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NO EXCUSE FOR BREAKING WTD
Page 3
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For months before the introduction of the Working Time Directive, we were all immersed in a torrent of new language, new terms and new concepts. It was a period of adjustment and most educators, CM included, focused on the compliance issues that would face road transport operators the companies, the employers, those we saw as the decision makers.
So drivers are within their rights to down tools if they have worked all their available hours, or to pull over if they can't complete a job without exceeding their daily driving allowance. It may inconvenient, but that's the way it is. A manager's job is to have the foresight to ensure he doesn't end up with a parked-up truck and no one to drive it.
We do not know the extent to which this directive is misunderstood or misapplied. But we do know that no one has any excuse. When CM ran surveys just weeks before the introduction of the WTD. relatively few firms were prepared. Overall the industry response was patchy, in parts downright shoddy. The directive is "esoteric". according to the Tribunal; but the industry has been awash with people who would explain it. No one near here can claim they weren't told.
We do not know how many firms have chosen inappropriate reference periods or other misinterpretations of the directive whether through ignorance or preference. But they are taking a huge risk. Better to double-check than to overlook being wrong.
As for Mr Union Member at Hatton you have to applaud his courage. We all know there are many more drivers who flout the rules and later blame their employers than risk their jobs by refusing to comply.