Careers at Mark Ratcliffe Moving

What we look for

Three things, in this order: character — you will be in customers’ homes, so trustworthiness, politeness and care matter most. Reliability — the team needs you on time, in the right uniform, with the right kit. Physical capability — the work is heavy and stairs and awkward access are routine. Most jobs run 8 to 10 hours, 5 days per week, with 1 or 2 Saturdays per month and Sundays off except for genuine emergencies.

How our application process works

The form above takes around 10 minutes to complete. You will receive a confirmation email within 1 minute, with your application as a PDF attachment. Mark and the office team review every application within 5 working days. If your experience is a fit, we will reach out to arrange either a 30-minute phone call or an in-person visit at our Lower Dicker depot (open Monday to Friday 08:00–17:30, Saturday 09:00–13:00). Permanent and self-employed roles both follow the same process — the only difference is the contract issued at offer stage.

Training is on us

Removals experience is welcome but not required. Most of our crew arrived from completely different backgrounds — landscape gardening, warehouse work, hospitality, teaching. New starters train in-house at our Lower Dicker depot in their first 6 weeks across pad-wrap method, fragile handling, antique care, piano-lift technique, inventory paperwork and the BAR Code of Practice. Driver positions get C+E licence training funded if you don’t already hold it. Operating since 2017 with average crew tenure of 8+ years, our process is built around training people in carefully rather than churning casual labour.

The roles we hire for

We recruit across four main areas. Removal porters and packers are the heart of every job — carrying, pad-wrapping, loading and unloading, and packing customers’ belongings room by room. Drivers hold an HGV (Class 2 or C+E) licence and combine the porter’s work with safe handling of our pantechnicons and sleeper-cab lorries on local, national and European routes. Office and move-coordination roles look after surveys, quotes, the scheduling diary and customers from first call to final invoice. And we keep a small pool of self-employed sub-contract crew for busy periods — experienced movers with their own UTR who want flexible work alongside other commitments. Whether a role is permanent or self-employed, the standard of care we expect on a customer’s doorstep is exactly the same.

What a typical day looks like

Most crew start at the Lower Dicker depot around 7:30am, check the day’s job sheet, load the lorry with the right boxes, blankets and equipment, and head out. A standard local move — a two or three-bedroom house inside East Sussex — is usually loaded by late morning and unloaded by mid-afternoon, with the crew back at the depot to unload empties and prep for the next day. Longer-distance and European jobs run differently: an overnight in the sleeper cab, a multi-day container load, or a staged move with storage in between. No two weeks look quite the same, which is part of why people enjoy the work — you are in a different home, a different town and a different challenge most days, rather than stuck on the same spot in a warehouse.

Pay, benefits and the kit you need

We pay a competitive day rate that reflects experience, with paid overtime on the longer jobs and a share of the tips customers leave for work done well. Uniform, boots and PPE are provided and replaced as they wear. Training — including funded C+E licence training for the right driver candidates — is on us, not stopped out of your wages. Permanent staff receive holiday entitlement and a workplace pension. You will need a reasonable level of fitness, a good attitude and the right to work in the UK; a clean driving licence helps for any role and is essential for the driving positions. We do not ask for formal qualifications — we would rather train the right person properly.

Why our crew stay

The honest answer is that we treat the team the way we treat customers. Mark is hands-on, the office knows everyone by name, and we plan the diary so crews are not routinely pushed into unpaid late finishes. People who start as porters move up to crew lead, into a driver’s seat once they hold the licence, or across to surveying and coordination if that is where their strengths lie. With an average crew tenure of more than eight years since we started in 2017, most of our recruitment happens because we are growing, not because people are leaving. If you want steady, varied, physical work with a settled local firm rather than a faceless national, we would like to hear from you.

How to stand out in your application

A few things make an application easy to say yes to. Tell us honestly what you have done — moving, driving, warehouse, hospitality, anything physical and customer-facing all counts. Mention any licences (HGV categories, forklift, first aid) and your general availability, including whether you can work the occasional Saturday. If you have moved house yourself and remember what a good — or bad — crew felt like, say so; that empathy is exactly what we look for in a customer’s home. And if you are not sure whether you are suited, call the office on 01323 848 008 and ask. We would far rather have a five-minute chat than have you talk yourself out of a job you would be great at.