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Concerns raised on part-timers
Page 7
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• by Chris Tkidall A leading transport lavvyer has added his voice to the current furore surrounding part-time transport managers and called for the job to be a full-time appointment.
This follows consultancy Transconsult's decision to mount a legal challenge against the Traffic Commissioners (TCs) to prove they are misinterpreting the law (CM 24-30 April).
Jonathan Lawton, solicitor with Hill Dickinson, says the industry is ignorant in its appreciation of the transport manager's responsibilities. He has written to Eastern TC Geoffrey Simms expressing his concerns and calling for the industry to be educated in this area, "as a matter of some urgency".
Lawton explains: "The pressure that's being put on operators means that they are not able to match up to the current requirement of good operating standards if you don't have a full-time transport manager." He adds that where an operator is responsible for a large fleet, more than one transport manager should be required.
Meanwhile, beleaguered Transconsult has stepped up its campaign by securing backing from MPs and MEPs. Managing director, Alec Hayden, has met with shadow secretary for transport in Scotland, David Mundell, and conservative MEP Robert Goodwill to bolster support.
Responding to TC Philip Brown's comments that unless a transport company has a restricted licence it must employ a transport manager, Hayden says: "I cannot believe after all the information I have supplied the TOs, comments like this are still being made. I am not getting into a battle of words here, I am stating facts."
The company insists no law exists in the UK which states a firm must employ a transport manager.