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Reach drivers are harder to find than counterbalance drivers around Corby, and the rate reflects it. WSUK places reach drivers at sites near Corby and tells you the aisle width and racking height before you accept, not after.
Reach truck jobs around Corby 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 Corby want a current accredited reach certificate and normally real hours at height. WSUK places reach drivers around Corby at £13.50—£15.50 an hour, more on nights, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
Corby is one of the Golden Triangle's densest distribution towns, built on its steel heritage and now dominated by big-box logistics. Linked to the A14 (Junctions 7–9), the A43 and the A1(M), it offers fast reach to the East Midlands and the national network. The Earlstrees Industrial Estate anchors the town, with occupiers and neighbours including Amazon, Morrisons, RS Components, Wincanton, Ceva, Bibby and Advanced Supply Chain, while Weldon, Willowbrook and the Midlands Logistics Park add large modern sheds. Tata Steel remains a major presence. With Kettering, Market Harborough, Wellingborough and Rockingham close by, Corby draws national retailers, 3PL providers and e-commerce operators needing high-volume storage and fulfilment with strong HGV access.
Corby's cluster of national distribution centres runs on flexible labour: e-commerce and grocery peaks, contract launches and daily absence create gaps that must be filled fast to keep pick rates and despatch on target. WSUK supplies temporary warehouse and forklift teams — pickers, packers, loaders, goods-in/out operatives and counterbalance, reach and PPT drivers — inducted for the town's high-volume sheds. We manage vetting, right-to-work checks, PAYE payroll and working-time compliance, so labour arrives cleared and lawful. As seasonal volumes climb and ease, we flex headcount up and down, giving Corby operators dependable cover without carrying permanent overhead through the quieter weeks.
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 Corby and its estates — Earlstrees, Weldon, Willowbrook and the Midlands Logistics Park — plus Kettering, Market Harborough, Wellingborough and Rockingham. From a single counterbalance driver for a shift to a full multi-shift picking and packing operation, we mobilise vetted temporary warehouse and forklift staff quickly across the A14 and A43 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 Corby 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 Corby 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 Corby. We will reply within 2 working hours.