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Removals worker
Hours
37-42 per week
Starting salary
£12,000 + per year
WorkDesc
The work
As a removals worker you would move household and office furniture and other items to new premises or into storage.
You would usually work in a small team. At the start of each shift, your team would pick up details of the day's jobs from the office and travel in the removals van to the first location.
Your duties would typically include:
- checking with the customer which items are to be moved
- taking apart larger items of furniture for packing and removal
- possibly removing doors, doorframes or windows to get large or awkward pieces of furniture out of the building
- packing items, loading them into the vehicle and securing them safely
- driving to the new location, unloading the items and placing them where the customer wants them.
As a specialist packer, you might go to the location a day or two before the move to wrap and pack delicate items, such as china, glass, artwork and antiques. You may also put furniture into special wrappings and packing cases for shipping overseas.
HoursDesc
Hours
You would normally work between 37 and 42 hours a week, possibly including weekends.
Apart from local moves, you may have to travel around the UK or abroad, which could involve overnight stays in lodgings or in your vehicle's sleeper cab.
IncomeDesc
Income
Removals workers can earn between £12,000 and over £20,000 a year, depending on experience.
They may receive extra shift allowances for unsocial hours.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
EntryRequirementsDesc
Entry requirements
You do not need any particular qualifications – you would usually look for work with a removals company and receive on-the-job training. Employers will expect you to be physically fit, and you may have to pass a medical.
You will be able to start most jobs from age 16 onwards, although there are rules about the age you need to be for driving removal vehicles.
Experience in areas such as delivery driving or warehousing could be useful, and you could have an advantage with a clean driving licence, particularly a Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) license.
TrainingAndDevelopmentDesc
Training and development
Most of your training will be on the job, working under the supervision of experienced removals workers. You may be expected to complete British Association of Removers (BAR) training, covering manual handling, health and safety, risk assessment and driver competency.
Your employer may also arrange for you to attend other BAR courses, for example domestic house moves, commercial and office moves, overseas moves, removals management and export packing. See the BAR website for more information about their training courses.
You could also take on-the-job qualifications such asDriving Goods Vehicles, Warehousing and Storage or Commercial Moving.
SkillsAndKnowledgeDesc
Skills and knowledge
- a good level of fitness
- the ability to work in a team
- good timekeeping
- a friendly manner and good communication skills
- a careful and methodical approach to your work
- the ability to work out the most effective way to load items
- an honest and responsible attitude to other people's property
- the ability to read maps and follow directions
- excellent driving skills if that is part of your job.
MoreInformationDesc
More information
Skills for Logistics 
12 Warren Yard
Warren Farm Office Village
Milton Keynes
MK12 5NW
Tel: 01908 313360
www.skillsforlogistics.org
British Association of Removers
Tangent House
62 Exchange Road
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD18 0TG
Tel: 01923 699480
www.bar.co.uk
OpportunitiesDesc
Opportunities
As many removals companies also offer storage facilities, they tend to be based in industrial parks on the outskirts of towns.
With experience, you could progress to a specialist packer or foreperson job, then to management. Foreperson roles are often combined with driving duties.
You could become a removals estimator, visiting customers' premises to give them quotes for prices and timescales.
You could also set up your own business, buying or leasing a van and offering your own removals service.
Look out for vacancies advertised in newspapers, at Jobcentre Plus offices and on the Directgov website (Jobseekers page).
You can find contact details of removals companies on the BAR website.
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
LMIData
Related industry information
Industry summary
The road haulage industry is part of the logistics sector, represented by the Skills for Logistics Sector Skills Council, which also includes: air freight; wholesaling; storage and warehousing; freight forwarding; postal services; and couriers. Logistics is the movement and supply of all goods (or freight) from raw materials, through all stages of the manufacturing process to the delivery of the finished product to companies and consumers. This is known as the ‘supply chain.’ Nearly 2,320,000 people work in the logistics sector, which accounts to 8% of the UK workforce. It has been estimated that the logistics sector is worth £86.54 billion to the UK economy.
Road haulage is the distribution, movement and supply of goods by road. Road haulage, which includes removal services, is the third largest industry in the logistics sector. The amount of freight that was moved in the UK increased by 46% between 1980 and 2007. The majority of the increase is due to goods being moved by road.
Key facts:
- 13% of the logistics sector workforce is within freight transport by road.
- Road haulage now accounts for 68% of all goods moved compared with 53% in 1980.
- A total of 220,000 people are employed in UK road haulage in the UK, which is estimated to be 13% of the entire logistics sector workforce.
- There are 34,000 road haulage workplaces in the UK.
- Freight transport by road employs the smallest proportion of women and people with a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background than other logistics industries.
- 12% of the industry workforce is self‐employed.
Jobs in the industry range from: LGV driver, LGV training instructor, distribution manager, removals worker, road transport manager, van driver, transport planner, transport scheduler, road haulage load planner, drivers mate, supply chain manager, operations manager, yard person, training manager, marketing co‐ordinator, operations director, freight account manager, financial planning manager, general manager.
National and regional data
East Midlands – Of the 156,600 employees working in logistics businesses in the East Midlands, 20,600 work in road haulage. This equates to 13% of the logistics workforce in the East Midlands.
East of England – Of the 186,700 employees working in logistics businesses in the East of England, 28,100 of these individuals work in road haulage. This is 15% of the logistics workforce in the region.
London – Of the 178,800 employees working in logistics businesses in London, 8,900 work in road haulage. This accounts for 5% of the logistics workforce in the region.
North East – Of the 55,000 people employed in logistics businesses in the region, 9,900 people are employed in road haulage. This is 18% of the logistics workforce in the region.
North West – Of the 193,400 people working in logistics businesses in the North West, 31,300 people are employed in road haulage. This accounts for 16% of the logistics workforce in the region.
South East – Of the 256,300 employees working in logistics businesses in the region, the road haulage industry employs 21,800 employees. This equates to 8% of the logistics workforce in the region.
South West – Of the 135,100 employees working in logistics businesses in the region, 15,700 work in road haulage. This accounts for 12% of the logistics workforce in the region.
West Midlands – Of the 187,500 employees working in logistics businesses in the region, 26,100 work in road haulage. This accounts for 14% of the logistics workforce in the region.
Yorkshire and the Humber – Of the 158,100 employees working in logistics businesses in the region, 23,300 work in road haulage. This accounts for 15% of the logistics workforce in the region.
[N.B. Data derived from Annual Population Survey, 2008, Annual Business Inquiry, 2007 and Inter‐Departmental Business Register, 2007.]
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