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HGV work around London spans retail distribution, parcel, chilled food and construction, and the sector changes the day as much as the licence does. WSUK places Class 1 and Class 2 drivers at depots near London on weekly PAYE pay.
HGV jobs around London cover Class 2 (category C) rigids and Class 1 (category C+E) artics, both requiring a Driver CPC and a digital tachograph card. Class 2 work near London typically pays £16.00—£20.00 an hour and Class 1 £18.00—£24.00, with premiums for nights, weekends and ADR. WSUK places HGV drivers around London across retail, parcel, food and construction, 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.
Two Class 1 jobs on the same licence can be completely different days. Where you drive matters as much as what you drive.
RDC to store, or hub to depot on the parcel networks. Highly scheduled, tight time windows, usually curtain or box trailers with cages or roll-cages.
Chilled and frozen distribution, brewery and soft drinks work. Temperature discipline, hygiene rules and often early starts, with hand-ball on some drinks rounds.
Tipper, bulk, container haulage, HIAB and ADR. More variable days, more site work, and premiums for the tickets that unlock it.
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.
The usual route is car licence, then a provisional C entitlement with a D4 medical, then the Class 2 test, then Class 1 once you have some hours. Plenty of operators will take a newly qualified Class 2 driver and put them through to Class 1 later. If you are newly passed, say so rather than hiding it — some insurers restrict new passes, and we would rather send you to the operators who do not.
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 2 (C) HGV Driver | £16.00–£20.00 / hr |
| Class 1 (C+E) HGV Driver | £18.00–£24.00 / hr |
| Class 1 Night Trunk | £19.00–£26.00 / hr |
| HGV Driver with ADR | £19.00–£25.00 / hr |
| Transport / Traffic Supervisor | £16.00–£20.00 / hr |
HGV work suits drivers who want the full value of an expensive licence, and newly qualified drivers who need someone to place them with operators that actually take new passes.
We place drivers into sectors, not just vehicles, so we can tell you whether a job is a curtain-sider trunk or forty cages into a high street.
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 follows what is built nearby. Large distribution parks generate trunking and RDC-to-store running, food and drink sites generate chilled work with early starts, and quarries or builders merchants generate tipper and bulk work. We will tell you what is actually live around London rather than what is theoretically there.
Usually, and it is often the best-paid work available locally. Trunking between depots runs overnight to clear the network before the morning, so night shifts around London tend to carry a premium over the equivalent day rate.
Nothing — they are two names for the same thing. LGV (Large Goods Vehicle) is the current official term used on licences and in legislation; HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) is the older term the industry still uses daily. A job advertised as HGV and one advertised as LGV want the same licence.
Class 2 work typically pays £16.00—£20.00 an hour and Class 1 £18.00—£24.00, with night trunk running to £26.00 and ADR work commanding a premium. Rates are highest at peak and in the run-up to Christmas.
Yes, though it is narrower. Some operators' insurers restrict drivers with under a year on the licence, so the trick is being sent only to the ones that do not. Tell us your pass date and we will target accordingly rather than letting you collect rejections.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Tell us your class, CPC status and preferred sector around London. We will reply within 2 working hours.