23 March 2023

Types of employment for professional drivers

If you want to work as a professional driver, you need to know that there are generally 2 types of driver employment. The first is when you are employed as a driver by an employment agency. This means you are employed by a company that has its employees work for their clients. An example of such a company is 24/7 drive. Employment through an employment agency is very common in the Netherlands.

The second type is to be employed directly by the company you drive for. This is much more common throughout Europe and also still often the case in the Netherlands. Such companies may outsource the recruitment and sourcing to agencies, but the drivers (or other employees) are then hired directly by the company they’ll drive for.

Route types

Working as a professional driver, you can drive national or international routes. Working domestically you return home every day, while on international routes your truck becomes your home. International transport can be based on different rules for your trips. You may choose for example to sleep in the truck (for international driving) from Monday to Friday and return home every weekend. Or, very popular in international transport, you can drive in a so-called system. This means that, for example, you spend 3 weeks driving to different destinations in Europe and then you go home for 1 week. After the one week break, the cycle starts again and you’ll be working for three weeks before you have a week off again.

Driver responsibilities

A professional driver is, besides driving, also responsible for a number of other activities. Such as properly unloading and loading goods, monitoring the technical condition of your vehicle and fuel consumption, and responding to unexpected traffic situations. As a driver, you must also keep track of your working hours which in the European Union is regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006.

Do you want to know more about what a day in the life of a professional driver looks like? Read our blog: https://www.247drive.com/blog/16/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-truck-driver

A difficult profession with advantages

There are a couple of disadvantages when it comes to working as a professional driver. These include being separated from family and friends, usually spending days on your own and the health concerns that any sedentary job involves. However, the profession of professional driver will also show you its positive aspects. It means you get to explore more of the world, meet new people and cultures and high salaries.

Are you ready to become a professional driver? See what jobs we can offer you: https://www.247drive.com/vacancies, or fill in the job alert to have offers tailored to you delivered to your inbox: https://www.247drive.com/jobalert.