Are you a classic car enthusiast with an unhealthy addiction to London? We are looking for passionate Londoners to show off the best bits of the city in our fleet of classic Minis. So if you are looking for tour guide jobs London then please get in touch.
Guides must possess unrivalled interpersonal and communication skills. Applicants should be aware that Minis are classic cars and are not as easy to drive as modern cars. Experince in driving classic car will stand you in good stead. London’s road network is also busy and complex. Experince of driving in London is also not essential, but will reduce your training time down significantly.
To work for us applicants will require the following
- Unbridled love for London, history, people and classic cars, with a genuine desire to share that passion.
- Be a minimum of 21 years old at the point of applying and have held a full UK manual driving licence for at least 3 years with no more than 3 penalty point.
- Private Hire Driving License (PHDL) which is issued by Transport for London (TFL). This costs £477 and involves a medical examination (£60-90), DBS ‘enhanced’ criminal records check (£52), application fee (£124), granting of license fee (£186) and 3 tests: topographic / speaking / SERU all at £36 each). It takes approximately 6 months to process. We reimburse the applicant for the entire cost of the licence over a 2 year period. The only cost the applicant incurs is the medical examination, to act as a small commitment to encourage you to stay with the company for at least 2 years. More info on the PHDL here.
- Speaking multiple languages is not a requirement, however, polyglots will have an advantage.
- Similarly, basic mechanical knowledge / understanding of a motor vehicle is not a requirement but will place the candidate at a significant advantage.
What to expect
- Training – starts approximately 2 months prior to your PHDL being granted. Training takes roughly 6-8 weeks and involves a suggested reading list, tour notes, training videos, three 2hr paid sessions in the car and a 120-question quiz that you will need to get at least 80% on.
- Frequency of work – All jobs are optional; you sign up for as little or as much work as you like. Our most popular tours are 2hrs long so a typical booking would be 4-6hrs long. Weekends are our busiest period so you would be contracted to work at least 1 Sat/Sun a month. We are busy Mar-Sep/Dec and quieter in Oct/Nov/Jan/Feb.
- Duration of contract – Your license lasts for 3 years and you would be expected to be a regular driver (2/3 jobs per week) for at least 2 of those years. Leaving within 1 year of your PHDL being granted will void any reimbursement claims for the cost of licensing.
- Uniform – there is not set uniform, however, we will expect you to be brand appropriate. Quintessentially British; tweed jackets, waistcoats, chinos, pocket squares and cravats etc. We want you to express your personality but look like guides not guests.
- Rates of pay – £11p/h for training, £17.50p/h for normal hours (Mon-Fri 7am-8pm), £20p/h for anti-social hours (Mon-Fri 8pm-7am + weekends + Christmas 20th Dec – 1st Jan)
- Employment Status – You would be a contracted professional tour guide, not a full-time member of staff, therefore you would be on a zero-hours contract with no guarantee of work and you would be responsible for your own tax affairs. This is the perfect job if you are pursuing a career in the arts or other professions that have sporadic working hours.
- We have many wedding / film / photoshoot bookings throughout the year that do not require a PHDL. You can work on these bookings while your PHDL is being processed by TFL so you do not have to wait 6 months before you can start working / training.
- We work with many other classic car hire providers to offer events in and out of London, so there is every chance you will have the opportunity to drive some other beautiful classics during your time with us.
For tour guide jobs London you cannot beat it. Please send over an up-to-date CV to info@smallcarBIGCITY.com if you are interested in joining the team. Please also contact us if you are a Mini owner and are interested in renting your car out to us or if you are looking to sell your Mini. All makes and models are considered.
