Speak to a Specialist
0800 772 0727
Picking and packing is where most people start in a warehouse, and where most of the shifts are. It is measured work — sites set a pick rate and expect you to hit it — so we tell you what the rate is before you accept, not after. Weekly PAYE pay, no fee to you.
A picker packer selects items from racking against an order, then packs them for despatch. Most UK sites now pick to an RF scanner or a voice headset rather than paper, and set a target rate in picks or lines per hour. No experience is needed — training is given on shift — and WSUK places pickers and packers across the Golden Triangle and the UK at £12.71—£14.25 an hour, with a premium on nights. You are paid weekly through PAYE and it never costs you anything to apply.
WSUK operates from the heart of the Midlands Golden Triangle — the UK's densest concentration of warehousing, framed by the M1, M6, M42 and A14 and home to Europe's largest distribution and fulfilment parks including DIRFT, Magna Park, East Midlands Gateway, Prologis Park Ryton and Brackmills. E-commerce, parcel, retail and 3PL operators run round-the-clock picking, packing and dispatch here, with volumes that rise and fall sharply through the year.
That volatility is why employers need to fill temporary warehouse and forklift jobs at short notice — peak retail, promotions, product launches, sickness and holidays. WSUK supplies pickers, packers, loaders, goods-in/out operatives and counterbalance, reach and PPT forklift drivers, scaling teams up and down and managing vetting, right-to-work, PAYE payroll and working-time compliance, so operations stay covered without the fixed cost or admin.
It is straightforward work but it is measured and it is physical. Here is what the three parts of it actually involve so you can decide before you start.
The scanner sends you to a location, you confirm the item by barcode, take the quantity and it routes you onward. Accuracy is checked automatically, so a mis-pick is visible immediately.
A headset reads locations to you and you speak back a check digit, which keeps both hands free. Batch and wave picking means collecting several orders in one pass.
Packing to a written spec, choosing the right box, protecting fragile items, labelling and manifesting. Accuracy beats speed here because a packing error becomes a return.
From our Golden Triangle base we fill temporary warehouse and forklift jobs for employers UK-wide, near the major distribution and fulfilment parks — DIRFT, Magna Park, East Midlands Gateway, Fradley Park, i54 and Brackmills — served by the M1, M6, M42, M69 and A14. From one shift-filler to a full seasonal team, we match trained, inducted staff to your site and shift pattern.
Nearly every site sets a target and most new starters take a week or two to reach it. A typical ambient site expects somewhere around 80—150 lines an hour once you are up to speed, but it varies enormously with the product, the layout and whether you are picking singles or cases. We will tell you the actual number for a site before you accept the shift, and whether there is a bonus attached to beating it.
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 |
|---|---|
| Picker (days) | £12.71–£13.75 / hr |
| Packer (days) | £12.71–£13.75 / hr |
| Picker / Packer (nights) | £13.50–£15.00 / hr |
| RF Scanner Picker | £12.71–£14.25 / hr |
| Pick Team Leader | £14.00–£16.50 / hr |
Picking and packing suits people who would rather be moving than sitting, who want to start quickly, and who do not mind work that is counted.
Pick-rate targets are the single biggest reason people leave a warehouse job in week one. We would rather tell you the number upfront.
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.
You select items from racking against a customer order, then pack them for despatch. Most sites pick to an RF scanner or a voice headset that routes you round the building and confirms each item by barcode or check digit. Packing means boxing the order to a written spec and labelling it.
It depends entirely on the site, the product and whether you are picking singles, cases or pallets. A typical ambient site works to somewhere around 80—150 lines an hour once you are trained, and new starters normally get one to two weeks to get there. We tell you the real number before you accept.
No. It is an entry-level role and training is given on your first shift. You need the right to work in the UK, safety boots and to be comfortable walking and lifting for a full shift.
Usually £12.71—£13.75 an hour on days and £13.50—£15.00 on nights, with RF picking roles up to £14.25 and pick team leaders £14.00—£16.50. Some sites add a bonus for beating the target rate.
It is active work. You will walk several miles a shift and lift repeatedly, though most sites cap individual item weights and provide equipment for anything heavier. If a role involves unusually heavy or awkward stock, or a chilled or frozen environment, we will tell you before you accept it.
Beyond our Golden Triangle base, WSUK supplies temporary warehouse and forklift staff to employers at the UK's major regional logistics hubs. Choose a region, then an area for local information.
Greater Manchester is the North West's main logistics hub, where the M60, M62 and M56 meet the Manchester Ship Canal, rail freight terminals at Trafford Park and Port Salford, and Manchester Airport's cargo operation.
Bristol and Severnside combine two deep-sea docks, the M4/M5 crossroads and one of the largest concentrations of big-box warehousing in the South West, from Avonmouth and Portbury to the aerospace cluster around Filton.
Stretching from London Stansted and the M11 along the A120 and A12 corridors to the ferry port at Harwich, this part of Essex and east Hertfordshire links air freight, sea freight and busy industrial estates.
Medway and north Kent line the Thames and Medway estuaries between the M25 and the Swale, combining working ports at Sheerness, Thamesport and Tilbury with M2, A2 and A249 industrial estates serving London and the South East.
The south bank of the Humber combines the UK's busiest port complex by tonnage at Grimsby and Immingham with refineries, Freeport land, food processing and steel, all tied together by the M180 and A180.
We serve employers across the UK's Golden Triangle and beyond. Choose your area for local information.
Tell us your shifts and how far you can travel. We will tell you the site, the rate and the pick target before you commit.