Class 1 HGV Driver Salary in the UK

Class 1 is the top of the HGV ladder. A Category C+E licence lets you drive an articulated lorry or drawbar combination up to 44 tonnes, and Class 1 drivers are consistently the most in-demand and best paid on the road. If you hold that licence, here is what your skill is worth across the UK in 2026.

The headline figures

Agency Class 1 work is paid by the hour and typically runs £18 to £24 an hour, with premium shifts at the top of that band. Permanent Class 1 roles are quoted annually and usually land between £38,000 and £50,000, rising to £45,000 to £55,000 or more for night trunk, container and specialist work. The national average HGV salary of around £44,000 is pulled upward largely by Class 1 drivers.

Where the premiums come from

Two Class 1 drivers with the same licence can earn very different money depending on the pattern they run. The extras matter as much as the base.

• Night trunk. Shuttle runs between distribution centres, motorway-heavy with minimal handling. The unsocial hours carry a premium of £2 to £4 an hour over days.
• Tramping. Multi-day runs where you sleep in the cab. On top of a strong hourly rate you get a tax-free night-out allowance, commonly £30 to £40 a night, which adds up fast across a working week.
• Container and port work. Felixstowe, London Gateway, Southampton and Immingham run at the top of the range because the work is time-critical and skilled.
• ADR and tanker. Carrying hazardous goods adds £2,000 to £5,000 a year, and fuel or chemical tanker work is among the best-paid Class 1 driving there is.

Region by region

London and the South East pay at the top of the Class 1 range. The Midlands Golden Triangle around Daventry (DIRFT), Lutterworth's Magna Park and Rugby holds the densest cluster of HGV demand in the country, which keeps rates competitive. Doncaster, Warrington and the major ports are strong regional cores. The North East, Wales and rural Scotland tend to sit slightly below the South East on the hourly rate, though a lower cost of living usually closes the gap on take-home.

What a realistic year looks like

A permanent Class 1 night trunk driver on £22 an hour, working a full roster with the usual overtime, comfortably clears £48,000 to £52,000 gross. An agency Class 1 driver picking up weekend and bank holiday premiums can match or beat that on gross, but banks no paid holiday or pension unless it is built into the rate. A tramper adds several thousand a year in tax-free night-out allowances on top of the hourly rate.

Agency versus permanent for Class 1 drivers

Class 1 agency work is where the shortage premium shows up most clearly. Agencies pass on higher hourly rates to secure drivers at short notice, and it is easy to load up on well-paid nights, weekends and bank holidays. The trade-off is that holiday pay comes out of your rate rather than sitting on top, and job security runs shift to shift. Permanent Class 1 roles pay a steady salary with paid holiday, a pension and often contractual sick pay built in. A driver chasing maximum gross pay may prefer agency; a driver who wants certainty and a known roster usually leans permanent. After 12 weeks in the same agency role, the Agency Workers Regulations give you parity on basic pay and conditions with a comparable permanent driver.

How you are paid as an agency Class 1 driver

Most agency Class 1 drivers are paid through PAYE or an umbrella company. PAYE is the simplest: the agency deducts tax and National Insurance, funds holiday pay and a pension, and the quoted rate is close to your take-home. An umbrella quotes a higher rate but has its margin, employer's National Insurance and the apprenticeship levy coming out of it, so the net figure is often similar. Since the 2021 IR35 changes, limited-company Class 1 driving has largely disappeared from mainstream agency logistics. Compare the net weekly figure, not the headline.

Getting to the top rates

The fastest way to lift a Class 1 salary is an endorsement. An ADR ticket adds £2,000 to £5,000 a year and opens the door to tanker work. A HIAB or Moffett ticket unlocks self-loading delivery roles that pay above general haulage. Employers will often fund these for a permanent driver, so it is worth asking. Combined with a willingness to work nights, weekends or trunk runs, the right endorsements are what move a Class 1 driver from the middle of the band to the top of it.

The message for Class 1 drivers is simple: the base rate is only the start. Choose the shift pattern and endorsements that suit you, then read every advert for the premium structure, not just the headline number.