How much do agencies charge for HGV drivers?

By Gary Webster · 18 October 2026 · 6 min read

It is the question every agency driver asks eventually: the customer is clearly paying more than I am getting, so how much more? The honest answer is that agency margins on HGV drivers commonly sit between 15 and 30 percent, and on some contracts higher. Knowing roughly where that number sits changes how you negotiate, so here is how the money actually flows.

Charge rate vs pay rate

Two numbers matter. The charge rate is what the haulier or agency bills the end customer per hour. The pay rate is what lands on your payslip. The gap covers the agency's employment costs (your holiday accrual at 12.07%, employer National Insurance, pension, insurance), their compliance overhead, and their profit.

A typical pattern on Class 1 days work in 2026: a charge rate of £21 to £24 an hour against a pay rate of £16 to £18. On nights, weekends and ADR work both numbers rise, and so can the percentage.

Why the gap is not all profit

Before you treat the whole margin as cream, subtract what the agency genuinely carries:

Holiday: 12.07% of hours, a legal entitlement you should be tracking yourself.
Employer NI and pension: real costs on every hour you work.
Compliance: licences, digi cards, CPC tracking, and the admin of keeping you road-legal.
Credit risk: when a customer pays late, the agency still has to run your pay.

What is left after those is the number worth arguing about, and it is smaller than the headline gap, but it is rarely zero.

How to use the margin number

Ask the question. "What's the charge rate on this contract?" is a perfectly professional question and the answer is often volunteered by the customer's own transport staff, drivers on the gate, or the agency themselves when they want to keep you.
Push on the gap, not the figure. If the charge rate is £22 and you are on £16, there is room. Asking for £17.50 costs the agency less than losing a reliable driver and re-filling the seat at short notice.
Trade what they value. Guaranteed availability, flexibility on shifts, nights and ADR tickets are worth real money to an agency. Package them into the ask.
Know your walk-away. Your true hourly rate (calculator here) across the whole year, gaps included, is your floor. A high headline rate with no hours is a bad deal; see agency vs employed, the full-year maths.

Limited company drivers: the margin question in reverse

If you are on a limited company (umbrella-alternative) arrangement, you are effectively being asked to carry the employer costs yourself in exchange for a higher rate. That can work, but only if the uplift genuinely covers employer NI, pension, insurance, accountancy and the loss of employment rights. Work it as arithmetic, not optimism: the bundle's agency chapter has a full worksheet.

The checks worth doing

Agency workers have rights under the Agency Workers Regulations after 12 weeks in the same role, including pay parity with comparable direct employees. Check the current guidance on GOV.UK, and track your hours and placement history yourself from day one; the agency's records are theirs, your records are yours.

The short version

Margins of 15 to 30 percent are normal; some contracts run higher.
Part of the gap is your own holiday and NI, not profit.
The number is negotiable, especially when you are reliable and the seat is hard to fill.
Your leverage is knowing your own true rate first. Run your numbers before you negotiate anything.

Want the negotiation scripts? The chapter on agency, limited company and employed work in Know Your Worth includes worked examples and the exact words to use. Part of the £19.99 bundle.

Get the bundle

General information, not legal or financial advice. More free guides: hgvpay.co.uk/guides.