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Agencies exped benefits from WTD
Page 7
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DRIVER AGENCIES predict the annual peak in demand for their services may be more acute than normal this summer because of the 48-hour week.
This is because the first official reference period since the Working Time Directive was introduced in April expires at the end of this month (July).
As a result, operators may have to sharply reduce the hours of in house drivers to ensure they average out at 48 per week over the 1 7-week period.
Simon Edwards, operations manager for Manpower Driving, says: "Some companies may find their drivers are closer to exceeding the hours limit than anticipated."
Damian Spiteri, recruitment consultant with West Midlandsbased Driving Personnel, says: "Just before the end of the first refer period, people will start running out of hours. That's when they'll start turning to agencies more than normal.
"I think some companies are going to get a bit of a shock. It's going to get to the point where drivers can't work any more to get their average down. They can't use holidays or bank holidays to bring them down."