HGV driver jobs at councils

Councils employ HGV drivers to run refuse and recycling lorries, gritters, skip and roll-on roll-off vehicles at recycling centres, tippers for highways work and some street sweepers. Most of these vehicles need a category C (rigid lorry) licence, and some need C+E for articulated or drawbar combinations, together with a Driver CPC card. Pay is on local grades built on the NJC pay spine, which rose by 3.3 per cent from 1 April 2026, and drivers usually sit a few grades above loaders and labourers. Overtime, standby and winter pay can add a fair amount.

The kinds of driving work councils have

Most council HGV jobs fall into a few groups.

Waste and recycling is the biggest employer. Refuse drivers drive the collection lorry, lead a crew of loaders and are responsible for the vehicle on the round. The refuse collector guide covers that crew work in detail.

Household waste recycling centres and transfer stations use skip lorries and hook-loaders to move full containers to processing sites. These jobs involve more road driving and less work in residential streets.

Highways and street services use tippers, gully emptiers, road sweepers and gritters. Highways drivers may also be operatives who work on repairs between drives, and in winter they take turns on the gritting rota.

Some councils have a central fleet or transport team that also runs minibuses and specialist vehicles. Driving a minibus or coach needs separate bus licence categories, which are not covered here.

Where a council has outsourced waste or highways, the HGV drivers are employed by the contractor, and pay and conditions follow the contractor’s terms.

Licence categories in plain terms

UK lorry licences come in a few groups, and the gov.uk page on driving licence categories gives the exact weights and conditions.

Category	What it covers in practice
C1	Medium-sized lorries, such as smaller tippers and box lorries
C (often called Class 2)	Large rigid lorries: refuse vehicles, gritters, skip lorries, most council HGVs
C+E (often called Class 1)	Articulated lorries and rigid lorries towing a heavy trailer
C1+E	Medium lorries towing a heavy trailer

To get any of these you need a full car licence, a provisional lorry entitlement (which needs a medical), and passes in the theory, case study, off-road and on-road tests. Most council work needs category C, and C+E is mainly needed for bulk haulage between waste sites.

Lorry entitlement depends on staying medically fit. You have to report certain conditions to the DVLA, and lorry licences have to be renewed with a medical at set intervals as you get older.

The Driver CPC and daily checks

Professional lorry drivers need the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence. New drivers gain it as part of qualifying; after that it is kept current by periodic training, completed in blocks over each cycle, and you carry a driver qualification card while driving. Councils often run CPC courses in-house or pay for them for their drivers. The gov.uk page on Driver CPC training sets out how many hours are needed and how often.

Each shift starts with a walkaround check of the vehicle: tyres, lights, mirrors, brakes, load security and any defects, written up on a defect sheet or app. Councils hold an operator’s licence for their fleet, and the traffic commissioner can act against it if checks, maintenance or drivers’ hours are not managed properly, so these routines are taken seriously. Depending on the vehicle and the work, you may also use a tachograph and driver card to record driving time.

Pay, overtime and winter standby

Councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own grades, but the pay points come from the NJC spine. As a hypothetical example, an HGV driver grade on SCP 10 to SCP 14 would pay £28,608 to £30,515 full-time in 2026/27, against £25,614 to £26,427 for a loader grade on SCP 3 to SCP 5. Real grades vary, and some councils add a market supplement for drivers because of shortages. The NJC pay spine gives every point.

Other payments to look for in the advert:

• overtime, often at enhanced rates, especially around bank holidays and at Christmas
• winter standby payments for drivers on the gritting rota, plus pay for each call-out
• weekend or shift allowances where services run seven days a week
• a payment for holding the licence or acting as a trainer

Overtime is taxed the same way as the rest of your pay, though a big month can push more of that month’s pay into a higher band under PAYE; the guide on overtime tax explains why.

Council drivers join the Local Government Pension Scheme, with a main section rate of 5.8 per cent for pay from £18,401 to £29,000 and 6.5 per cent from £29,001 to £47,300. Green Book leave is at least 23 days plus eight public holidays and two extra days, rising to 26 days after five years.

Working conditions

Start times are early, especially on refuse rounds. Gritting can mean being called out in the middle of the night in freezing weather. Highways and waste drivers spend most of the day manoeuvring large vehicles in tight streets, past parked cars and pedestrians, and reversing with a banksman. The working time and drivers’ hours rules limit how long you can drive and work.

Getting a driving job at a council

Councils often recruit HGV drivers through agencies first, and agency drivers get the same basic pay and conditions as permanent staff after 12 weeks in the same role with the same hirer. Permanent posts are advertised on council websites and the regional portals listed in where councils advertise jobs.

If you do not have a lorry licence, the cheapest route is often a council training scheme for existing loaders or operatives, which pays for the licence and CPC in return for staying with the council for a period. Private training is expensive. Expect a licence check, a medical questionnaire and sometimes a drug and alcohol test before you start.