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New working time limits come into force on 4 April 2005. The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 will limit working time for drivers and crew of HGVs and PSVs in the road transport sector in Great Britain, with similar Regulations for Northern Ireland due very soon after.

Tachotech are able to product a Working time Directive report which can be based on 17 or 26 week average. This will ensure that you have the necessary information to manage your drivers hours for compliance with respect to this driving rule. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) (in the UK) and the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) (In Northern Ireland) will enforce the new regulations, primarily in response to complaints they receive.

In brief, the new Regulations provide:

- A maximum 48 hour working week on average
- An absolute limit of 60 hours in any one working week, no opt out
- A maximum 10 hours night work in any 24
- 11 consecutive hours rest in every 24
- 45 consecutive hours rest per week
- 45 minutes break after 4 1/2 hours driving
- 30 minutes rest after 6 hours working (but not driving)
- 45 minutes break after 9 hours working (but not driving)

New limits details

Maximum 48 hour working week, calculated on average over a reference period of 17 weeks (which can be extended to 26 weeks by collective agreement).
Absolute limit of 60 hours working in any week. Coach drivers on an international (non-regular) unscheduled journey can work longer than 60 hours in a week, but the average 48 hour working week, along with the daily and weekly rest requirements under the EU drivers’ hours rules, still applies.

- The working week commences at 00.00 on Monday morning.
- There is no opt out from the 48 or 60 hour limits
- Maximum 10 hours night work in any 24 hour period (can be extended by collective agreement).
- Night time is defined as a period between 00.00-04.00 for drivers and crew of HGVs and 01.00-05.00 for drivers and crew of PSVs. If a worker does any work during this period they will be subject to the night work limits. Workers entitled to free health checks before commencing night work and at regular intervals thereafter (under the Working Time Regulations)
- Statutory annual leave entitlement (4 weeks under the Working Time Regulations), sick leave, maternity and paternity leave cannot be used to bring down the average weekly working time. When calculating totals, employers must count each day as 8 hours and each week as 48 hours.

What is working time?

All time on road transport activities, from the beginning of work, during which the worker is at the workstation (typically this means the driver’s cab), at the disposal of the employer and exercising his functions or activities. This includes driving, loading/unloading, training, assisting passengers, cleaning and maintenance, work intended to ensure safety of vehicle and its cargo and passengers, administrative formalities or work linked to legal or regulatory obligations directly linked to the specific transport operations under way
Time during which the mobile worker cannot freely dispose of his/her time and is required to be at the workstation, ready to take up normal work, with certain tasks associated with being on duty. Waiting periods where the foreseeable duration isn’t known in advance by the mobile worker, either before departure or just before the start of the waiting period in question

What’s not working time?

- Routine travel between home and the normal place of work
- Rest and breaks when no work is done
- Periods of Availability (PoA), defined as waiting time whose duration is known about in advance by the worker. For a PoA the worker should not be required to remain at his/her workstation, but must be available to answer calls to start work or resume driving on request; and the period and the foreseeable duration should be known in advance, by the worker, either before departure or just before the start of the period in question. PoAs should still count as paid time
- Evening classes or day-release courses
- Voluntary work or time spent as a Retained Fire Fighter, a Special Constable, or member of the Reserve Forces.

Rest and break entitlements

Minimum daily and weekly rest provisions are generally applied to drivers by EU drivers’ hours rules. The new Regulations also apply daily and weekly rest requirements to other mobile workers, trainees and apprentices when travelling under the EU rules. Additional break requirements under these regulations also apply. Break requirements under EU drivers’ hours rules take precedent when driving. All workers are subject to rest provisions under EU drivers’ hours rules when travelling.

Main rules are:

- 11 consecutive hours rest in every 24 (starting from when work commences) This can be reduced to 9 hours up to 3 times a week, but any reduction in the 11 hours entitlement must be compensated for by the end of the next week. Alternatively 12 hours rest can be taken in 2 or 3 periods, the last of which must be at least 8 hours.
- 45 consecutive hours rest per week. This can be reduced to a minimum of 36 consecutive hours if taken either where the vehicle is normally based or where the driver is based. If it is taken elsewhere it can be reduced to a minimum of 24 consecutive hours. Each reduction must be made up by an equal period of rest attached to a weekly or daily rest period and taken in one continuous period before the end of the third week following the week in question. Rest requirements, are additional to any paid annual leave entitlement under other working time legislation.
- A break of 45 minutes after 4.5 hours cumulative or continuous driving.
Alternatively, a full 45 minute break can be replaced by one break of at least 15 minutes, followed by another break of at least 3o minutes. These breaks must be distributed over the 4.5 hour period.
- Breaks totalling at least 30 minutes if working (but not driving) between 6 and 9 hours per day, or 45 minutes if working (but not driving) over 9 hours
- Breaks may be taken at the workstation but must not include anything considered as work
- Breaks do not count as working time, whether paid or not