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There has been friction recently between some Christian Salvesen drivers

8th November 2001
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Page 42, 8th November 2001 — There has been friction recently between some Christian Salvesen drivers
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

and Safeway after the supermarket chain asked drivers to break up loads of palletised goods. So where exactly do the duties of a driver begin—and end? As Pat Hagan reports, the lines are often blurred.

VWhat's your definition of a CV driver? One haulage industry veteran recalls a time when the responsibilities were so great and the workload was so intense that they would send advocates of working time restrictions and health and safety regulations into an apoplectic fit. "I can remember when it was part of a driver's job to pull up at the docks, load 20-odd tons of cocoa beans by hand and then drive three or four hundred miles," he recalls. You had to be a real man then."

This definition of a professional truck driver is certainly outdated and, under the terms of current legislation, probably borders on the sexist. But it serves to illustrate the extent to which drivers' roles have changed, in keeping with technological advances in the logistics industry.

Recent dispute

Mechanisation of the loading and unloading processes and containerisation of goods are just two of the developments that have made a driver's job easier Yet it seems the boundaries that set out where a driver's job begins and ends are as blurred as ever. This was highlighted by a recent dispute involving drivers delivering to a regional distribution centre run by Christian Salvesen for supermarket giant Safeway at Bellshill, Glasgow.

Some drivers have alleged that they are being refused unloading slots at the centre until they agree to break up consignments of palletised goods, and many of the drivers feel this is simply not their job. One opera

tor, who does not wish to be named, says one of his drivers was kept waiting for several hours until he reluctantly agreed to break up the foodstuffs he delivered into their different flavours.

Safeway says: In common with many other companies, Safeway drivers are requested to assist in the breaking down of pallets where there is more than one product on it to facilitate the checking process. This has been standard procedure for many years."

There is no industry-wide definition of a driver's responsibilities, partly because the nature of the work differs so widely from one sector to another. But lawyer Christopher Over from transport law firm Over, Taylor, Biggs says responsible operators will issue written job descriptions along with the terms and conditions of employment. Wise bosses will make these definition as wide as possible.

"Legally, employers do not have to provide a job description," Over reports. "But they do have to provide a statement of the terms and conditions of employment, and any sensible company would include a job description in that. They should make sure the job description is as wide as possible and that it includes all the things that are ancillary to driving. Problems come when employers start asking drivers to do things that are not regarded as part and parcel of driving. If someone has been doing a certain type of work for so years and is then suddenly told they have to carry out new tasks that might not be reasonable."

Over's firm drafts basic job definitions for clients that can be adapted to individual needs— but he says that in general a haulier's customer cannot make "unreasonable" demands on a vet If a driver is asked to do something that feels is not within his remit then he is perfec within his rights to refuse, says Over. At ti point responsibility needs to be passed to I superiors. His employer then has the job talking to the customer to sort it out," he adc If a driver does agree to help out there can all sorts of insurance problems if anything hr pens to him or he injures someone else, even . another company's premises. North points c that if a driver is doing something on behalf o customer then it is arguable that he is "doi: something outside his normal business descr lion—and that's when it gets complicated".

Clear guidlines

In these cases the drive, is theoretically tei porarily employed by the customer and might able to claim against the customer's employ liability insurance. "The message that needs come out is that drivers need very clear guidlin about what they can and cannot do," says Nonl "That way an employer has covered himself" However, Bob Monks, general-secretary the United Road Transport Union, warns th few drivers get written job descriptions: suspect it's very rare, apart from among t1 larger groups. Many [hauliers] probably do n even issue contracts of employment, nev mind job descriptions, yet there's still a co tractual relationship between them ev( though it's not written down."

Monks adds that the job definition depen. entirely on the nature of that contractual rel tionship: "It may be, for example, that a driv of a small van who's doing multi-dro:

ound the city is responsible for loading, tipng out and ensuring collections are made. . the other end of the scale you get situations here driven, turn up with a skeletal trailer at icks, pick up a sealed container and do not we to touch the load at all. The seal has to be .oken at the other end, so the driver just has sit in his cab and wait until it's unloaded." Even drivers who do have job descriptions sed to be aware of where they stand if the itu re of their job changes over time, Monks arns. As a company loses old contracts and iins new ones there can be a succession of .adual changes to a driver's job. If the driver cepts these changes it will be difficult to later ead that they were not in keeping with his b description. "I suspect it's highly unlikely at drivers are issued with a new job descrip)n," says Monks, "so it becomes part of the )ntractual relationship and the job descripm element becomes almost academic."

Wincanton, one of the biggest names in 'ad transport logistics, does not we a standard job definition for -ivers because the nature of the ork differs from one distribution )ntract to another, "Each contract is different demands and quirements," a spokeswoman :plains, "so each driver has a ear, written understanding of hat their remit is and the .mands of the job. Should they asked to carry out tasks outside 'that remit they should contact eir manager for guidance."

At the other end of the scale,

Fife-based haulier Barclay Brothers has no job descriptions as such, but a spokesman points out that everything a driver needs to know is set out in the company's drivers' handbook. The family firm tuns 20 vehicles, mainly on general haulage, and needs its drivers to be flexible because of the range of goods they carry. "We've got a good relationship with our drivers and they have to be totally experienced at everything," the spokesman adds. For example, if a driver made a delivery and there was a fork-lift but no fork-lift driver, he would just jump in and do it."

With this general uncertainty over what makes a commercial vehicle driver, disputes are bound to crop up from time to time. But any driver who thinks he's getting a raw deal should spare a thought for his predecessors and those 20 tons of cocoa beans...


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