Brief Overview Taken From The Department Of Transport Website
http://www.dft.gov.uk
The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No. 639 - "the Regulations"), came into force on 4 April 2005. The Regulations implement European Directive 2002/15/EC, and apply to "mobile workers" (basically drivers, crew and other travelling staff) who operate on vehicles which are subject to Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 ("the European drivers' hours rules") or, in some cases, the AETR. Mobile workers are required to comply with the Regulations as well as the existing European drivers' hours rules. There is no opt-out from the Regulations.
Mobile workers who only occasionally carry out "in-scope" work are not required to comply with the working time limits under the Regulations (for this to apply, mobile workers must meet the "occasional mobile worker" criteria given in Section 1.3). "Self employed drivers" are exempt from the Regulations until March 2009 - for this exemption to apply, drivers must satisfy criteria given in Section 1.4.
The Regulations introduce limits on weekly working time (excluding breaks and periods of availability) and a limit on the amount of work that can be done within a 24 hour period, for those who operate on night shifts (see Sections 3 and 4 on limits under the Regulations). They also specify how much continuous work can be done before taking a break and introduce daily and weekly rest limits for the crew and travelling staff.
- An average 48 hour week (normally calculated over a 4 month reference period)
- 60 hours in any single week
- 10 hours in any 24 hour period, if working at night.
However, use has been made of two derogations contained within European Directive 2002/15/EC, which allow for employers to extend the reference period for the average 48 hour week from 4 to 6 months and allows for night shift workers to exceed the 10 hour working time limit. These provisions are both subject to a collective or workforce agreement being in place (see Section 7.1 - "relevant agreements").
This guide sets out various means for calculating the average working week (see Section 3.4 - "calculating average weekly working time").
Employers are required to monitor working time and should do what they can to ensure that the limits are not breached. Records need to be kept for 2 years. If there is no employer, the Agency, Employment Business or even the worker concerned must monitor their working time. Guidance is also provided on how the tachograph should be used to monitor working time. Further details on record keeping are provided at Section 6.
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) enforce the Regulations in Great Britain. The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) enforce the working time regime used in Northern Ireland.
For more information on the Road Transport (Working Time) Guidance please go to: http://www.dft.gov.uk
Or if you have any Queries concerning this guidance after reading this guide and you feel that you need further clarification on certain aspects of the rules, please telephone VOSA on 0870 6060 440, or email Enquiries@vosa.gov.uk for assistance.
(Please note ukhaulier.co.uk is not responsible for the content of any external internet sites)
Disclaimer
This content gives general guidance only and should not be regarded as a complete
or authoritative statement of the law. The guidance will be updated to reflect any
developments in new legislation or case law.
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