When can you train drivers?
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Goodway and Working Hours. Can you train drivers during their "rest" periods? The Goodway case (CM 8-14 September 1994) quite clearly, and to the tune of a £13,000 fine, says "no".
Is this correct? Drivers Hours are regulated by EU law (Regulation 3820/85/EEC) and it is this law which forms the basis for current UK legislation.
This legislation exists for three main reasons: Working conditions; Safety; Competition. Before writing off the Goodway case, it must be recalled that all Hazchem employers must train their employees. The law is clear: there must be a weekly rest period. If an employer sticks rigidly to that, it means that the training must take place instead of driving. But the employer who trains during a rest period gains a competitive advantage. Assuming that the training is of any value at all, the driver being trained should not be "resting". If training is "resting" (in other words, "resting from driving") then so is clerical work, or painting the garage, or washing the vehicle.
It may well be that training in rest periods has no safety implication, but that does not affect working conditions or competition. The judge in the Goodway case had no choice but to impose a substantial penalty. National courts have an obligation to enforce community law in an effective, proportionate and dissuasive manner. All courts throughout the Community have this obligation. As the EU Conference of Transport Ministers has noted: "The very principle of healthy and effective competition, ie the survival of the fittest, is compromised by such practices."