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Owner-drivers must now obey the working time regulations – but are they just burdensome red tape that can’t be enforced?
Words: Patric Cunnane / Image: Tom Cunningham Earlier this month the UK government bowed to pressure from Brussels and amended the working time regulations to include owner-drivers. Failure to do so would have led to infringement proceedings by the European Commission (EC) and heavy fines. From 11 May the UK’s 36,800 owner-drivers must work no more than an average 48-hour week and must not exceed 60 hours in a single week. Working time records must be kept for a minimum of two years and drivers must inform employers of work carried out for another employer.
Ironically, the EC had fought a rearguard action to keep owner-drivers out of the scope of the Working Time Directive (WTD) on the grounds that it is impractical to police the working time of the self-employed.
Instead, the EC wanted to focus on the false selfemployed, those who are not free to work for a variety of clients and who effectively work for a single employer, albeit not as an employee.
The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations were introduced in Great Britain in April 2005 with ownerdrivers given a derogation until March 2009. When that time arrived, the EC voiced its opposition and spent more than a year battling MEPs who wanted owner-drivers included for health and safety reasons. A tired driver is a danger whether they are an employee or self-employed, reasoned the MEPs. The EC argued that the EU drivers’ hours regulations dealt with the safety issue because they cover all LGV drivers.
Too much red tape for UK operators
In June 2010 the European Parliament rejected the EC’s position by 368 votes in favour of inclusion, 301 against and eight abstentions. So what do owner-drivers make of the decision? “It’s just a lot of red tape,” says Malcolm Millard of Southampton-based MGM Haulage. “Other countries just ignore it.” Millard is a specialist mover of classic trucks and coaches and has 60 years’ experience behind the wheel.
Charles Burke of Pentre, Mid Glamorgan, believes, like the EC, that enforcement is impractical. “An owner-driver must work extra hours to get their admin done, or they may have an urgent repair they must carry out to keep their