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Almost every site around Tamworth 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 Tamworth on weekly PAYE pay.
Counterbalance FLT jobs around Tamworth cover loading and unloading trailers, devanning containers, block stacking and moving stock around a yard. Sites near Tamworth want a current accredited counterbalance certificate (RTITB, ITSSAR, AITT or NPORS), normally refreshed within the last three years. WSUK places counterbalance drivers around Tamworth at £13.00—£15.00 an hour, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
Tamworth is one of the Midlands' true logistics hotspots, defined by the rail-connected Birch Coppice Business Park and neighbouring Relay Park, where Ocado, Amazon, UPS and DHL run major fulfilment and parcel operations. Sitting on the M42 at Junction 10, with the A5 and M6 Toll close by, the town offers exceptional national reach and rail freight capability that draws e-commerce, grocery and parcel-carrier giants. Tame Valley, Amington and Centurion Park add further warehousing, manufacturing and trade units, while proximity to Lichfield, Cannock and Nuneaton widens the labour catchment. High-bay racking, mechanised picking and relentless outbound flows make Tamworth a place where forklift drivers and warehouse operatives are needed in serious numbers across B77, B78 and B79 all year round.
Parcel and grocery fulfilment lives on peaks, from weekly cycles to the enormous swings of Black Friday and Christmas. Tamworth employers need to flex fast, and WSUK delivers temporary pickers, packers, loaders, goods-in and goods-out operatives and counterbalance, reach and PPT forklift drivers in the volumes these operations demand. Every worker is vetted and right-to-work checked, paid through PAYE payroll, with working-time compliance managed to keep intensive rotas lawful. We ramp large crews up for peak season and scale back down afterwards, so major distribution centres and smaller sites alike get exactly the labour their throughput requires, when they require it.
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.
Relay Park and Birch Coppice operators, and Tamworth's wider distribution base, rely on WSUK for high-volume temporary warehouse and forklift cover. We know the M42 Junction 10 corridor, the rail-served fulfilment model that drives the town and the intense peak cycles of parcel and grocery logistics, so we supply vetted operatives and FLT drivers at scale and at speed across B77 to B79.
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 Tamworth the shifts tend to involve more hand-balling alongside the driving. We will tell you the split before you accept.
Both exist near Tamworth. 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 Tamworth and reply within 2 working hours.