John Bell Transport manager Huntapac Produce Preston, Lancs With around
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60 drivers and 36 trucks, balancing out average weekly working hours is quite a task for fresh-produce provider Huntapac.
Bell says the firm has imposed a simple rule to make sure they comply.
Drivers work a maximum five-day week and have a mandatory minimum 46-hour rest period over the weekend, The company uses digital tachograph software to manage all its drivers' hours and this can flag up when one is in danger of exceeding the average 48-hour limit.
"We've been using that system for about 18 months now and not had a single case of a driver exceeding their weekly hours. In fact, they don't even get close to 'it because we limit their working week to five days."
Bell admits many people still don't fully understand the regulations, including what constitutes a POA. This is the curious part where a driver waiting to unload in a supermarket can count that as a POA rather than 'working time' as long as he knows in advance how long he is likely to wait. The resulting time is not included in his 48-hour week.
"We work on the basis that, if you can tell a driver what time they are due to start back at work — whether it's in two hours or four hours — then it's classed as a POA.
"Frankly, without the POAs, it would be a different mafter altogether."
But while Bell and colleagues have found a way to make the system work, has it had any benefits?
"No," he says. "It's not been worth all the anxiety. There's been a lot of anger because most drivers used to do six days and there was a lot of panic about ii when it first came in."