Counterbalance forklift driver jobs and cover

A counterbalance forklift driver moves pallets and other loads on a truck that carries the load on forks at the front and uses its own weight at the back to balance it. The truck works indoors and outdoors, on loading bays, in yards, in goods-in and on factory floors. Most of the day is loading and unloading trailers, stacking and retrieving pallets and feeding the next stage of the flow.

The job is about accuracy and safety. The load can be heavy, tall and awkward, and people are close by. The driver checks the truck at the start of the shift, follows the site’s traffic rules, keeps the forks low when travelling and does not lift a load that is unstable.

Counterbalance trucks run on electricity, diesel or gas, and the sites that use them differ: a steel stockholder, a builders’ merchant, a food factory, a distribution centre. A driver who has worked outdoors in all weather suits yard work. A driver who has worked in a busy warehouse suits goods-in and despatch.

HSE says there is no such thing as a lift-truck licence. What a forklift driver carries is a training certificate from an accredited training provider. HSE says there is no legal requirement for certificates, but providers always issue them and HSE encourages their use as evidence that training has been given.

HSE’s approved code of practice on rider-operated lift trucks, known as L117, sets the minimum standard of basic training. Operator training has three stages: basic training, specific job training and familiarisation training on the site. HSE says a basic course typically takes 3 to 5 days.

The certificate names the truck type. HSE says an operator trained on one type of lift truck cannot safely operate others without conversion training, so a counterbalance certificate does not cover a reach truck.

Training providers do not have to belong to an accrediting body, and HSE says it no longer runs its own accrediting bodies scheme. Bodies such as AITT and ITSSAR set and monitor standards for materials handling training, NPORS runs a registration scheme mapped to L117, and RTITB offers accredited workplace materials handling training standards. We check that the driver’s certificate comes from a provider working to one of these.

Pay is an hourly rate set per booking. It depends on the truck, the site and the shift, and nights and weekends can be rated differently. We do not publish rates on this site.

The National Living Wage is the legal floor for workers aged 21 and over, and no booking pays below the legal minimum wage. You are told the rate before you accept a shift.