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Almost every site around Birmingham that takes a delivery needs a counterbalance driver, which is what makes it the most useful ticket to hold locally. WSUK places counterbalance drivers into loading, container and yard work near Birmingham on weekly PAYE pay.
Counterbalance FLT jobs around Birmingham cover loading and unloading trailers, devanning containers, block stacking and moving stock around a yard. Sites near Birmingham want a current accredited counterbalance certificate (RTITB, ITSSAR, AITT or NPORS), normally refreshed within the last three years. WSUK places counterbalance drivers around Birmingham at £13.00—£15.00 an hour, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
As the UK's second city, Birmingham anchors the West Midlands logistics network and sits at the meeting point of the M6, M5, M42 and M40, with the M6 threading through Junction 6 at Spaghetti Junction. Long-established industrial estates at Tyseley, Witton, Nechells, Aston and Erdington host manufacturing, recycling and urban-fulfilment operations, while newer big-box parks such as Prologis Midpoint, Peddimore and the Hams Hall Distribution Park on the city's north-eastern edge draw major 3PL and e-commerce occupiers. Hams Hall's rail freight terminal links the region to the deep-sea ports. Ringed by Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton and firmly inside the Golden Triangle, Birmingham gives national retailers and carriers dense last-mile coverage alongside large-scale regional distribution.
A conurbation this size runs on a constant churn of temporary labour: retail and parcel peaks, contract mobilisations, product launches and day-to-day absence all open gaps that must be filled quickly. WSUK supplies temporary warehouse and forklift teams — pickers, packers, loaders, goods-in/out operatives and counterbalance, reach and PPT truck drivers — inducted and ready for Birmingham's fast-moving sites. We manage vetting, right-to-work verification, PAYE payroll and working-time compliance, so every worker arrives cleared and legal. As volumes rise and fall across the year, we flex headcount up for peaks and back down afterwards, giving city operators a responsive workforce instead of carrying fixed overhead.
Counterbalance work is the movement of goods in and out of the building rather than up into the racking. It is more varied than reach work and more of it is outdoors.
Driving into trailers and curtainsiders to load and unload, building and breaking down pallets on the bay, and working to a vehicle departure time.
Unloading shipping containers, often hand-balled onto pallets at the door and then moved by truck. Physical, and busiest at import-heavy sites and the ports.
Moving stock around a yard, block stacking where there is no racking, and feeding production or waste lines. Outdoor work in all weather, so sites provide the kit.
WSUK covers Birmingham city-wide — Tyseley, Witton, Aston, Nechells, Erdington and the big-shed parks around Hams Hall and Spaghetti Junction — plus Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. From a single counterbalance driver for a night shift to a full multi-shift picking operation, we mobilise vetted temporary warehouse and forklift staff quickly right across the M6 and M42 catchment.
A current accredited counterbalance certificate, refreshed within the last three years for most sites, plus a familiarisation on their own trucks and traffic routes. Beyond that, counterbalance roles are the easiest forklift work to get into with modest hours behind you, which makes it the sensible first ticket if you are moving up from operative work. A lot of counterbalance shifts also include some manual handling, and we will tell you when that is the case.
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 |
|---|---|
| Counterbalance FLT Driver (days) | £13.00–£14.50 / hr |
| Counterbalance FLT Driver (nights) | £13.75–£15.00 / hr |
| Container Devanning & FLT | £13.00–£14.75 / hr |
| Counterbalance & Reach (dual) | £14.00–£16.00 / hr |
| Warehouse Team Leader | £14.50–£18.00 / hr |
Counterbalance suits operatives taking their first step up, and experienced drivers who would rather be on the loading bay and in the yard than in a narrow aisle all shift.
Counterbalance is the ticket most often used as a lever to pay someone the operative rate for forklift work. We book and pay it properly.
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.
It depends how close you are to a port or an import-heavy distribution site. Devanning work concentrates around the container terminals and the big import sheds, and where there is a lot of it near Birmingham the shifts tend to involve more hand-balling alongside the driving. We will tell you the split before you accept.
Both exist near Birmingham. Loading bay work is mostly under cover, while yard moves, block stacking and external loading are outdoors in all weather. Sites issue the appropriate kit, and we will tell you which kind of shift a role actually is.
A forklift that carries the load on forks out front, balanced by a counterweight at the rear, with no outrigger legs. That design is what lets it drive directly into trailers and containers, which is why it is the truck used for loading, unloading and yard work.
For most people, yes. It is the most widely asked-for ticket because nearly every site loads or unloads vehicles, and it is the easiest forklift work to get into without a long history of hours. Reach and VNA pay more but sites are stricter about demonstrable experience.
Usually £13.00—£14.50 an hour on days and £13.75—£15.00 on nights. Drivers who also hold reach and can be used on both typically sit at £14.00—£16.00.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Tell us your ticket and last refresher date. We will match you to counterbalance work around Birmingham and reply within 2 working hours.