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Reach drivers are harder to find than counterbalance drivers around Raunds, and the rate reflects it. WSUK places reach drivers at sites near Raunds and tells you the aisle width and racking height before you accept, not after.
Reach truck jobs around Raunds 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 Raunds want a current accredited reach certificate and normally real hours at height. WSUK places reach drivers around Raunds at £13.50—£15.50 an hour, more on nights, 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.
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.
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 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 Raunds 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 Raunds 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 Raunds. We will reply within 2 working hours.