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