The effects of Brexit and Covid continue to be felt across the UK, not least in the serious shortage of more than 100,000 licensed and qualified HGV drivers. Barely stocked shelves at supermarkets across the country, delayed deliveries to retailers and out of stock messages flashing up online are just a few of the effects that we’ve been seeing in the UK over the past few months.
As reported in recent news, supermarkets are competing for drivers with some even offering a £1000 signing-on fee for those who join before the end of September, in a desperate attempt to overcome the huge shortage of workers. Industry insiders have even reported drivers’ pay increases of between 10% and 20%.
The requirement for drivers to have a specialist license, combined with Brexit, Covid and tax changes have prompted some drivers to leave the trade, whilst a surge in demand for home delivery has also offered a whole range of alternative employment for drivers, often without the unsocial hours and long-distance journeys.
Government has recently relaxed the rules on how much time lorry drivers are allowed to spend on the road over the next few weeks in an attempt to lessen the effects of this looming crisis.
Whilst this has certainly been difficult for everyone in the industry, here at Firstpoint we are proud we have risen to the challenge and proven our ability to adapt! Thanks to our large network of reliable partners and host of solutions to offer we have continued to support both new and existing clients through a very difficult period.
To ensure you have all the latest updates, we’ve selected some of the most useful articles below:
BBC: How serious is the shortage of HGV drivers?
Guardian:Tesco offers lorry drivers £1,000 signing-on fee due to shortage
Retail Gazette: Government announces new plans to tackle lorry driver shortage
Gov.uk: HGV driver shortage letter to industry
Bifa: Truck driver shortage crisis now spreading across the whole of Europe