No exceptions to 48-hour rule
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by Karen Miles • The European Commission has ruled that self-employed drivers will after all be governed by the same 48-hour weekly working limit as hire-and-reward and own-account drivers.
The U-turn was announced after hauliers and driver unions failed to agree on their own way of bringing in a 48-hour week. Europe's umbrella organisation for drivers unions, the FST, blamed the employers for the lack of a deal.
The EC originally said owner-drivers would only be controlled by existing European drivers' hours rules.
It has changed its mind in a bid to improve health and safety and to stop self-employed drivers from undercutting their employed colleagues.
'rhe change is set to make drivers the only self-employed workers within the EU to be governed by the 48-hour rules. EC officials are now preparing proposals, including provision for the 48-hour limit to be averaged out over four months with a maximum of 60 hours. The hours limit will include loading and unloading time.
The Freight Transport Association's demand to allow drivers to opt out completely from the 48-hour legislation if individuals agree to do so with their bosses is likely to be rejected. However, drivers who agree collectively to work longer will still be able to opt out.
But it could be five years before owner-drivers and the EU's three-million employed drivers are covered by the 48hour limit. The proposals will have to be agreed by the EU's transport ministers and the European Parliament before they are made into a Directive. Each member state will then have to adopt the Directive as domestic legislation.