42 - hour Week and Overtime
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Replies to Readers Concern . the Effects of the New Proposals Submitted by the Road Haulage • Wages Council—R.H.(71): 5-tonner and 7-tonner Costs Compared
REFERRING EFERRING to the announcement which appeared in last week's issue of The Commercial Motor concerning the issue of the new wage proposals R.H.(71), a reader asks for further information as to how these will affect the calculation of overtime working, assuming a 42-hour week is con
firmed. .. , • • . • _ .
At present, as set out in paragraph six of' he current Wage Regulations R.H.(70), provision for the computation of hours of work is as follows. A regular worker, other than a milk worker, employed on a 5-day week, who works on any day other than Saturday or Sunday is deemed to have worked nine hours on any day Monday to. Thursday, and for eight hours . on Friday notwithstanding that he may have been actually employed for less than the nine or eight hours respectively.
Similarly, when employed as a 6-day worker, he is deemed to have worked for eight hours any day Monday to Friday and for four hours on Saturday; even though he may have worked less than these hours.
If the new R.H.(71) proposals are confirmed by the Minister of Labour without alteration, computation of hours worked will then be made as follows. The 5-day worker will be deemed to have worked 81 hours for any day Monday to Thursday and eight hours on Friday. The 6-day worker will similarly have his hours adjusted to 71 on any day Monday to Thursday, eight hours on Friday and four hours on Saturday.
REGARDING workers other than regular workers, they are to be paid not less than the wages due for 7+ hours (at present eight hours) in respect of work done on any day Monday to Thursday and for eight hours on Friday or four hours on Saturday.
As a result of these adjusted hours, calculation of overtime will now commence after 7-1, 8 or 8+ hours, as the case may be, compared with eight or nine hours as at present applies under R.1-1.(70) regulations.
Thc following addition is also proposed to the existing paragraphs 16 and 17 of R.H.(70) relating to customary holidays. In the ease of a worker who is employed on spells of duty which start before midnight and continue for more than three hours after midnight, it is proposed that the day in lieu of a customary holiday shall include any period of 24 consecutive hours beginning and ending at noon on a week day (other than weekly half holiday) on which he normally works.
The reader also asks when the proposals submitted in R.H.(71) are likely to become effective. There is no statutory interval of time, although it is stated in these proposals that any representation in respect of them must be received within 14 days from the date of issue of the proposals, namely August 11. As some indication of the likely interval of time before these proposals could become effective, the previous proposals R.H.(69) were dated September 30, 1960, whilst the corresponding regulations R.H.(70) became effective as from December 19, 1960. Now, however, the Government wage freeze may delay confirmation of the R.H.(71) proposals.
DESPITE repeated emphasis in this series that a carrier's licence cannot be transferred, requests as to how this can be done continue to be received and the following is a 'typical example. The reader writes that he is considering buying a small haulage business in a market town and goes on to list the.vehicles and conditions attached to the B licence at present held by the existing operator. An indication is given of present earnings. He also asks, if he acquired the business, whether it would be possible to enlarge the radius and range of goods indicated on the licence. .
As with similar requests it can only be repeated that when the purchase of a haulage business is being arranged the existing carrier's licences cannot technically be transferred to the prospective new owner. In practice, the usual procedure is for the prospective owner to make an application for a new licence, with the same conditions as the existing licence, coupled with the assurance that the existing licence would be surrendered if a new application were granted.
By this procedure, and assuming that other aspects relative to the application are satisfactory to the Licensing Authority, it is possible that the new licence will be granted without having to go through the procedure of a hearing.
If, however, the prospective owner were to vary the conditions that now apply to the existing licence then this would be tantamount to a completely new application, which would undoubtedly attract substantial objections. This would particularly be the case in this instance where the reader intended operating between an industrial area and a port, both of which would presumably be already well served by existing hauliers.
THE general manager of a company providing a household service asks for advice regarding vehicles used by their (Continued on page 127)
service staff. They are considering the advantages of employing 5-cwt. vans as opposed to the " traveller " type of vehicle for the purpose of enabling their service staff to travel between subsidiary establishments not large enough to justify the employment of a full-time engineer.
The general manager asks if he is correct in assuming that a van is subject to a speed limit of 30 m.p.h. at all times, even if it is registered as a private vehicle. Additionally, he asks, whether it would be necessary to have a C licence and for the driver to keep log sheets if tools and other small goods were carried. Alternatively, if a carrier's licence were not required for this purpose would they then be precluded from occasionally carrying their customers' goods between their own establishments as distinct from collection and delivery to customers?
if the "traveller" type of vehicle were purchased, he wants to know if this would have to be licensed as " private " or "goods," if he used it for similar purposes, and, if so, whether a C licence and the keeping of log sheets would again be necessary.
Whichever type of vehicle were employed, he emphasizes that their main work would be for transporting staff although, in addition, provision should also be made for carrying a small amount of goods occasionally.
ASHORT answer to this and similar queries is that one can either take advantage of having to pay no purchase tax on a goods vehicle (i.e., the 5-cwt. van as in this instance) and be subsequently inconvenienced by restrictions as to the maximum speed at which the vehicle may travel, the keeping of records and limitation on drivers' hours. Alternatively, one can accept the additional cost of a private car of similar size, because of the inclusion of purchase tax, now at a rate of 55 per cent., in exchange for freedom from the admittedly irksome restrictions when applied to small vans as distinct from genuine goods vehicle operation.
Speed limitations are determined by the construction of a vehicle. In this context the 5-cwt. van mentioned by the reader would be considered a goods vehicle, and as such would be limited to a maximum speed of 30 m.p.h. at all times, irrespective of the purpose for which it was being used or the licence under which it operated.
Assuming that the " traveller " type of vehicle to which the reader refers is in fact a dual-purpose vehicle it follows by definition that it can be adapted for the carriage of goods and therefore—when so doing—would be considered a goods vehicle relative to the keeping of records and limitations on drivers'. hours. In many instances, therefore, the operation of a dualpurpose vehicle can involve several disadvantages from a legal aspect, compared with the use of a private car, since purchase tax is payable at the same rate on both vehicles, assuming that in either event the goods were small enough to be carried in a private car if necessary.
A WEST Country operator asks under what Act does a Ministry of Transport Inspector have the authority to take copies of log sheets which have already been handed to the operator by drivers. He is aware that section 227 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 permits the Inspector to take a copy of the current log sheet on the vehicle, but no mention is made of the position after it has been handed to the employer. Section 237 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 is devoted to the power to seize articles with respect to which offences under previous section may have been committed. As determined by section 227, certifying officers, examiners and police constables are empowered at any time to inspect and copy any S0 ME indication of the likely cost of operating a 5-ton L.) petrol-engined vehicle and also a 7-ton oiler is requested by another reader. He suggests that a fair average mileage on which to base these costs would be 400 a week, which he claims is representative for his area.
As shown in the new edition of "The Commercial Motor" Tables of Operating Costs, the annual licence duty payable on the 5-tonner would be £39 based on an estimated unladen weight of 2 tons 12 cwt. This would be equivalent to 16s. 5d. a week, inclusive of a small allowance in respect of the carriers' licence fee. As with the other four items of standing costs, weekly costs are calculated on the basis of a 50-week year to allow for two weeks when a vehicle may be off the road on account of driver's holidays or for major overhaul.
The total cost of wages will be reckoned at £9 14s. 10d. a week. This is calculated on the basis of the minimum remuneration payable for 44 hours to a driver based in a Grade 1 area as defined in the Road Haulage Wages Regulations R.H.(70k Added to this are the employers' contributions in respect of the new Graduated Pension and National Insurance and voluntary employers' indemnity insurance. An adjustment is also made to include the cost of holidays with pay.
RENT and rates in respect of garaging the vehicle are estimated to cost the equivalent of I Is. 10d. a 'week, whilst vehicle insurance adds £2 Os. Id., calculated on an annual premium of £100 4s. Interest charged at a nominal rate of 5 per cent. on the initial outlay of £1,090, amounts to £1 Is. 9d. a week giving a total for these five items of standing cost of
£14 4s. lid, a week for the 5-ton petrol-engined vehicle.
The five running costs per mile are reckoned as follows:— fuel 3.83d., lubricants 0.22d., tyres 1.26d., maintenance 2.56d.. and depreciation 1.32d., giving a total of 9.19d.
The addition of the standing and running costs would then give a total operating cost per mile—still assuming an average of 400 miles a week of 17.74d.
The corresponding standing costs for the 7-ton oiler are estimated to be:—licences 19s. 5d.. wages £10 3s., rent and rates 12s. I Id.. insurance £2 10s. lid., interest £1 12s.; total £15 I8s. 3d. Similarly, the five running costs per mile would be:----fuel 3.12d., lubricants 0.25d., tyres 1.49d., maintenance 2.74d., depreciation 2.00d.; total 9.60d. The resulting operating cost per mile is then 19.15d., an increase of 1.41d. a mile over the 5-tonner but with the advantage of an additional capacity of 2 tons.
Should this comparatively low average weekly mileage of 400 be increased to 600, the total operating cost per mile would be reduced to 14.72d. for the 5-tonner and 15.69d. for the oiler, making the difference then less than a penny, namely 0.97d. per mile.
Similarly, if the average mileage were raised still further to 800 miles per week, the total operating cost per mile for the petrol-enginecl 5-tonner would be 1329d. and I4.09d. for the
7-ton oiler, a difference now of only 0.80d. S. R.