Driver training and second job

[Knowledgeboy]

Hello,
I have been lucky enough to have been offered a start date for driver training in September with GN. For the last three months I have been doing deliveries at Waitrose and will soon have to hand my notice in. I have been wondering though if doing the Waitrose part time on Saturday and Sunday mornings would be a viable option whilst doing the first few months of training before I start my driving hours.

I really enjoy the job and get excellent benefits like ridiculously cheap posh food and 25% discount at johns Lewis which has really come in handy. I know that the training is very intense and will require lots of home study. What are people’s thoughts. Will it be too much to take on. It’s not like myself and my wife are struggling financially, but on the other hand my wife is also due our second child the same week I start training so this could also be a factor in our decision. Probably best to just concentrate on training and family. Any thoughts?

 

[CreamNCookies]

Personally, if I had a newborn arriving id be doing all I could to help my partner and study. A second job would take away precious rest needed to study and pass out as well as time to help out where I could.

Regardless what your decision is, congratulations on the job and your baby number 2!

Good luck!

 

[Taylor]

At my TOC every week in the classroom is a new subject with tests on the Friday. You have to study on weekday evenings but not at the weekend so you should be ok on that front. You might need to get approval from your TOC and convince them it won't interfere with your training.

 

[Knowledgeboy]

Personally, if I had a newborn arriving id be doing all I could to help my partner and study. A second job would take away precious rest needed to study and pass out as well as time to help out where I could.

Regardless what your decision is, congratulations on the job and your baby number 2!

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. Yes this was my initial concern. It wouldn’t be fair to burden my wife with so much of the childcare. Il pack it in, spend weekends with the family and revert your shopping at Aldi!

 

[CreamNCookies]

It's all about balance. And Aldi really isn't that bad these days

 

[driver9000]

Concentrate on the task at hand and don't underestimate how intense the early part of Driver training is. You will want those weekends off either to brush up on anything you have been unsure of or just to relax your mind. It will be challenging enough with a newborn so I don't know why anyone would want to add a second job into the mix. Good luck with the training and the baby.

 

[whoosh]

Lots of new things to learn in training - its mentally draining. My Dad was a Guard so I was interested in the railway, and I had another job on the railway before becoming a Trainee Driver. I didn't struggle with the learning, but even so felt pretty worn out though.
Others found it harder!
Think how tired little kids are when they get home from school in their first year or two - that'll be you!

I wouldn't recommend having another job at the same time, even just weekends. Give this one all your attention.

If you'll miss the 25% at John Lewis, then anything you NEED or would've bought anyway, I'd whack on a 0% credit card before you leave.

 

[baz962]

I don't work for GN. However I did have my first dmi with them and was told at my interview , no second jobs. That was three year's ago this month though , so may have changed.

 

[choochoochoo]

I don't work for GN. However I did have my first dmi with them and was told at my interview , no second jobs. That was three year's ago this month though , so may have changed.

It must have changed. I know several GN drivers who have a second job or run another business on rest days.

 

[Atishyou]

I don't work for GN. However I did have my first dmi with them and was told at my interview , no second jobs. That was three year's ago this month though , so may have changed.

I was going to say that too. I know of many TOCs and some FOCs who either want to approve you for any secondary employment or they don't allow it.

I'd deffo concentrate on helping at home and the task in hand!

Good luck

 

[KT530]

Don’t do it. Opportunities like this won’t come around often. Concentrate on your training.

Good luck.

 

[Stigy]

I’d say 100% not. You’d have to declare it anyway, at which point any responsible manager would decline it largely for the reasons others have already mentioned (rules training is extremely intense).

You’ll need the weekends to potentially revise on and off for assessments, and have some down time too. Even during downtime there will be stuff going through your head you never thought possible .

I am a volunteer for the ambulance service and I put my volunteering on hold purely for this reason. And 90% of the time I’m at home waiting for a call for that role so it’s hardly intense. Admittedly I was staying away from home throughout, so I reckon the missus would get pretty annoyed if at the weekends I was doing anything other than spending time with the family...

 

[8J]

I can understand why somebody may want to keep a second source of income during training when the wages are very low.

I would however not recommend it as wise.

 

[Coach Carter]

Has nobody else though about having the 2 weeks paternity leave during the classroom training? At my toc there is no extended time off aloud during the initial training (odd sick day is ok). Obviously they can’t deny you paternity test but if you are to miss 2 weeks training due to paternity the chances they will take you off your current course and you will then have to wait for the next available one.

 

[Coach Carter]

Test should say leave. Silly auto correct.

 

[Stigy]

Test should say leave. Silly auto correct.

Was going to say, that’s a whole different ball game

I’m not quite sure how it would work, but I would imagine it would be more sensible to defer the trainee’s start date if they intended to take paternity leave. It wouldn’t work to have them on the course and disappear for 2 weeks.

 

[jwc04]

I've just signed my contract to become a trainee driver and there was a sheet included where we had to either sign to say we don't have a second job or to explain how it wouldn't interfere with the main job and get managerial approval.

Personally, I wouldn't want to risk anything that might screw up the opportunity, but I appreciate everyone's circumstances are different.

 

[richfoz84]

Im Starting training soon and have a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old.. I definitely wouldn’t be working a weekend on top of family life and training in the week. I can’t wait for the weekends off. However I know I’ll end up studying week nights & at the weekend too! Best of luck whatever you decide to do

 

[Stigy]

Im Starting training soon and have a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old.. I definitely wouldn’t be working a weekend on top of family life and training in the week. I can’t wait for the weekends off. However I know I’ll end up studying week nights & at the weekend too! Best of luck whatever you decide to do

The best way. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much time training actually consumes. I had the benefit of being in a hotel, which had its pros and cons, but being able to study in the evenings free of distractions was a big bonus (I had a 3 and 7 year old at the time). At the weekends it was family time for me really, as I was able to revise etc in the evening at the hotel and on the journey to Bristol if need be.

 

[the sniper]

At my toc there is no extended time off aloud during the initial training (odd sick day is ok).

While I agree about Paternity leave, in the 'new normal', courses having the momentum of a moving train has to be over. Two week pauses will have to be accommodated, as they could become the norm. Some entire intakes might not make it through the winter if all it takes to drop someone from a course is a call from the Track and Trace...

 

[daddy_badger]

Paternity may well be unpaid, theres some weird rule about being employed for x amount of weeks before being conceived.

 

[Stigy]

Paternity may well be unpaid, theres some weird rule about being employed for x amount of weeks before being conceived.

Companies often only pay a couple of days, or used to. I only got two days fully paid and the rest was statutory.

 

[Coach Carter]

Ca

While I agree about Paternity leave, in the 'new normal', courses having the momentum of a moving train has to be over. Two week pauses will have to be accommodated, as they could become the norm. Some entire intakes might not make it through the winter if all it takes to drop someone from a course is a call from the Track and Trace...

Cant see them pausing a course for a whole group if one person goes off sick/needs time off. The track and trace thing would be different because everyone in the group and the tutor would have to isolate if one of them got it so would be paused but could well end up being put to back of queue again if other courses could continue in its place.

 

[Timpg]

Hi
First of all congratulations for the job and your baby on the way.
my advice would be to concentrate on the course, I finished my course earlier on in the year, and I have to say... there is massive amount of information to take in and solidify in your mind in order to pass the rules/traction assessments. You’ll need all the Free time you can muster in order to test your self and revise what you have learnt. I totally understand the financial difficulties involved in the lower wage whilst training, I’m a single earner if a household of four with bills coming out my ears... but I know the position I hold is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I stupidly took a loan out to cover me whilst training, then went into lockdown which completely screwed me up.
but one save in grace is I applied for universal credit and was accepted, now I don’t worry so much and I’m now back completing my driving hours.
If you go on the universal credit gov site you could input your new wage in a calculator and see if you would be eligible to help to keep your peace of mind whilst training.

 

[ninhog]

Personally, I was revising in the evenings during the week and on weekends. Yes, you have weekly assessments on a Friday, but you need to maintain all that knowledge for weeks 5 and 14 (I think those numbers are correct!) for a “big” assessment. You also need to have the information sink in properly because you need to maintain it for the rest of your career.

Put all of your available concentration in the trainee driver job as you would be unlikely to ever get the same opportunity again.

I can understand why somebody may want to keep a second source of income during training when the wages are very low.

I would however not recommend it as wise.

I’d be willing to bet trainee driver wages are more than that of a Waitrose delivery driver

 

[Stigy]

Hi
First of all congratulations for the job and your baby on the way.
my advice would be to concentrate on the course, I finished my course earlier on in the year, and I have to say... there is massive amount of information to take in and solidify in your mind in order to pass the rules/traction assessments. You’ll need all the Free time you can muster in order to test your self and revise what you have learnt. I totally understand the financial difficulties involved in the lower wage whilst training, I’m a single earner if a household of four with bills coming out my ears... but I know the position I hold is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I stupidly took a loan out to cover me whilst training, then went into lockdown which completely screwed me up.
but one save in grace is I applied for universal credit and was accepted, now I don’t worry so much and I’m now back completing my driving hours.
If you go on the universal credit gov site you could input your new wage in a calculator and see if you would be eligible to help to keep your peace of mind whilst training.

A bit off topic I appreciate, but most loan companies will defer payments at no adverse impact to you, due to Covid. I did this with car payments (more strategic than anything else as I could afford it, but it gives me the opportunity to save too whilst I still have the reduced wage coming in for training).

 

[Timpg]

A bit off topic I appreciate, but most loan companies will defer payments at no adverse impact to you, due to Covid. I did this with car payments (more strategic than anything else as I could afford it, but it gives me the opportunity to save too whilst I still have the reduced wage coming in for training).

cheers stigy
I did actually do the 3 month holiday, but as lockdown put us back in training by the best part of 5 months, that holiday has ended now and I’m back to juggling bills again. I’d definitely recommend anyone checking if eligible for universal credit whilst training, iv never claimed benefits before, worked since left school.
But lockdown had a massive effect on my budgeting plans for training so had no real choice to be honest.
im around 120hrs in my hrs now so hopefully won’t be too much longer

 

[Stigy]

cheers stigy
I did actually do the 3 month holiday, but as lockdown put us back in training by the best part of 5 months, that holiday has ended now and I’m back to juggling bills again. I’d definitely recommend anyone checking if eligible for universal credit whilst training, iv never claimed benefits before, worked since left school.
But lockdown had a massive effect on my budgeting plans for training so had no real choice to be honest.
im around 120hrs in my hrs now so hopefully won’t be too much longer

No worries. I did the three months, then they contacted me again asking if I wanted an extension, so I took another 3 months from this month.

I feel your pain, I’m at 220hrs of 225. Hopefully be back in September so fingers crossed.

 

[richfoz84]

Guys, so you get to 225 hours then to go in for your assessment? Or is I a minimum amount until your allowed to go in for your test.. if your ready!?

 

[43066]

Guys, so you get to 225 hours then to go in for your assessment? Or is I a minimum amount until your allowed to go in for your test.. if your ready!?

It’s the minimum.

The average where I trained was 300 hours, on a relatively complex metro network, with two types of traction. It depends on a number of factors including getting enough night driving which can be tricky during the summer months.

I’m told ARL trainees often pass out in the minimum hours, but they have one type of traction and a short route network to sign.