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C1 covers 3.5 to 7.5 tonne vehicles, and if you passed your car test before 1997 you may already hold it. WSUK places C1 drivers into multi-drop, home delivery and event work around London, on weekly PAYE pay.
C1 driver jobs around London cover vehicles from 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes — typically 7.5 tonne boxes and curtain-siders on multi-drop, home delivery and event work. Drivers who passed a car test before 1 January 1997 usually hold C1 automatically, though commercial driving still requires a Driver CPC and a digital tachograph card. Rates near London run £13.00—£15.00 an hour, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
London's freight ecosystem is defined by the M25 orbital, the North and South Circular (A406/A205) and overnight trunking down the M1 and M40 from Midlands RDCs into city depots before the morning peak. Park Royal in the west is one of Europe's largest industrial estates, joined by distribution clusters at Enfield and the Lea Valley in the north, Barking and Dagenham in the east, and the Thames Gateway - where DP World London Gateway and Tilbury handle deep-sea container volumes. Heathrow adds air-freight demand to the west. The capital layers tight delivery windows, the ULEZ, the Direct Vision Standard (DVS) HGV safety permit and dense multi-drop rounds onto every movement, so operators run a constant mix of trunking, regional and last-mile work across a congested, high-compliance network.
This environment drives heavy, ongoing demand to fill temporary driving jobs. Trunking from RDCs and ports needs Class 1 (C+E) drivers; regional and store distribution calls for Class 2 (C) drivers; and dense urban multi-drop and last-mile work suits 7.5t (C1) and van drivers who know the ULEZ and DVS rules. Demand spikes around retail peaks, event logistics and holiday absence, when one missed slot cascades across delivery windows. WSUK supplies vetted London drivers for temporary cover, ongoing contracts and multi-driver mobilisations, with DVLA licence and CPC checks, right-to-work verification, PAYE payroll and tacho and working-time compliance handled up front, scaling crews as capital volumes move.
C1 sits in a useful gap: enough capacity to be worth sending, small enough to get into places an HGV cannot. That shapes the work.
Urban and suburban rounds with more volume than a van can carry but access an artic could never manage. Tail-lift and cage work is normal.
Two-person furniture, appliance and home delivery work, plus removals. Customer-facing, physical, and usually daytime.
Exhibition and event logistics, trade counter deliveries and mobile plant. Variable hours, often short intense runs around build-up and breakdown.
From our Midlands base and overnight M1 trunking links we fill temporary driving jobs across London - Park Royal, Enfield, Barking and the Thames Gateway - supplying Class 1, Class 2, 7.5t and van drivers to hauliers, 3PLs and multi-drop operators on the M25 and North Circular for cover, peaks and short-notice shifts, backed by a single point of contact.
Look at the back of your photocard. If C1 appears in the list of categories, you can already drive a 7.5 tonne vehicle — and if you passed your car test before 1 January 1997 it is very likely to be there, alongside a restricted C1+E. Two things to note: those pre-1997 entitlements have to be renewed at 70 with a medical, and driving commercially still requires a Driver CPC and a tacho card even though the licence itself came free. If you are not sure, send us your DVLA check code and we will tell you what you hold.
Indicative PAYE rates as a guide — actual pay varies by shift, experience and site, with premiums for nights, weekends and bank holidays. Every rate we advertise is at or above the National Living Wage.
| Role | Indicative pay |
|---|---|
| 7.5t (C1) Multi-Drop | £13.00–£14.50 / hr |
| 7.5t (C1) Home Delivery | £13.00–£14.50 / hr |
| 7.5t (C1) Nights | £13.75–£15.00 / hr |
| 7.5t (C1) Event & Trade | £13.00–£15.00 / hr |
| C1 with HIAB | £14.50–£16.50 / hr |
C1 suits drivers who want more than van work without taking an HGV test, and anyone with a pre-1997 licence who did not know they were already entitled.
A lot of people are entitled to C1 work and never use it. Checking takes us two minutes and can be worth a pound or two an hour.
From application to your first shift, with the checks and the payroll handled for you.
Tell us your licence, tickets and which shifts you can actually work.
A named consultant calls within 2 working hours to talk through what fits.
Right-to-work, references and the site induction handled before you start.
Start on shift, then paid weekly through PAYE with holiday accrued.
C1 work concentrates where vehicles need town-centre or residential access that an artic cannot manage — retail and trade counter deliveries, home delivery rounds and event logistics. Around London it tends to be daytime work with regular start times.
If C1 is listed on your photocard, yes — but for commercial work you also need a valid Driver CPC and a digital tachograph card, which grandfather rights do not provide. Send us your check code and we will tell you exactly what you still need before applying for work near London.
A goods vehicle between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes — typically a 7.5 tonne box van or curtain-sider. C1+E extends that to a trailer, though pre-1997 holders usually have a restricted version of it with a combined weight limit.
If you passed your car test before 1 January 1997, very probably. Those drivers were granted C1 and a restricted C1+E automatically. Check the categories listed on the back of your photocard, or send us your DVLA check code and we will read it for you.
Yes, for commercial driving. The licence entitlement and the Driver CPC are separate things, so holding C1 through grandfather rights does not give you a CPC. You need 35 hours of periodic training every five years, plus a digital tachograph card.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Send your DVLA check code and we will confirm what you can drive, then match you to work around London. Reply within 2 working hours.