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Class 1 work around Tamworth 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 Tamworth 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 Tamworth 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.
Tamworth is a heavyweight distribution town built on the M42 at Junction 10, where the A5 Watling Street crosses. Its centrepiece is Birch Coppice Business Park at Dordon - the West Midlands' largest rail-served development, home to Ocado, UPS and Euro Car Parts, with an on-site intermodal freight terminal (BIFT) connecting to the national rail network. Relay Park and the Tame Valley and Amington industrial estates add further warehousing, retail-distribution and manufacturing capacity. Positioned between Lichfield, Cannock, Atherstone and Nuneaton, and within easy reach of the M6, M6 Toll and M42, Tamworth sits inside the Golden Triangle's northern edge. That combination of rail intermodal and motorway access keeps HGV trunking, 7.5-tonne and van multi-drop drivers in constant demand across the B77-B79 postcodes.
Rail-served distribution and big retail fulfilment run on strict slot times, so one missing driver at Birch Coppice can cascade into missed loads. WSUK fills temporary driving jobs across the full range - C+E Class 1 artics, Class 2 rigids, 7.5-tonne and van/multi-drop - with drivers available at short notice. Before any shift we complete DVLA licence and Driver CPC checks, right-to-work verification and reference screening. PAYE payroll and tachograph and working-time compliance are handled by us, keeping the admin off your transport desk. As intermodal flows, e-commerce peaks and holiday absence move your demand, we scale driver supply up and back down, so you're covered at the peak without carrying surplus in between.
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.
At Birch Coppice, Relay Park and the Tame Valley estates, Tamworth employers rely on WSUK when a rail-linked trunk run or fulfilment round loses its driver. We know the M42 J10 and A5 routes, the intermodal shift patterns and the retail-distribution volumes that drive B77-B79 demand - so the temporary drivers we send arrive ready to work.
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 Tamworth 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 Tamworth 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 Tamworth. We will reply within 2 working hours.