Company worker to PAYE, you must decide how you wish to be paid now.
OPTION 1: Directly through the Driver Require payroll, or
OPTION 2: Indirectly through one of our FCSA accredited Umbrella Companies.
IR35 reforms, which have just come into effect, require many Ltd Company workers to transfer across to PAYE worker status. If you are a Ltd Company contractor and want to know why you may need to transfer to PAYE, then check out our other resources on our website: driverrequire.co.uk/ir35#drivers
Click here to see your options
We can help to guide you through the decision on whether to transfer to PAYE and how to do this as cost-effectively and smoothly as possible. If you have any questions, please contact your branch who are keen to help you through this process.
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Extract from The Recruiter, published 6 April 2021:
The controversial IR35 self-employed taxation rules being rolled out today are undermining the sector at the “worst possible time”.
....As far as the transport & logistics sector is concerned, CEO of driver recruitment specialist Driver Require Kieran Smith told Recruiter: “It is now becoming clear that, as a consequence of the increased agency charge rates, many of the larger agency users who had previously ‘outsourced their standard operations’ to agencies, have taken back in-house many of these workers and expect their agency partners to work with a smaller volume of higher variability work.”Smith’s overall observation is that it has been tough over the past couple of weeks for the sector, “both from the perspective of covering customer requirements and also in terms of managing the mechanics of the transition process”. However, he believes Driver Require is “coping well” despite the challenges.
He says one of the difficulties has been in getting limited company drivers to decide on which PAYE payroll option to move to – either Driver Require’s own in-house PAYE payroll or an umbrella PAYE.
“This has been largely due to a general inertia and reluctance to deal with the unknown. This is despite a concerted comprehensive education campaign on our part that has been in place for several months. We are nearly completed with this exercise but can imagine that less-prepared agencies may still be struggling with this task.”
He adds: “Limited company workers have been reluctant to move between agencies and clients prior to the 6 April, as they wished to maintain their limited company assignments on known terms until the last possible moment. There has therefore been a hiatus over the past couple of weeks where we have suffered from a lack of flexibility from our agency workers, making it difficult to cope with variability in demand in certain regions and for certain clients.”
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
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RECRUITER AWARDS:
WE'VE BEEN SHORTLISTED!
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Big news! We’ve been short-listed in not one, not two but three categories in the Recruiter Awards 2021. Being nominated for these awards means that we stand out as top performers in the world of professional recruitment. We’re so proud of this achievement, and of how we, as a company, have performed through this last, unprecedented year.
From our CEO, Kieran Smith (Agency Leader of the Year category) who has used the last 12 months to not only to demonstrate exceptional leadership, steadfastly steering the company through unchartered waters, but also to become a recognised industry expert on the issues impacting our sector….
…To our Marketing & Social Media duo (Best Recruitment Agency Marketing Team) who have innovated and consistently promoted our brand through multiple channels, reaching existing and new audiences with new technologies to make us a recognized player in our sector.
But especially to our whole Driver Require family (Best Recruitment Agency - Small) who have worked consistently, tirelessly and with absolute dedication to keep drivers delivering the goods throughout the pandemic and who propel us to keep raising our game in these challenging times.
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WANT TO EARN YOURSELF AN EASY £200?
Simply refer your driver friends and earn £200 each time
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| With lockdown restrictions lifting, we're finding that many of our clients are turning to us for more great drivers - just like you.
Do you have any driver friends looking for a new job? We have some of the best work and rates around, for some great UK brands.
We'll give you an easy £200 EACH TIME you refer a friend to us to say thank you, so give us a call today and we'll give you a bonus in your pay once they've completed 12 shifts for us.
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CHECK OUT OUR LATEST HOT JOBS
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On Your Marks, Get Set, Boom! It’s time to go the Extra Mile!
The sudden disruption of the pandemic bought health and fitness routines to a screeching halt. Factor in inconsistent sleep patterns and ever changing shifts, eating at irregular times and stress eating and it’s no wonder that we have gained a few pounds during lockdown.
Lockdown weight gain - 5 reasons why
Lack of exercise - Lockdown brought gym and fitness routines to a
standstill, leaving you feeling unmotivated and unsure of how to stay fit at home.
Snacking – Comfort eating and mindless snacking due to boredom increase your daily calorie consumption.
Poor sleep habits - Disruptions to your daily routine have led to later bedtimes and restless nights.
Higher stress and anxiety levels - Higher levels of stress hormones leave you with less energy, less motivated, and strong emotions.
Increased alcohol consumption - Empty calories from alcohol have you packing on
the pounds.
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If you have lost fitness during lockdown and gained a few pounds now is the time to reset, restore and start again - or really go the “Extra Mile”. As the restrictions ease and gyms and sports activities open up again there are new opportunities to jump start your exercise regime and change things up. April is the new January for battling the bulge!
Here are some helpful tips:
- Find an activity that you really like doing - walking, running, cycling, swimming or hiking.
- Be realistic - start slowly and build up.
- Find someone you can exercise with - to keep you motivated and hold you to account.
- Find a charity event - find a charity event that’s meaningful, that will give you a goal to work towards and keeps you focussed. Here are some suggestions of charitable events and challenges that you can take part in this summer:
Returning to the gym? Here are some tips..
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Think bowel cancer only
affects older people? Think again. Around 2,500 under 50s are diagnosed in the UK every single year. Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in England and the second biggest cancer killer. Every year over 34,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the country and around 13,000 people die from the disease.
You are more at risk of getting bowel cancer if you have one
or more of the following risk factors. This doesn’t mean that you will definitely get bowel cancer. Equally, if you don’t have any risk factors, it doesn’t mean you can’t get bowel cancer.
- Aged over 50
- A strong family history of bowel cancer
- A history of non-cancerous growths (polyps) in your bowel
- Longstanding inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
- Type 2 diabetes
- An unhealthy lifestyle
Reducing your risk: Scientists believe around half (54%) of all bowel cancers could be prevented by having a healthier lifestyle. Click here to find out more...
However bowel cancer is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early. Click here to check what the symptoms are.
Why not get active every day in April for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month!
Every 15 minutes someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer. That's over 42,000 people every year. But with the money raised through events like Step up for 30, we can continue to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer.
Step up for 30
Step up for 30 with us in April as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. It's really simple, just get active every day and ask people to sponsor you
Bowel Cancer UK undertake a range of activities in England as part of their work to save lives and improve the quality of life for all those affected by bowel cancer.
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TAKE A BREAK!
Here’s a Driving related wordsearch to amuse you for a few minutes
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From 6 April 2021, large and medium-sized haulage companies – with net turnover of above £10m or employing 50 or more staff – will no longer be able to hire drivers who work as limited companies. Instead, drivers will need to be employed as a PAYE (pay as you earn) worker, either by the haulier, the agency or via an umbrella company.
Tax evasion
The changes make it easier for HMRC to prevent tax evasion by switching the onus from the limited company driver to the end client, who must ensure their agency worker is employed within the rules and will be responsible for any underpayment of tax by the driver.
Kieran Smith, CEO of specialist driver recruitment agency Driver Require, calculates the new rules could add 20% to the cost of employing an agency driver and prompt employers to bring drivers back in-house, only using agency drivers to cover variability.
He welcomes the move, and says his business has always catered for variable, specialist work, rather than as a provider of cheap outsourced labour.
“We expect most professional blue-collar agency workers will migrate to PAYE, resulting in a level playing field where ethical and specialist agencies can compete fairly, growing their market share by providing superior services,” Smith said.
He warned that any attempt to recover additional labour costs by depressing drivers’ wages will only exacerbate the driver shortage.
“Over 15,000 of 40,000 EU drivers have returned to the EU since the pandemic, of which around 30,000 are agency workers. That underlying shortage will soon manifest itself as the economy recovers,” Smith continued. “My advice to operators is start budgeting for rising labour costs now and assume these will be 20% higher than at present.”
Read the full article here
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Police officers have been left stunned after pulling over a dangerously overloaded pick-up truck in Cannock, Staffordshire.The Mitsubishi L200 Trojan truck was piled high with a mountain of stuff, all held together by three pieces of rope.The driver, who held a provisional licence so had yet to pass their test, was pulled over at Stadium Garage petrol station in Pye Green Road at around 5pm on Sunday. Read more...
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he cost of repairs to vehicles suffering pothole damage over the past 12 months has been revealed in new research published by Kwik Fit. Its annual report shows that the total repair bill to vehicles from pothole damage over the past year rose slightly, from £1.249bn to £1.267bn. Read more...
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Police are calling on HGV drivers to report anything suspicious when parked up at motorway service areas (MSAs) after a slew of thefts last month. Thieves are targeting MSAs across the UK’s road network, resulting in thousands of pounds of goods and fuel being stolen, according to the latest findings from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NAVCIS). Read more...
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International delivery specialist ParcelHero is warning of delays to Amazon and other e-commerce orders following the log jam created in the Suez Canal by the stranded cargo ship, EverGiven, which was finally refloated yesterday (29 March). Read more....
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⭐ Let us know how you rate our service here
And you can check out some of our other driver reviews from Google. ⭐
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Read more from our latest Blog and interesting stories here...
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