Hours shock for Wincanton
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by Michael Jewell IN One of the country's largest hauliers, Wincanton Logistics, has been fined almost £30,000 for drivers' hours offences.
In the most serious case out of 43 offences, an operations manager forced a driver to work a double shift of 22hr 30min on a milk contract. The driver was told the company might lose the contract if he did not carry on.
The haulage giant was fined £29,200 by Walsall magistrates with ,£1,465 costs, after admitting it had allowed drivers to exceed the 11-hour working day under the drivers' hours rules and 30 offences of causing them to fail to keep records.
The 12 drivers were each fined £150 and ordered to pay £95 prosecution costs.
Prosecuting for the Vehicle Inspectorate, Beverley Bell said the offences were a representation of a course of conduct over a period of time. The drivers, who were working on a contract with Avonmore from the Darlaston depot, had not been aware that they had to comply with the hours rules.
They had regularly worked for between 11hr 45min and 15hr 45min with one driver, Gary Colebatch, working for 22hr 30min.
The drivers said they had been told they were exempt from the tachograph regulations and there were no regulations covering the work. Supervisor Frank Lakin told one driver that he could work all day and all night 365 days a year.
For Wincanton, Geoffrey Jones said Lakin, regional operations manager Mike Flavell and transport manager John Sandy had all been sacked.
Wincanton, which operates 2,800 vehicles and employs 4,800 drivers, previously had an unblemished record in relation to drivers' hours.