Employed HGV Drivers — Overtime, Night Pay and Allowances
The majority of employed HGV drivers are paid a combination of basic pay and additional elements that can collectively add 20 to 50% to their total annual earnings. Regular overtime — particularly common in distribution, fuel delivery, and refrigerated transport sectors — is a consistent feature of the working year for most HGV drivers. Night shift differentials add a premium for unsociable hours working, typically 25 to 33% above the daytime rate. Mileage allowances, particularly for trunker drivers covering long national routes, can add a further meaningful sum over a full working year.
Lenders vary considerably in how much of this variable pay they will include in an affordability assessment. The most favourable lenders will use total gross income from the P60 as the baseline figure, recognising that overtime and allowances are structural features of HGV driving rather than occasional extras. A driver earning a basic of £28,000 but a P60 gross of £42,000 should be assessed on the higher figure if the income is consistent and evidenced over two or more years.
The evidence that matters most is consistency. If a driver has two years of P60s both showing total gross earnings in the same range — even if the precise figure varies between years — lenders can be confident that the non-basic income is genuinely regular. The most recent three payslips, showing the breakdown of basic plus overtime and allowances week by week, support this picture further. Where earnings have risen year on year due to a combination of pay awards and consistent overtime, this is a positive trend that can be presented as evidence of an improving income position.
Employer benefits — particularly company vehicle usage, which reduces personal transport costs significantly — may not appear in income figures but are relevant to a borrower's overall financial position. Some lenders will consider the benefit-in-kind value of a company vehicle as a supplementary factor, though this is less common in standard affordability calculations.
Agency HGV Drivers and Variable Hours Working
Agency HGV drivers work through employment agencies that place them with hauliers, supermarket distribution centres, or other logistics operators on a shift-by-shift or weekly basis. The attraction of agency work is flexibility and often a higher headline hourly rate than direct employment offers. The challenge for mortgages is that agency income, by definition, varies with hours worked, which lenders can view as less secure than a permanent employment contract.
The key to a successful remortgage application for an agency driver is demonstrating consistency of earnings over time. An agency driver who has worked regular full weeks through the same agency or agencies for two years, with P60s showing consistent annual income, is in a much stronger position than the label "agency worker" might suggest to an unfamiliar underwriter. The income is genuinely consistent even if the working arrangements are technically variable.
The ideal documentation for an agency HGV driver seeking a remortgage includes: two years of P60s from the agency or agencies, three months of payslips showing regular weekly pay, and bank statements confirming the regular income deposits. Where possible, a reference from the agency confirming ongoing work availability and the driver's consistent working pattern can help reassure lenders about income continuity going forward.
Some specialist lenders — particularly those who have worked with logistics sector workers — take a pragmatic view of agency income and assess it on the basis of evidenced earnings history rather than the employment contract type. A broker who knows which lenders take this approach is invaluable for agency HGV drivers who might otherwise be declined by lenders applying rigid employed-only criteria.
