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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 (this 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. These 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.
Note:
Tachotech take no responsibility for the information,
please check
on Department of Transport website for
latest. |