Big changes are coming to the UK’s employment landscape, and the driver recruitment market will feel the effects. From April 2025, the National Insurance and Minimum Wage increases will push up costs for employers—especially those relying on agency drivers. But what does this mean for operators, and what options do they have to manage these rising costs?

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The Cost of Traditional Recruitment Models

Most traditional driver agencies charge a markup of 20-30% on the driver’s hourly wage. Additionally, it's estimated that around 50% of all agency workers operate via umbrella companies, which will need to increase their minimum rates to accommodate the higher wage requirements.

With these increases, we anticipate that umbrella companies will be forced to increase their minimum rates just to ensure drivers are paid the new legal minimum. Add the 20-30% agency margin, and suddenly, an operator is facing an unsustainable cost burden—just to pay the bare minimum.

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Operators Are Left with Tough Choices

Faced with these higher costs, transport operators have limited options:

• Absorb the increased costs, which is financially unviable for many businesses already operating on tight margins.
• Take drivers on directly via PAYE, which is not always practical for temporary or flexible workforce needs.
• Find a smarter way to hire drivers that reduces excessive agency fees.

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How DrivenPeople Can Help

Unlike traditional agencies, DrivenPeople operates on a lower, fixed 10% per-hour fee, eliminating a significant portion of the extra costs imposed by high-margin agencies. This means operators can continue to hire qualified, compliant drivers without seeing their budgets spiral out of control.

We work closely with a number of major SEND transport operators and drivers, so we understand the impact these changes will have—particularly in key driving roles like SEND drivers and passenger assistants.

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What Can Operators Do?

These cost increases will put huge pressure on the market, and businesses must act now to mitigate the impact. For those in the SEND transport sector, we encourage operators to campaign against these damaging increases by supporting the initiative at SEND To.

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If you're an operator currently using agency drivers and are concerned about how you will sustain these increases, reach out to us at DrivenPeople. We can help you reduce your agency costs while still securing the drivers you need to keep your operations running smoothly.

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The April changes are coming fast—don’t wait until it's too late to find a more cost-effective solution.

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