JJ Foodservice increases salaries to lure HGV drivers   

Wholesaler JJ Foodservice said they have increased salaries to £40,000 for HGV drivers at its London branches.

Brexit and the pandemic have combined this year to leave deep labour shortages across the British economy, with a dearth of drivers disrupting fuel and supermarket supplies.

“Drivers already have a hard job – we want to create the best working environment for them with the comfort of an office job,” said Kaan Hendekli, head of operations at JJ.

In addition to the salary increase, the wholesaler is offering state-of-the-art vehicles, no evenings or weekends, local deliveries, no rotas or shift work and consistent start times.

“On top of offering a great work-life balance, our drivers also have a stable, daily routine and the support of a driver’s mate,” said Kaan.

Currently, drivers in Enfield, Dagenham and Sidcup are paid £35,000 but this will increase to £40,000.

The government has announced that it will issue temporary visas to 5000 HGV drivers in the UK as part of the measures to tackle the shortage. It has on Monday started deploying military personnel to help deliver fuel.

The Road Haulage Association says the country is facing a shortage of some 100,000 drivers, a result of workers leaving the industry, the pandemic putting a stop to driver training and testing for about a year, and post-Brexit immigration rules which prevent hiring drivers from Europe.

With just 1 per cent of UK HGV drivers female, JJ said it is actively encouraging more females to consider HGV driver roles.