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Reach drivers are harder to find than counterbalance drivers around Birmingham, and the rate reflects it. WSUK places reach drivers at sites near Birmingham and tells you the aisle width and racking height before you accept, not after.
Reach truck jobs around Birmingham involve putting pallets away into high racking and letting them down to replenish the pick face, working aisles too narrow for a counterbalance. Sites near Birmingham want a current accredited reach certificate and normally real hours at height. WSUK places reach drivers around Birmingham at £13.50—£15.50 an hour, more on nights, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
As the UK's second city, Birmingham anchors the West Midlands logistics network and sits at the meeting point of the M6, M5, M42 and M40, with the M6 threading through Junction 6 at Spaghetti Junction. Long-established industrial estates at Tyseley, Witton, Nechells, Aston and Erdington host manufacturing, recycling and urban-fulfilment operations, while newer big-box parks such as Prologis Midpoint, Peddimore and the Hams Hall Distribution Park on the city's north-eastern edge draw major 3PL and e-commerce occupiers. Hams Hall's rail freight terminal links the region to the deep-sea ports. Ringed by Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton and firmly inside the Golden Triangle, Birmingham gives national retailers and carriers dense last-mile coverage alongside large-scale regional distribution.
A conurbation this size runs on a constant churn of temporary labour: retail and parcel peaks, contract mobilisations, product launches and day-to-day absence all open gaps that must be filled quickly. WSUK supplies temporary warehouse and forklift teams — pickers, packers, loaders, goods-in/out operatives and counterbalance, reach and PPT truck drivers — inducted and ready for Birmingham's fast-moving sites. We manage vetting, right-to-work verification, PAYE payroll and working-time compliance, so every worker arrives cleared and legal. As volumes rise and fall across the year, we flex headcount up for peaks and back down afterwards, giving city operators a responsive workforce instead of carrying fixed overhead.
Reach is a precision job more than a heavy one. Most of the difficulty is height, aisle discipline and working cleanly around pickers on foot.
Taking pallets from the goods-in marshalling area up into the racking, and bringing them back down to replenish the pick face. The bulk of most reach shifts.
Working at height in racking that commonly runs 8—12m and beyond. Placing a pallet cleanly on a top beam is the skill sites are actually paying for.
Narrow aisles mean working close to people on foot. Sites run strict segregation rules and will induct you on theirs before you drive.
WSUK covers Birmingham city-wide — Tyseley, Witton, Aston, Nechells, Erdington and the big-shed parks around Hams Hall and Spaghetti Junction — plus Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. From a single counterbalance driver for a night shift to a full multi-shift picking operation, we mobilise vetted temporary warehouse and forklift staff quickly right across the M6 and M42 catchment.
A current accredited reach certificate is the baseline. Beyond that, most sites want evidence that you have real hours on a reach rather than a ticket taken years ago and never used, because placing a pallet on a top beam is a skill that fades. Expect a short practical assessment on your first shift and a familiarisation on the site layout, aisle widths and racking heights. If your ticket has lapsed we can usually sort a refresher.
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 |
|---|---|
| Reach Truck Driver (days) | £13.50–£15.00 / hr |
| Reach Truck Driver (nights) | £14.00–£15.50 / hr |
| Reach & Counterbalance (dual) | £14.00–£16.00 / hr |
| VNA / High-Level Driver | £14.00–£16.50 / hr |
| Warehouse Team Leader | £14.50–£18.00 / hr |
Reach work suits experienced forklift drivers who are comfortable at height and want the better end of warehouse rates without moving into transport.
Reach drivers get asked to cover counterbalance work at the counterbalance rate all the time. We book you as a reach driver and pay you as one.
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 varies a lot. Modern distribution sheds near Birmingham commonly run somewhere around 8—12m, while older units are lower. Because beam height changes the job considerably, we give you the actual figure for a specific site before you accept the shift.
Some. Chilled and frozen sites around Birmingham run reach trucks the same way ambient sites do, but the conditions and the PPE are different and the rate usually reflects it. We always flag whether a role is ambient, chilled or frozen before you accept.
Putting pallets away into high racking and bringing them down again, in aisles too narrow for a counterbalance. The mast reaches forward over the stabilising legs, which is what lets the truck work aisles of roughly 2.7—3.2m and lift well above the height a counterbalance manages.
Typically £13.50—£15.00 an hour on days and £14.00—£15.50 on nights. Drivers who hold reach and counterbalance and can be used on both usually sit at £14.00—£16.00, and VNA work pays more again.
Yes. Forklift training is truck-specific, so a counterbalance certificate does not cover you for reach. You need an accredited reach certificate from a body such as RTITB, ITSSAR, AITT or NPORS, plus a familiarisation on the site's own trucks.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Tell us your ticket and the heights you have worked around Birmingham. We will reply within 2 working hours.