Temporary HGV drivers for UK transport operations
Class 1 and Class 2 drivers supplied as temporary, ongoing and temp-to-perm cover, with licence category, Driver CPC and digital tachograph position confirmed before anyone is named to you.
A vehicle that cannot move is the expensive part
The cost of an unfilled driving shift is almost never the cost of the driver. It is the vehicle standing on the yard, the drops that roll into tomorrow, the customer who was told a time and the planner who spends the morning rebuilding a schedule that was already signed off. Operators do not call an agency because they are short of a person. They call because an asset is idle and a promise is about to be broken.
That is the problem this desk exists to solve. We recruit HGV drivers for temporary, ongoing and temp-to-perm requirements across the UK. We are explicit about what we can cover before you plan around it.
HGV drivers we supply
- Class 1 / Category C+E drivers — trunking, container, store delivery and general articulated work.
- Class 2 / Category C drivers — rigid work where the drops matter as much as the driving.
- ADR drivers — carriage of dangerous goods, with the certificate read against the classes and the tank or package position the work actually requires.
- HIAB drivers — lorry loader work, with the operator qualification checked against the crane and the lift.
- Moffett drivers — truck-mounted forklift work, where the vehicle and the machine are two separate competences.
- Tramping drivers — nights out, where the pattern is agreed at booking rather than discovered on the first run.
- Multi-drop drivers — high-drop-count work where route familiarity and handball tolerance decide whether the day finishes on time.
- Night drivers — trunking and night distribution, on the shifts hardest to fill permanently.
- Weekend drivers — Saturday and Sunday cover, booked as part-time or as a standing weekend pattern.
- Refrigerated transport drivers — temperature-controlled work, including the discipline around load integrity and equipment checks.
- General haulage drivers — mixed traffic where the work changes shift to shift.
What is checked before a driver is confirmed
A driver is not named to you until the checks are done. For driving assignments that means the licence category and any restrictions on it, the Driver CPC position, the digital tachograph card and its expiry, plus right to work in the UK. Where the work requires it, ADR classes and lorry-loader or truck-mounted forklift qualifications are checked against the specific machine rather than accepted as a general claim.
We re-check driving entitlement periodically against DVLA records during an ongoing assignment. That is our service standard rather than a legal requirement. We describe it that way deliberately — the guidance operators most often cite on re-check frequency is addressed to transport managers, not to employment businesses.
What is a legal requirement is the Key Information Document. Every agency worker must receive one before terms are agreed. Ours will not issue while any figure in it is unknown. What that document has to contain is set out on the KID page.
Why employers choose Transport Temps
Transport specialists
We understand the pressures involved in transport, logistics and warehouse operations. A vehicle standing because a driver did not arrive is not an HR problem, it is a delivery failure with a customer on the other end of it.
Fast response
Temporary staffing requirements are usually urgent. We work quickly to identify suitable available candidates and we tell you what we can genuinely cover rather than accepting the booking and hoping.
Flexible recruitment
From one shift to an ongoing workforce requirement, the service adapts to your operation. There is no minimum booking and no obligation to keep a worker you did not ask for.
Compliance focused
Candidates are screened and checked before assignment, not afterwards. Licence category, Driver CPC, digital tachograph card and right to work are confirmed before anyone is named to you.
One recruitment partner
HGV drivers, van drivers and warehouse staff through one specialist business, on one booking reference, approved on one timesheet and billed on one consolidated weekly invoice.
HGV driver recruitment — questions
Do you supply temporary Class 1 drivers?
Yes. Class 1 (Category C+E) is the seat operators most often need at short notice and the hardest one to fill. We supply it as single-shift cover, as an ongoing pattern and on a temp-to-perm basis.
Do you supply temporary Class 2 drivers?
Yes. Category C work — multi-drop, trade counter, tipper and municipal — is supplied on the same basis as Class 1.
What is the difference between an agency HGV driver and a permanent one?
An agency driver is engaged through us and works under your direction for the shifts you book. There is no notice period, no redundancy exposure and no payroll to run. A permanent driver is your employee. Where you want permanent, our sister brand Freight Talent handles permanent logistics recruitment.
How do you check an HGV driver's licence?
Licence category and restrictions, Driver CPC position, digital tachograph card and right to work are all confirmed before the driver is confirmed to you. Entitlement is re-checked periodically against DVLA records during ongoing assignments as our own service standard.
Can agency HGV drivers work nights and weekends?
Yes. Night, weekend and tramping patterns are booked in the same way as day work. The pattern is agreed at booking so the driver knows it before accepting rather than discovering it on arrival.
Do you cover the whole of the UK?
Yes. We recruit nationally and supply into an area against the specific booking, which gives a role a far wider field to draw on than any single town could. Where a location or a shift cannot realistically be covered we say so at booking stage.
Tell us who you need
Give us the class, the count, the dates and the shift. We confirm what we can cover and say plainly when we cannot.