1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168 
Clock watching
Page 28
Page 29
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Despite being in force for more than three years, the working time regulations as applied to drivers are still causing confusion.
Words: Guy Sheppard All drivers and other mobile workers covered by the drivers' hours rules are also covered by the Road Transport Directive (RTD), which defines working time as time spent on any road transport activity including driving, loading, maintenance and admin.
Breaks and periods of availability (POA) are excluded, so working time is almost always shorter than the total length of a shift. Keeping tabs on working time is crucial. It must never exceed an average of 48 hours per week, or a maximum of 60 hours a week.
Periods of availability
A POA is the period of waiting time whose length is known to the driver before it starts, and gives them the chance to carry out activities unconnected with work. The driver must be available to resume work if needed, and they can be notified about a POA just before it starts. Examples of POA include ferry journeys and time spent waiting to unload. If the driver has to stay in the vehicle for any reason, this can be recorded as a POA. A review of the RTD by the government concluded that interpretation of POA "remains the most contentious issue".
POA falsification
Unions believe that falsification of POA to ensure drivers stay within the 48-hour average weekly limit is too easy. Bob Monks, general secretary of the United Road Transport Union, says: "It means drivers are not doing any fewer hours than before the RTD came in."
Jack Crossfield, secretary of the Drivers' Action Movement, says some firms regularly tell drivers to record load checking and refuelling as POA even though they are clearly activities connected with road transport. "The driver has to obey the transport manager, otherwise he is in trouble," he adds. In theory, drivers should report their employer to Vosa if asked to record longer periods of POA than have actually been taken.
Need for clarification
The government review of the RTD concludes that there is little evidence of POA abuse, arguing that what is needed is clarification about what can and cannot be recorded as a POA. The Department for Transport (DtT) has promised to provide more examples.
Non-compliance
Vosa says the employer and the driver share responsibility for complying with the rules. Drivers are required to record their POAs and face up to two years in jail, plus a fine of up to £5,000 for falsification. Employers face the same penalties as well as improvement and prohibition notices. These affect their good repute and could even result in their 0-licence being revoked.
Road transport lawyer Sean Joyce says TCs will almost always take disciplinary action if tachographs are falsified to get around the RTD. "That's where the real teeth are in the transport industry, because if vehicles are taken off the road or licences are revoked, you are in trouble."
Keeping records
The records must be detailed enough to show each driver's compliance with the regulations, and they should be kept for at least two years by the employer. As well as showing periods of work, records should show the times of any night work undertaken, POAs and the average number of weekly hours worked over each reference period. Drivers are responsible for notifying their employer in writing of any work undertaken for another business. Employers should provide drivers with a copy of their records if asked by them to do so.
Administrative errors In 2006: management at DHL Exel in Redditch was found to have changed drivers' time-sheets to show they were on POA instead of driving. The Transport and General Workers Union pointed out that only drivers can record details of POA, saying it was astonished at such behaviour by a reputable firm, DHL Exel blamed the changes on "administrative errors". Cross-checking with tacho charts would normally expose such inaccuracies.
Two sets of rules
Some drivers argue the working time rules contradict the drivers' hours regulations, particularly in relation to breaks. For example, the RTD states workers do not need a break until after six hours' work, while the drivers hours rules say a break is needed after four-and-a-half hours.
Sally Thornley, the Freight Transport Association's (FTA) head of compliance information services, says the thing to remember is to comply with whichever rule kicks in first. "With drivers' hours, the breaks are a lot more prescriptive, whereas with working time, you can split breaks into 15-minute chunks — it's more flexible."
Reference periods
Reference periods tend to last 17 weeks and arc the slots in which the working week of each employee needs to average out at 48 hours or below. They can be extended to 18 weeks, so three reference periods fit into a year. Employers may extend them to up to 26 weeks provided they win the agreement of the work force. There is also the option of introducing 'rolling reference periods' to ensure the average working week does not exceed 48 hours during any consecutive 17-to-26-week period.
Night workers
Drivers working between 12am and 4am have stricter rules to follow under the RTD. These include not working more than 10 hours during the 24-hour period in question. Breaks and POA are not included in this limit, which can only be exceeded if the work force agree.
Non-mobile workers
There are differences between the RTD and the Working Time Directive (WTD) which, in the transport industry, covers non-mobile workers such as warehouse staff.
Although non-mobile workers have the same 48-hour average working week, they can agree to extend this, provided it is in writing and signed by them. This opt-out is contested by unions that argue it is easy for employers to put pressure on their workers to agree. Night work is between llpm and 6am. and night workers should not work more than eight hours a day on average.