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Class 1 work around Nottingham splits into night trunking, tramping and day running, and they are very different lives. WSUK tells you which one a job actually is before you accept it, and pays weekly through PAYE.
Class 1 HGV jobs around Nottingham are category C+E roles on artics and drawbars, split between night trunking between depots, tramping with nights away, and day running back to the same site. Rates near Nottingham typically run £18.00—£24.00 an hour with night trunk to £26.00. You need C+E, a Driver CPC and a digital tachograph card. WSUK pays weekly through PAYE and it never costs you anything to apply.
Nottingham anchors the northern Golden Triangle, sitting close to the M1 at Junctions 24, 25 and 26 with the A52, A453, A46, A60 and A610 spreading across the East Midlands. To the south-west, the SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway beside East Midlands Airport and M1 J23A/J24 is a rail-connected distribution hub with its own strategic rail-freight interchange, drawing major retail and 3PL occupiers. Closer in, industrial and distribution estates at Colwick, Castle Marina, Blenheim near Bulwell and Beeston - long associated with Boots - carry warehousing, food and manufacturing operators. The airport adds air-freight, and the combination of motorway, rail and air makes Nottingham a genuinely multimodal logistics city, running continuous rigid and articulated flows between the Gateway, city estates and national networks.
That multimodal weight drives strong demand to fill temporary driving jobs. Rail-linked RDCs and retail distribution need Class 1 (C+E) trunking and shuttle drivers; 3PL, food and pallet operators call for Class 2 (C) drivers; and store, fulfilment and urban deliveries suit 7.5t (C1) and multi-drop van drivers. Volumes surge around retail peaks, promotions and holiday absence, when one unfilled cab disrupts a shift at a hub like the East Midlands Gateway. WSUK supplies vetted Nottingham drivers for temporary cover, ongoing contracts and multi-driver mobilisations, with DVLA licence and CPC verification, right-to-work checks, PAYE payroll and tacho and working-time compliance handled up front, scaling crews up or down as demand moves.
The single most useful thing to know before accepting a Class 1 job is which of these three it is, because the hours, the pay and whether you sleep at home all follow from it.
Running the same route between two depots overnight, usually dropping a loaded trailer and picking up another. Predictable hours, minimal handball, and the best hourly rate in general haulage.
Out for several nights, sleeping in the cab, running wherever the planner sends you. Paid a nightly-out allowance on top of the hourly rate. Suits drivers who want hours and do not want to be home daily.
Out and back to the same depot within a shift, or yard shunting on trade plates. Fewer hours than tramping but home every night, and the usual choice for drivers with families.
From our Golden Triangle base we fill temporary driving jobs across Nottingham - the East Midlands Gateway, Colwick, Castle Marina and Blenheim - supplying Class 1, Class 2, 7.5t and van drivers to rail-linked RDCs, 3PLs and hauliers on the M1 (J24-J26), A52 and A453 for cover, peaks and short-notice shifts, backed by a single local point of contact.
You are limited to 9 hours driving a day, extendable to 10 twice a week, with a 45-minute break once you have driven 4.5 hours and a daily rest period afterwards. In practice a trunk shift is often 9—11 hours door to door with one long drive each way, while a multi-drop Class 1 day can be shorter driving but far busier. We plan bookings around your hours rather than against them, because an infringement is your licence, not ours.
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 |
|---|---|
| Class 1 (C+E) Day Work | £18.00–£22.00 / hr |
| Class 1 Night Trunk | £19.00–£26.00 / hr |
| Class 1 Tramping (plus nights out) | £18.00–£23.00 / hr |
| Class 1 with ADR | £19.00–£25.00 / hr |
| Class 1 Yard Shunter | £17.00–£20.00 / hr |
Class 1 suits drivers who want the top of the general haulage rate and are clear about which kind of life they want — home nightly, or away and earning.
Class 1 drivers get booked onto "trunk" jobs that turn out to be forty drops. We describe the run properly.
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.
Where there are distribution depots nearby, yes — trunking runs overnight to clear the network before morning, so it is usually the best-paid Class 1 work available locally. We will tell you which runs out of Nottingham are live and what the actual start times are.
Usually. Night trunk and day work both return to the same depot, so you sleep at home. Tramping roles with nights away exist around Nottingham too, but we only put you forward for those if you have said you want them.
Class 1 is the industry name for category C+E, which allows you to drive an articulated lorry or a rigid with a drawbar trailer. It is the highest standard goods category and you must hold category C first. You also need a Driver CPC and a digital tachograph card to drive commercially.
Trunking is running between two fixed points, usually overnight, and you are home at the end of the shift. Tramping means being away for several nights, sleeping in the cab, running wherever you are planned. Tramping pays a nightly-out allowance on top and generally produces higher weekly earnings.
Day work typically £18.00—£22.00 an hour, night trunk £19.00—£26.00, and ADR work up to £25.00. Tramping is usually quoted at an hourly rate plus a nightly-out allowance. Weekends and bank holidays normally carry a further premium.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Tell us whether you want trunk, tramp or day work around Nottingham. We will reply within 2 working hours.