Veolia offers £1,500 'golden hello' to attract new drivers

Veolia is offering heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers a £1,500 bonus to join its municipal collection operations in the UK.

The announcement comes as businesses across the country are facing a shortfall in trained HGV drivers due to Brexit, Covid-19 and a testing backlog.

The company said the move is part of a strategy to attract new talent and keep recycling and waste collections moving for communities.

Veolia recently launched its recruitment drive and urged mums to consider a new career as a bin lorry driver as the national driver shortage is felt by councils across the country.

Beth Whittaker, chief human resources officer, Veolia UK and Ireland, said: “We hope the incentive will encourage drivers to consider working with us.

“People that I speak to in our business are passionate about what they do because our roles are different.

“Our teams are doing something that matters for communities and delivering a service that makes a real difference for the environment every day.

“We can offer part-time positions if wanted and a really good lifestyle – no overnights, no long-haul or overseas, so ideal for family time.”

The company said it is also promoting the wider benefits on offer, including the opportunity to work locally as part of a community, working in a small team with early starts and finishes and helping the planet by supporting residents to boost recycling locally.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) were predicting a shortage of about 60,000 driver’s pre-pandemic - it now estimates this to be over 100,000 across the UK.

In recycling and waste, Veolia is reporting an average of 15% vacancy rates for driving roles and said it is proving challenging to fill the resourcing gap given the dynamics of the labour market.

Veolia says it welcomes all applicants and is dedicated to creating a workforce for the future where diversity and representation is key.

The move by Veolia comes as Logistics UK and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) urged the Government to reconsider its decision not to grant temporary work visas to HGV drivers from the EU.

Both the retail and logistics industries are also working hard to address the driver shortage challenge by increasing pay rates, offering bonuses, and implementing internal training schemes to upskill existing workers and introducing new schemes including apprenticeships and traineeships.