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Reach drivers are harder to find than counterbalance drivers around Kettering, and the rate reflects it. WSUK places reach drivers at sites near Kettering and tells you the aisle width and racking height before you accept, not after.
Reach truck jobs around Kettering involve putting pallets away into high racking and letting them down to replenish the pick face, working aisles too narrow for a counterbalance. Sites near Kettering want a current accredited reach certificate and normally real hours at height. WSUK places reach drivers around Kettering at £13.50—£15.50 an hour, more on nights, paid weekly through PAYE, with no fee to you.
Kettering is a core node on the fast-growing A14 logistics corridor through North Northamptonshire, three minutes from J7 and J9 and directly linking the Golden Triangle to Felixstowe and the east-coast ports. Its warehouse ecosystem spans Telford Way Industrial Estate, Pytchley Lodge, Kettering Business Park and the modern big-box units of Prologis Park Kettering, with Kettering Energy Park and Weekley Woods adding further capacity. Recent years have seen GLP, Prologis, SEGRO, Tritax Symmetry and St Modwen all stake claims along this stretch. Corby's Magna Park, Wellingborough's Park Farm and Market Harborough are all close, so retail distribution, 3PL contract logistics and manufacturer despatch operations across the cluster draw heavily on the same Kettering labour pool.
Port-linked, big-box distribution generates sharp swings in labour demand, which is why Kettering employers regularly need to fill temporary warehouse and forklift roles. WSUK supplies pickers, packers, goods-in and goods-out operatives, loaders, warehouse labourers and counterbalance, reach and PPT FLT drivers for seasonal peaks, container-arrival surges, sickness and holiday gaps and short-notice shifts. We manage vetting, right-to-work verification, PAYE payroll and working-time compliance, and we flex teams up when a container programme or peak lands then scale back afterwards, so managers on Prologis Park and Telford Way protect service levels without over-committing permanent headcount.
Reach is a precision job more than a heavy one. Most of the difficulty is height, aisle discipline and working cleanly around pickers on foot.
Taking pallets from the goods-in marshalling area up into the racking, and bringing them back down to replenish the pick face. The bulk of most reach shifts.
Working at height in racking that commonly runs 8—12m and beyond. Placing a pallet cleanly on a top beam is the skill sites are actually paying for.
Narrow aisles mean working close to people on foot. Sites run strict segregation rules and will induct you on theirs before you drive.
WSUK covers Kettering and the wider A14 corridor, from Telford Way, Pytchley Lodge and Kettering Business Park to Prologis Park Kettering and the Energy Park. We reach neighbouring Corby, Wellingborough and Market Harborough the same day, supplying temporary warehouse operatives and FLT drivers to distribution and 3PL sites whenever volumes climb.
A current accredited reach certificate is the baseline. Beyond that, most sites want evidence that you have real hours on a reach rather than a ticket taken years ago and never used, because placing a pallet on a top beam is a skill that fades. Expect a short practical assessment on your first shift and a familiarisation on the site layout, aisle widths and racking heights. If your ticket has lapsed we can usually sort a refresher.
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 |
|---|---|
| Reach Truck Driver (days) | £13.50–£15.00 / hr |
| Reach Truck Driver (nights) | £14.00–£15.50 / hr |
| Reach & Counterbalance (dual) | £14.00–£16.00 / hr |
| VNA / High-Level Driver | £14.00–£16.50 / hr |
| Warehouse Team Leader | £14.50–£18.00 / hr |
Reach work suits experienced forklift drivers who are comfortable at height and want the better end of warehouse rates without moving into transport.
Reach drivers get asked to cover counterbalance work at the counterbalance rate all the time. We book you as a reach driver and pay you as one.
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 varies a lot. Modern distribution sheds near Kettering commonly run somewhere around 8—12m, while older units are lower. Because beam height changes the job considerably, we give you the actual figure for a specific site before you accept the shift.
Some. Chilled and frozen sites around Kettering run reach trucks the same way ambient sites do, but the conditions and the PPE are different and the rate usually reflects it. We always flag whether a role is ambient, chilled or frozen before you accept.
Putting pallets away into high racking and bringing them down again, in aisles too narrow for a counterbalance. The mast reaches forward over the stabilising legs, which is what lets the truck work aisles of roughly 2.7—3.2m and lift well above the height a counterbalance manages.
Typically £13.50—£15.00 an hour on days and £14.00—£15.50 on nights. Drivers who hold reach and counterbalance and can be used on both usually sit at £14.00—£16.00, and VNA work pays more again.
Yes. Forklift training is truck-specific, so a counterbalance certificate does not cover you for reach. You need an accredited reach certificate from a body such as RTITB, ITSSAR, AITT or NPORS, plus a familiarisation on the site's own trucks.
WSUK serves employers across the Golden Triangle. Explore our other locations.
Tell us your ticket and the heights you have worked around Kettering. We will reply within 2 working hours.