Food and chilled drivers and staff
Drivers for fridge trailers and rigids: chilled, frozen and ambient loads, multi-temperature rounds and food-service deliveries.
The work
Food haulage carries products that go off if they are handled badly. Chilled loads have to stay cold, frozen loads stay frozen, and some loads have to stay dry and apart from anything that could taint them. The driver is part of that chain, from the moment the trailer is pre-cooled to the moment the last pallet is signed for.
Fridge work uses trailers and rigid bodies with a refrigeration unit. A multi-temperature trailer has compartments set to different temperatures, so one vehicle carries chilled, frozen and ambient goods on the same round. The driver sets and checks the temperature, watches the unit and the readout, and records what the load needs.
Deliveries go to supermarkets, food manufacturers, wholesalers and food-service customers such as restaurants and catering firms. Food-service rounds are multi-drop and often start early. Retail and manufacturing runs are fewer drops with bigger loads. Clients set hygiene rules for drivers and vehicles, and the driver follows them.
Vehicles and loads
- Fridge artics with a refrigeration unit on a box trailer
- Rigid fridge lorries for multi-drop and food-service rounds
- Multi-temperature trailers with separate chilled, frozen and ambient compartments
- Clean load areas, because FSA guidance says food vehicles must be clean and protected against contamination
Licences, cards and tickets
- Category C+E (Class 1) for fridge artics, and category C (Class 2) for rigid fridge lorries.
- Driver CPC and a digital tachograph driver card for lorries over 3.5 tonnes.
- Temperature-control awareness: the driver knows the set point for the load and what to do if the unit alarms.
- Hygiene rules set by the client, such as clean clothing and handwashing before handling product.
- Category B for chilled van work up to 3,500 kg.
Shift patterns
- Days
- Deliveries to shops and food-service customers through the working day, with the round and the drop times set by the customer.
- Nights
- Overnight runs so that chilled stock reaches depots and stores before they open. The night work limits in the working time rules apply.
- Tramping
- Long-distance chilled runs can keep a driver out for the working week. The weekly rest is planned before the booking starts.
- Weekends
- Food is delivered every day of the week, so Saturday and Sunday work is part of the pattern.
Checks we run for food and chilled
Licence and cards
Licence, Driver CPC and digi card are checked before the first shift.
Fridge experience
We ask the driver what refrigerated vehicles they have driven, and whether they have used a multi-temperature trailer.
Hygiene
We pass on the client’s hygiene rules for drivers before the booking is accepted.
References
We ask referees about reliability and care with temperature-sensitive loads.
The full list of checks is on the compliance checks page.
Roles in food and chilled
Where we cover it
Questions about food and chilled work
- Do I need a special licence for fridge work?
No. Fridge work uses the ordinary lorry licence for the weight of the vehicle, category C or C+E, plus the Driver CPC. What the client wants in addition is experience with the refrigeration unit and awareness of temperature control.
- What is a multi-temperature trailer?
A trailer divided into compartments that are held at different temperatures, so one vehicle can carry chilled, frozen and ambient products on the same round.
- What temperature does a chilled load have to be kept at?
GOV.UK’s food hygiene guidance says chilled food must be kept at 8 degrees C or below, which is a legal requirement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is recommended in Scotland. The client gives the set point for each load, and the driver keeps to it. The client’s food safety rules say what to do if the unit alarms, and we pass those rules on before the shift.
- Can I wear my own clothes?
Follow the client’s rules. Food clients often set rules on clean clothing, footwear and handwashing for drivers who handle product, and we pass them on before the shift.
Book a fridge driver
Give us the vehicle type, the temperature range, the licence category, the start time and the delivery area. We come back on who can cover it.