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Almost every site around Raunds 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 Raunds on weekly PAYE pay.
Counterbalance FLT jobs around Raunds cover loading and unloading trailers, devanning containers, block stacking and moving stock around a yard. Sites near Raunds want a current accredited counterbalance certificate (RTITB, ITSSAR, AITT or NPORS), normally refreshed within the last three years. WSUK places counterbalance drivers around Raunds at £13.00—£15.00 an hour, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
For a small Northamptonshire town, Raunds carries serious logistics weight through Warth Park, the Roxhill-developed distribution hub that has drawn national names in joinery and consumer goods to its large-format units. Sitting where the A45 meets the A14 at Junction 13, Raunds links straight into the Golden Triangle, giving operators quick reach to the M1, the East Midlands and the ports feeding UK e-commerce. Alongside Warth Park, Kimbolton Road and neighbouring estates in Rushden, Wellingborough and Higham Ferrers form a dense cluster of warehousing, 3PL and light manufacturing. This corridor thrives on big-box distribution and fulfilment, where high-bay racking, reach trucks and steady inbound and outbound flows make forklift and warehouse labour a constant requirement across NN9.
Big-box distribution runs on volume, and volume rarely stays level. Raunds employers face promotional peaks, seasonal ramps, contract wins and absence that all demand extra hands quickly. WSUK meets that with temporary warehouse operatives, goods-in and goods-out staff, loaders and counterbalance, reach and PPT forklift drivers, supplied at the pace your operation needs. We vet and right-to-work check every worker, run PAYE payroll and manage working-time compliance, so you take on capacity without administrative drag. When a peak passes, we scale the crew back down, keeping your labour cost matched to real throughput.
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.
When Warth Park operators and other NN9 employers need temporary warehouse and forklift cover, WSUK responds fast. We understand the A14 Junction 13 corridor, the big-box distribution model that drives Raunds and the way peaks arrive, so we place vetted operatives and FLT drivers, from a single counterbalance driver to a full inbound team, exactly when the operation calls for them.
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 Raunds the shifts tend to involve more hand-balling alongside the driving. We will tell you the split before you accept.
Both exist near Raunds. 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 Raunds and reply within 2 working hours.