The Extra Mile: Getting back to business

Another month has passed and as a business we are definitely starting to see more positive activity and life is beginning to feel a little more “normal”. On 23rd June, Boris Johnson announced that we were going to be able to go to the pub again, eat out and even have a staycation - and we’ll be able to do all this with a fresh hair cut - from 4th July with the introduction of lockdown-easing in England.

What does this mean to you as a driver? Whilst we haven’t yet seen a massive surge in business, we have seen significant improvements in the last few weeks, and the easing of lockdown can only be good news for us all.

Many of our clients are starting to become operational again and need to distribute the large stockpiles that have built up through the lockdown. We are also expecting a back-log of holiday requests and a substantial spike in activity along with an increase in demand for temporary driver cover. This means there will be more work opportunities as the deliveries increase and those employed by our clients want to make use of their holiday entitlements.

Are you already one of our registered drivers? Don’t forget if you recommend an HGV driving friend who registers and completes 12 shifts* we'll give you £100 to say thank you.

If you want to be part of our success just visit www.driverrequire.co.uk – among many helpful articles and resources, it's always the first place we advertise any new roles. You can register your interest for any of the jobs on our site and one of our team will be in touch. Why not get ahead of the game, be first in line, get registered and be ready to get the nation back to business!

*terms and conditions apply

The UK transport industry is likely to see a steep and rapid but only partial recovery this year, followed by a slower return to normal levels of business, according to Kieran Smith, chief executive officer of agency Driver Require.

During this recovery period, cash-hungry hauliers must be wary of saddling themselves with debt by extending credit to customers who are themselves of fragile financial standing.

In a three-part report, The Impact of Covid-19 on the UK Haulage Sector, Smith argues that it took eight years for UK employment to recover from the recession of 2008, and that was after a decline of ‘only’ six per cent in gross domestic product (GDP) Read on....

Last Friday, Driver Require's Branch Manager stepped up at the last minute to cover a shift for one of our clients.

"Today was a bit of a strange one. It started at around 05:00am and due to unexpected circumstances, resulted in me driving a van around London and Essex for one of our valued clients. Having driven nothing but a desk since I left the military, it was a reminder of how hard all of our drivers work on a daily basis and what a nightmare it is to be stuck in a vehicle in 30 degree heat with no aircon!