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Fixed PoAs may hit drivers' overtime pay
Page 6
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A UNION LEADER is accusing employers of trying to include periods of availability (PoA) in wage agreements in order to cut drivers' entitlement to overtime.
Bob Shaw, acting national secretary in the Transport & General Workers Union, says one company has written to him proposing a standard five hours PoA each week, while others have made similar suggestions informally.
He believes this is a ploy to dupe drivers out of premium overtime rates because it would increase the amount of time they would have to work each week before the rates kicked in Shaw warns fixing PoAs is an incorrect interpretation of the Working Time Directive (VVTD): "You can't fix PoAs until they arrive. If you fix a set amount of PoA each week, you're putting pressure on the driver to turn the clock to a PoA whether it is there or not."
According to Department for Transport guidance, PoAs should not be included in the standard 48-hour working week.
Ruth Pott, the RHA's head of employment affairs, counters: "If a company has a contract and knows there's going to be a twohour PoA when the driver gets to a customer, there's nothing in the Directive or UK legislation which would prevent that."