Why British Truckers Are Walking Away From Agency Work in 2026

Agency HGV work pays more per hour — twenty-one pounds versus nineteen — but most drivers never run the full-year numbers before they decide. When you factor in holiday pay, sick cover, pension contributions, the weeks you won't work, and the vehicle costs you absorb yourself, the rate card stops telling the truth. This is what that gap actually costs, and what a transport office is really looking at when it books an agency driver instead of offering a permanent contract.

Both Sides of the Desk is a short guide from someone who drove for thirty-one years and then spent eight in the transport office — what the office sees when it books agency, what your tacho proves about you, and how to have the phone conversation that moves you onto a permanent contract. Link below.

What's covered:
The actual weekly and annual take-home comparison between agency and permanent for the same route and the same hours
Six hidden costs of agency work: holiday pay gap, sick pay absence, pension shortfall, unreliable weekly hours, vehicle running costs, and zero redundancy protection
What the transport office is actually weighing — roster gaps, budget constraints, headcount limits — when it chooses agency over permanent
Why the agency hourly rate stops being meaningful once you account for the thirty-five to forty-five weeks most agency drivers actually work each year
The real case study of Mike at a DHL yard in Coventry and what his permanent week actually paid compared to his agency week
How to have the conversation that moves you from the agency books onto a permanent contract

This is general financial guidance based on UK employment conditions — check your own contract and seek independent advice before making employment decisions.

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