C1 covers 3.5 to 7.5 tonne vehicles, and if you passed your car test before 1997 you may already hold it. WSUK places C1 drivers into multi-drop, home delivery and event work around Rugby, on weekly PAYE pay.
C1 driver jobs around Rugby cover vehicles from 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes — typically 7.5 tonne boxes and curtain-siders on multi-drop, home delivery and event work. Drivers who passed a car test before 1 January 1997 usually hold C1 automatically, though commercial driving still requires a Driver CPC and a digital tachograph card. Rates near Rugby run £13.00—£15.00 an hour, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
Rugby's logistics weight comes from DIRFT - the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal - sitting where the M6 meets the M1, A5 and A428, four miles from the town and rail-connected to the West Coast Main Line. DIRFT hosts distribution depots for names such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Royal Mail, DHL and Eddie Stobart, handling multiple freight trains daily and generating heavy road-side trunking. Beyond the terminal, Central Park, Swift Valley and the Somers Road estates carry manufacturing and trade distribution, while nearby Magna Park at Lutterworth and the Daventry and Crick warehouses extend the cluster. This is Golden Triangle territory, where rail-to-road transfer, national trunking and regional multi-drop all converge and keep HGV and van drivers busy around the clock.
Rail-served distribution depends on tight road connections either side of the terminal, so an unfilled cab quickly disrupts intermodal schedules. WSUK fills temporary driving jobs across every category - C+E Class 1 for trunk and container work, Class 2 rigids, 7.5-tonne and van/multi-drop - with drivers able to start at short notice. Each is checked against the DVLA, holds a valid Driver CPC, and passes right-to-work and reference screening before the first shift. We operate PAYE payroll and manage tachograph and working-time rules, so compliance never lands on your desk. When rail volumes spike or peak season hits DIRFT and the surrounding parks, we flex driver numbers up, then scale back cleanly as demand settles.
C1 sits in a useful gap: enough capacity to be worth sending, small enough to get into places an HGV cannot. That shapes the work.
Urban and suburban rounds with more volume than a van can carry but access an artic could never manage. Tail-lift and cage work is normal.
Two-person furniture, appliance and home delivery work, plus removals. Customer-facing, physical, and usually daytime.
Exhibition and event logistics, trade counter deliveries and mobile plant. Variable hours, often short intense runs around build-up and breakdown.
From DIRFT to Swift Valley and Central Park, Rugby employers turn to WSUK when a container transfer or trunk leg needs a driver and the rota is stretched. We know the M6 J1 and A5 routes, the rhythm of rail-to-road distribution, and the Golden Triangle volumes that shape demand - so our temporary drivers arrive ready to roll.
Look at the back of your photocard. If C1 appears in the list of categories, you can already drive a 7.5 tonne vehicle — and if you passed your car test before 1 January 1997 it is very likely to be there, alongside a restricted C1+E. Two things to note: those pre-1997 entitlements have to be renewed at 70 with a medical, and driving commercially still requires a Driver CPC and a tacho card even though the licence itself came free. If you are not sure, send us your DVLA check code and we will tell you what you hold.
Indicative PAYE rates as a guide — actual pay varies by shift, experience and site, with premiums for nights, weekends and bank holidays. Every rate we advertise is at or above the National Living Wage.
| Role | Indicative pay |
|---|---|
| 7.5t (C1) Multi-Drop | £13.00–£14.50 / hr |
| 7.5t (C1) Home Delivery | £13.00–£14.50 / hr |
| 7.5t (C1) Nights | £13.75–£15.00 / hr |
| 7.5t (C1) Event & Trade | £13.00–£15.00 / hr |
| C1 with HIAB | £14.50–£16.50 / hr |
C1 suits drivers who want more than van work without taking an HGV test, and anyone with a pre-1997 licence who did not know they were already entitled.
A lot of people are entitled to C1 work and never use it. Checking takes us two minutes and can be worth a pound or two an hour.
From application to your first shift, with the checks and the payroll handled for you.
Tell us your licence, tickets and which shifts you can actually work.
A named consultant calls within 2 working hours to talk through what fits.
Right-to-work, references and the site induction handled before you start.
Start on shift, then paid weekly through PAYE with holiday accrued.
C1 work concentrates where vehicles need town-centre or residential access that an artic cannot manage — retail and trade counter deliveries, home delivery rounds and event logistics. Around Rugby it tends to be daytime work with regular start times.
If C1 is listed on your photocard, yes — but for commercial work you also need a valid Driver CPC and a digital tachograph card, which grandfather rights do not provide. Send us your check code and we will tell you exactly what you still need before applying for work near Rugby.
A goods vehicle between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes — typically a 7.5 tonne box van or curtain-sider. C1+E extends that to a trailer, though pre-1997 holders usually have a restricted version of it with a combined weight limit.
If you passed your car test before 1 January 1997, very probably. Those drivers were granted C1 and a restricted C1+E automatically. Check the categories listed on the back of your photocard, or send us your DVLA check code and we will read it for you.
Yes, for commercial driving. The licence entitlement and the Driver CPC are separate things, so holding C1 through grandfather rights does not give you a CPC. You need 35 hours of periodic training every five years, plus a digital tachograph card.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Send your DVLA check code and we will confirm what you can drive, then match you to work around Rugby. Reply within 2 working hours.