Speak to a Specialist
0800 772 0727
Almost every site around Cannock that takes a delivery needs a counterbalance driver, which is what makes it the most useful ticket to hold locally. WSUK places counterbalance drivers into loading, container and yard work near Cannock on weekly PAYE pay.
Counterbalance FLT jobs around Cannock cover loading and unloading trailers, devanning containers, block stacking and moving stock around a yard. Sites near Cannock want a current accredited counterbalance certificate (RTITB, ITSSAR, AITT or NPORS), normally refreshed within the last three years. WSUK places counterbalance drivers around Cannock at £13.00—£15.00 an hour, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
Cannock is a fast-growing logistics location on the A5, wedged between the M6 (Junctions 11–12) and the M6 Toll, giving hauliers a fast run around the top of the West Midlands conurbation. Its flagship park, Kingswood Lakeside beside the M6 Toll, hosts big-box distribution occupiers including DHL, APC, Veolia, Unilever, Parts Town and Allpack, with the neighbouring Conneqt scheme adding modern Grade A sheds. Hawks Green, Tom Hill and Watling Street add further industrial and trade units. With Walsall, Wolverhampton, Lichfield and Tamworth all within a short drive and Birmingham just down the M6, Cannock sits squarely inside the Golden Triangle's north-western edge, popular with 3PL and e-commerce operators needing scale and motorway access.
Big-box distribution and e-commerce fulfilment drive sharp swings in labour demand at Cannock — retail peaks, contract go-lives and staff absence can leave a shed short-handed overnight. WSUK supplies temporary warehouse and forklift teams — pickers, packers, loaders, goods-in/out operatives and counterbalance, reach and PPT drivers — inducted and ready for Kingswood Lakeside and the surrounding estates. We handle vetting, right-to-work checks, PAYE payroll and working-time compliance, so labour lands cleared and lawful. When peaks subside, we scale the crew back down again, giving Cannock operators a flexible headcount that tracks order volumes instead of a fixed cost.
Counterbalance work is the movement of goods in and out of the building rather than up into the racking. It is more varied than reach work and more of it is outdoors.
Driving into trailers and curtainsiders to load and unload, building and breaking down pallets on the bay, and working to a vehicle departure time.
Unloading shipping containers, often hand-balled onto pallets at the door and then moved by truck. Physical, and busiest at import-heavy sites and the ports.
Moving stock around a yard, block stacking where there is no racking, and feeding production or waste lines. Outdoor work in all weather, so sites provide the kit.
WSUK covers Cannock and its estates — Kingswood Lakeside, Conneqt, Hawks Green and Tom Hill — plus Walsall, Wolverhampton, Lichfield and Tamworth. Whether you need a single reach-truck driver for a shift or a full multi-shift picking operation, we mobilise vetted temporary warehouse and forklift staff quickly across the M6 and M6 Toll catchment.
A current accredited counterbalance certificate, refreshed within the last three years for most sites, plus a familiarisation on their own trucks and traffic routes. Beyond that, counterbalance roles are the easiest forklift work to get into with modest hours behind you, which makes it the sensible first ticket if you are moving up from operative work. A lot of counterbalance shifts also include some manual handling, and we will tell you when that is the case.
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 |
|---|---|
| Counterbalance FLT Driver (days) | £13.00–£14.50 / hr |
| Counterbalance FLT Driver (nights) | £13.75–£15.00 / hr |
| Container Devanning & FLT | £13.00–£14.75 / hr |
| Counterbalance & Reach (dual) | £14.00–£16.00 / hr |
| Warehouse Team Leader | £14.50–£18.00 / hr |
Counterbalance suits operatives taking their first step up, and experienced drivers who would rather be on the loading bay and in the yard than in a narrow aisle all shift.
Counterbalance is the ticket most often used as a lever to pay someone the operative rate for forklift work. We book and pay it 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.
It depends how close you are to a port or an import-heavy distribution site. Devanning work concentrates around the container terminals and the big import sheds, and where there is a lot of it near Cannock the shifts tend to involve more hand-balling alongside the driving. We will tell you the split before you accept.
Both exist near Cannock. Loading bay work is mostly under cover, while yard moves, block stacking and external loading are outdoors in all weather. Sites issue the appropriate kit, and we will tell you which kind of shift a role actually is.
A forklift that carries the load on forks out front, balanced by a counterweight at the rear, with no outrigger legs. That design is what lets it drive directly into trailers and containers, which is why it is the truck used for loading, unloading and yard work.
For most people, yes. It is the most widely asked-for ticket because nearly every site loads or unloads vehicles, and it is the easiest forklift work to get into without a long history of hours. Reach and VNA pay more but sites are stricter about demonstrable experience.
Usually £13.00—£14.50 an hour on days and £13.75—£15.00 on nights. Drivers who also hold reach and can be used on both typically sit at £14.00—£16.00.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Tell us your ticket and last refresher date. We will match you to counterbalance work around Cannock and reply within 2 working hours.