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Breaking working time r::: e dgr e :
Page 10
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regs could lead to jail
by Robin Meczes Hauliers could face jail if they do not adhere to the new working time regulations, according to Stephen Kirkbright, partner at specialist transport solicitors Ford & Warren.
Speaking at a conference on the Working Time Directive last week, Kirkbright said employers must take all reasonable steps to protect workers' health and safety by ensuring the new time limits are complied with. Particular attention must go to weekly working limits, night workers and record keeping, he said.
Prosecution for health and safety breaches could result in fines of up to £5,000 in a magistrates court or unlimited fines in a Crown Court, Kirkbright warned, while under the manslaughter and new corporate killing legislation, companies and individuals could face unlimited fines and up to seven years' imprisonment if their failure to enforce proper working time was deemed to be a factor in a fatal accident.
Kirkbright also warned that 0licences could be threatened by any breach of the rules. "If a bad accident happens your working time records will be analysed along with your tachograph records," he said. "I have no doubt that 'Ms will view any failure to comply as a matter of repute—and that affects your 0-licence."
At the same event, Danny Bryan, national secretary for the Transport and General Workers' Union, said customers must be prepared to pay for the increased costs of implementing new working time rules: "For some extraordinary reason clients often expect us to work for nothing and get a reduction in costs in real terms every year. There's a big wake-up call coming for the clients," he predicted.