THE LEGAL VIEW JAMES BACKHOUSE BACKHOUSE JONES
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“A central point of the EC driver’s hours rules from an employer’s perspective is that the operator must not pay drivers in such a way that encourages the driver to contravene the hours rules. This principle has more impact the closer the pay scheme gets to a pure hourly rate, with no restriction or penalty for exceeding the hours worked. This type of scheme would leave an operator exposed to prosecution and action against its operator’s licence. A part performance/part salary scheme is lower risk, providing there is a robust internal enforcement of the compliance with the EU rules – perhaps with a financial penalty element.
A full salary scheme is a low-risk option. There are many variations on these themes, but my advice would be to ensure that the scheme cannot be interpreted as encourag ing/turning a blind eye to hours breaches by the paid driver. Changing pay schemes is a fundamental change to an employment contract, so seek advice before introducing such alteration.”