Why can't I get any applicants?

Why can't I get any applicants?

Author
Discussion

Tyre Smoke

Original Poster:

23,018 posts

260 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
I run a small taxi company in Devon. I pay my drivers an hourly rate, they are employed. They get 28 days paid leave per year and can join the contributory pension scheme. We don't generally do the late nights and drunks. We have good contracts with schools and hospitals and I know we pay better than anyone else in the area.

I'm also looking for controllers, and apart from the 'I'm applying to keep my dole check rolling' I'm getting no applicants. We pay better than the local supermarkets and the job is a lot easier.

Driver Job

Controller Job

Any helpful constructive criticism would be much appreciated. For reference, local HGV drivers are getting £13/hr and Stagecoach pay just over £10/hr I think. Aldi pay minimum wage for shelf stacking/till work day and night shift.

928

221 posts

176 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Hopefully constructive...

Are you just advertising on DWP? If so I don't think many real job seekers would use that site, expand to other sites. Who would have heard, or found it, unless they've been to the DWP?

"28 days paid holiday per year and a contributory pension scheme", sounds like the minimum entitlement so either clarify "plus bank holidays" or leave it out.

You may not have the margin to pay more, but working in a taxi company sounds harder work than in an general office Mon-Fri or Lidl but your controller job is only just above minimum wage, min holidays.

If the taxi rate per hour is competitve, show that rather than £350 per week. How are rates advertised for similar roles?

What roles are you competing with locally? This pays £10 per hour for Mon-Fri for office work, albeit temporary.

Good Luck

Tyre Smoke

Original Poster:

23,018 posts

260 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Appreciate that feedback.

To compare, most other taxi drivers are self employed on commission with no paid holiday. This is a major step up from that. My drivers typically take home around £400 per week with about ten hours overtime through the week. Drivers working for our competitors on commission earn about £600 per week on a good week, out of that they have to finance and insure and fuel their vehicle. For that they would work ten hours a day over six days - and no paid holiday or pension.

The controller job is sitting behind a desk answering the phone and inputting data onto a computer screen pretty much.

rustyuk

4,568 posts

210 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
I would guess many self employed drivers retain a certain % of cash within their business.

Tyre Smoke

Original Poster:

23,018 posts

260 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
The bit in bold is without doubt true. However, i need to somehow get across that we're not like that.

A very valid point about the shift thing. I obviously know it's a regular shift pattern, and haven't got that over at all clearly. Thank you very much for pointing that out. I'll change it. The same for the controller job. I need to see what I can do about the time to get the badge. The thing is, I simply cannot afford to have someone being paid to not drive a taxi. I suppose there is some option for them to do some controlling, but not everyone is suited to each role if you see what I mean. The total cost of a badge initially is about £280.00 and the thing is, I wouldn't have any problem paying that providing the driver stays with me. But the badge belongs to the individual and not the company, therefore they could tap me up for the badge, and then either start up on their own or work for the opposition. Putting a clause in their contract is not really a viable option as there is a lot of damage to reputation, etc that a very disgruntled driver can do. Not to mention damage to the vehicle.

Tyre Smoke

Original Poster:

23,018 posts

260 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
[quote=rustyuk]I would guess many self employed drivers retain a certain % of cash in their back pocket [/quote=rustyuk]

Fixed that for you.

hehe

Hoofy

76,253 posts

281 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Advertise on Indeed not the DWP site!

If you genuinely believe the pay you're offering is competitive then proceed as you are.

PistonBroker

2,406 posts

225 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Yes, I think the point about the badge is a good one. If you're not getting applicants I'd be inclined to remove that bit and just address it once you get someone sat in front of you. But then I guess that might mean you'd need to sub it somehow.

Have you considered the Hinkley effect at all? Something many are grappling with up country here in Somerset. It's not exactly a stretch to consider that professional drivers are perhaps finding it worth their while to commute a few junctions up the M5 and earn the rates Hinkley are paying.

edc

9,230 posts

250 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Advertise somewhere else. Anywhere else. I have only ever advertised on the DWP to satisfy Home Office visa requirements. Indeed is free. Adzuna is free. There are a variety of other free job sites and the jobs are often then scraped and aggregated through other sites.

crofty1984

15,830 posts

203 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
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Admittedly I don't work in taxis but whenever I've been on a job hunt, it wouldn't have occurred to me to look on DWP.

James_B

12,642 posts

256 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
I agree with the others, DWP is not where normal people look for work, it is where people who are forced to apply for jobs go to avoid a sanction.

Do you have fliers in your cabs, and cards in local shop windows? How about a local radio advert?

Bear-n

1,610 posts

81 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Just a well-meaning correction but Aldi workers are very well paid and minimum wage isn’t entertained for anyone. They’re rare in that regard as a retailer though smile

Tyre Smoke

Original Poster:

23,018 posts

260 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
The jobs are on Indeed. And in shop windows locally and via all social media with boosted posts. And on the taxis.

Ironically the worst applicants have come via Indeed. Utter dross who are from tens of miles away just box ticking for their dole money.

I think the core problem is getting it over that we aren't a bunch of scumbags with a smoke filled office and it's actually a decent job. I've addressed the ambiguity over the shifts, which was a good point.

I'll give some thought to the badge issue. The problem being it could be a deal killer if I suddenly drop it on someone sat in front of me who thinks they're going to start tomorrow.

Kermit power

28,634 posts

212 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Tyre Smoke said:
My drivers typically take home around £400 per week with about ten hours overtime through the week.
If they're getting £350 for a 35 hour week (assuming I read the ad correctly), then surely an extra £50 for ten hours' overtime would be below minimum wage?

Monkeylegend

26,226 posts

230 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Kermit power said:
Tyre Smoke said:
My drivers typically take home around £400 per week with about ten hours overtime through the week.
If they're getting £350 for a 35 hour week (assuming I read the ad correctly), then surely an extra £50 for ten hours' overtime would be below minimum wage?
£400 is take home so gross with overtime will be more presumably, according to TS.

OP, £8 an hour seems low for a controllers job, barely above minimum wage. A good controller must be worth more than that I would have thought.

Hoofy

76,253 posts

281 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Tyre Smoke said:
I'll give some thought to the badge issue. The problem being it could be a deal killer if I suddenly drop it on someone sat in front of me who thinks they're going to start tomorrow.
How about "If you work with us for 6 months, we'll give you the money back that the badge costs"?

soad

32,825 posts

175 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
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This isn't the first time, right? I recall your previous thread...

PurpleTurtle

6,940 posts

143 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
As a regular user of minicabs I always imagined that the big attraction was that it was a cash job. Surely HMRC doesn’t know *all* the fares booked?

I know there’s the whole ‘only legal if a booked ride’ which of course is traceable, but who hasn’t flagged down a minicab in the street. I’d guess those fares are in the proverbial back pocket, so there’s an element of attraction in that to those who don’t want to go fully PAYE.

StevieBee

12,791 posts

254 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
OP - I share your pain.

Part of what we do includes organising door-to-door advisory services for recycling, recruiting local people on contracts ranging from a few weeks to many months. The longest project is around 18 months. Depending on the project and area we pay between £8.50 to £12 per hour.

It's not difficult work and is quite enjoyable.

Up to two years ago, we'd get triple the applications needed. Today, we're trawling round local Facebook Job groups to attract the number of staff we need.

I really don't know why. More people are employed full time today but we're working in one area at the moment where unemployment is very high yet we've had hardly any applicants.


Robertj21a

16,475 posts

104 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
StevieBee said:
OP - I share your pain.

Part of what we do includes organising door-to-door advisory services for recycling, recruiting local people on contracts ranging from a few weeks to many months. The longest project is around 18 months. Depending on the project and area we pay between £8.50 to £12 per hour.

It's not difficult work and is quite enjoyable.

Up to two years ago, we'd get triple the applications needed. Today, we're trawling round local Facebook Job groups to attract the number of staff we need.

I really don't know why. More people are employed full time today but we're working in one area at the moment where unemployment is very high yet we've had hardly any applicants.
Before anybody else highlights it - 'unemployment is very high' is definitely not the same as 'people are crying out for employment'.......

rolleyes