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Almost every site around Derby 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 Derby on weekly PAYE pay.
Counterbalance FLT jobs around Derby cover loading and unloading trailers, devanning containers, block stacking and moving stock around a yard. Sites near Derby want a current accredited counterbalance certificate (RTITB, ITSSAR, AITT or NPORS), normally refreshed within the last three years. WSUK places counterbalance drivers around Derby at £13.00—£15.00 an hour, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
Derby is the East Midlands' advanced-manufacturing capital, home to Rolls-Royce and Alstom's rail works and close to Toyota's Burnaston plant, all feeding a supply chain that runs on tightly scheduled storage. Linked to the M1 (Junctions 24–25), the A38, A50 and A52, the city clusters its warehouse and logistics space at Raynesway, Sinfin, Pride Park, Wyvern and the 50-acre Indurent Park beside Pride Park. Alongside aerospace and rail-sector fabricators sit 3PL providers, e-commerce operators and FMCG distributors. With Nottingham, Burton upon Trent, Loughborough and Leicester all close and East Midlands Airport and its freight hub just down the A50, Derby combines heavyweight manufacturing logistics with strong regional distribution reach.
Production-linked storage and regional distribution make Derby's labour demand uneven: line schedules, model changes, retail and e-commerce peaks and everyday absence all open gaps that need filling at short notice. WSUK supplies temporary warehouse and forklift teams — pickers, packers, loaders, goods-in/out operatives and counterbalance, reach and PPT drivers — inducted for the city's manufacturing and logistics sites. We manage vetting, right-to-work checks, PAYE payroll and working-time compliance, so every worker arrives cleared and lawful. As volumes climb for a peak or build run and ease afterwards, we scale teams up and down, giving Derby operators flexible cover that matches real output.
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 Derby and its estates — Raynesway, Sinfin, Pride Park, Wyvern and Indurent Park — plus Nottingham, Burton upon Trent, Loughborough and Leicester. From a single counterbalance driver for a shift to a full picking and packing crew for a production or seasonal peak, we mobilise vetted temporary staff fast across the M1 J24–J25 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 Derby the shifts tend to involve more hand-balling alongside the driving. We will tell you the split before you accept.
Both exist near Derby. 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 Derby and reply within 2 working hours.