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LGV and HGV mean the same thing, and adverts around Leicester use both plus "Class 1" and "Class 2" interchangeably. What decides the work and the rate is the category letter. We will check yours free and match you locally.
LGV jobs around Leicester span three categories: C1 for 3.5—7.5 tonne vehicles, C for rigids over 3.5 tonnes (Class 2) and C+E for artics and drawbars (Class 1). LGV and HGV are the same thing — LGV is just the current official term. All commercial driving over 3.5 tonnes needs a Driver CPC and a digital tachograph card. Rates near Leicester run £13.00—£24.00 an hour by category, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
Leicester is a defining city of the logistics Golden Triangle, sitting on the M1 at Junction 21 where it meets the M69, with the A46, A6, A47 and A607 fanning out across the East Midlands. Meridian Business Park beside J21 hosts distribution and 3PL operators, while Grove Park and Optimus Point at J21A, Beaumont Leys to the north, Braunstone, and the huge Fosse Park retail cluster generate constant freight. The city's long textile and clothing heritage now sits alongside food manufacturing, e-commerce fulfilment and third-party logistics, and rail-freight links add capacity. Magna Park Lutterworth lies just down the M1, and the East Midlands Gateway is a short hop north - placing Leicester in the densest concentration of national RDCs in the country, with rigid and articulated movements running around the clock.
That density drives relentless demand to fill temporary driving jobs. Retail and grocery RDCs need Class 1 (C+E) trunking drivers; 3PL, textile and food operators call for Class 2 (C) drivers; and store, fulfilment and urban deliveries suit 7.5t (C1) and multi-drop van drivers. Volumes spike around retail peaks, fashion seasons and holiday absence, when a single unfilled cab derails a shift. WSUK supplies vetted Leicester drivers for temporary cover, ongoing contracts and rapid multi-driver mobilisations, with DVLA licence and CPC verification, right-to-work checks, PAYE payroll and tacho and working-time compliance handled before the first shift, scaling crews up or down as demand moves.
Job adverts use LGV, HGV, Class 1 and Class 2 interchangeably and inconsistently. The category letter is the only thing that is precise.
The 7.5 tonne box or curtain-sider. Often held automatically by anyone who passed a car test before 1 January 1997. Sometimes advertised as "small LGV".
Any rigid goods vehicle above 3.5 tonnes, typically an 18 or 26 tonne lorry. The industry calls it Class 2, and adverts may say "LGV 2" or "LGV Class 2".
Articulated lorries and rigids with a drawbar trailer. The industry calls it Class 1, and adverts may say "LGV 1". Requires category C first.
From our Golden Triangle base we fill temporary driving jobs across Leicester and its estates - Meridian Business Park, Grove Park, Optimus Point and Beaumont Leys - supplying Class 1, Class 2, 7.5t and van drivers to RDCs, 3PLs and manufacturers on the M1, A46 and A6 for cover, peaks and short-notice shifts, backed by a single local point of contact.
All four terms are in daily use and they overlap confusingly. LGV and HGV are synonyms for the same class of vehicle. Class 1 and Class 2 are industry shorthand for C+E and C respectively, left over from an older licensing system. So "LGV Class 1", "HGV Class 1" and "C+E" are three names for one thing, and an advert using any of them wants the same entitlement. If you are unsure what you hold, send us a DVLA check code and we will read the categories for you.
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 |
|---|---|
| C1 (7.5 tonne) Driver | £13.00–£15.00 / hr |
| Category C / LGV 2 Driver | £16.00–£20.00 / hr |
| Category C+E / LGV 1 Driver | £18.00–£24.00 / hr |
| LGV 1 Night Trunk | £19.00–£26.00 / hr |
| LGV Driver with ADR | £19.00–£25.00 / hr |
This page is for drivers working out what they hold, what an advert is actually asking for, and which category is worth adding next.
We will tell you what your licence actually entitles you to before you waste applications on jobs it does not cover.
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.
C+E (Class 1) is usually the hardest to fill and therefore the best paid wherever there are distribution depots near Leicester. Category C work is more plentiful and more varied. We will tell you which of the two is genuinely busier locally rather than guessing.
Yes, and it costs nothing. Generate a DVLA licence check code and send it over. We will list the categories you hold, flag anything that has lapsed such as your CPC or tacho card, and tell you what that entitlement is worth around Leicester.
Yes. LGV (Large Goods Vehicle) is the current official term used on licences and in legislation; HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) is the older term the industry still uses. Jobs advertised as LGV and HGV want the same entitlement, and the pay is the same.
LGV 1 means category C+E — articulated or drawbar vehicles, also called Class 1. LGV 2 means category C — rigid vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, also called Class 2. LGV 1 pays more because you must hold category C before you can get C+E and the vehicles are larger.
Category C, because you need it before you can take C+E. Plenty of drivers work on C for a year, then upgrade, and many operators will part-fund or fully fund the C+E test for a reliable driver. If you already hold C1 through a pre-1997 licence, going straight to C is still the route.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Send a DVLA check code and we will tell you what you can drive and what is live around Leicester. Reply within 2 working hours.