Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ’s for Working Time Directive
- Do I have to record the hours for part-time and agency drivers that drive for me?
- How do I record time worked etc for drivers that work overnight?
- Do I need to print out the drivers records?
- What should I do if a driver is over the 48 hour limit for the reference period?
- What Working Time Directive information do I need when taking on a new driver?
- More than 4wks holiday?
- What do I do regarding days off?
- How do I manage Part-Time drivers?
- Self-Employed Drivers
- What should I do with new drivers?
- What about owner-drivers/one man bands?
Q1: Do I have to record the hours for part-time and agency drivers that drive for me?
A1: Yes. For agency drivers you need to receive from them their driving (Working) hours. However there is a potential problem that their reference period may differ from yours. When this happens THEIR reference period will be the one that takes preference if they/you are checked by the authorities.
Q2: How do I record time worked etc for drivers that work overnight?
A2: As two days activity. E.g. Driver starts driving (work) at 20:00 on a Tuesday evening and finishes at 11:30 on Wednesday morning.
Tuesday record= Start 20:00 Finish 23:59
Wednesday record= Start 00:00 Finish 11:30
Record any PoA’s & Break periods as normal on the day they occurred.
If that same driver began work again on the Wednesday evening at 22:00 (for example), then set the finish time for Wednesday to 23:59 not 11:30, but create a break period for 10.5 hrs (time from 11:30 to 22:00). The period between 11:30 & 22:00 should be a break not a PoA as he is NOT available for work.
Q3: Do I need to print out the drivers records?
A3: No. There is no requirement for hard copy to be retained, except when a driver leaves or agency driver completes their contract, then the records for that driver should be provided to them in printed form.
However, a driver must have sufficient tacho charts and for digital tacho users suitable paper for printing out records if required by an inspector.
Q4: What should I do if a driver is over the 48 hour limit for the reference period?
A4: Their work/driving duties should be re-arranged (light duties!!!) over the forthcoming weeks so that the driving hours average for the current reference period is reduced.
Q5: What Working Time Directive information do I need when taking on a new driver?
A5: There is a legal requirement for the new driver to provide to you (the employer) what their Working Hours details have been over the past weeks/months.
For example if you are at week 7 of your reference period you must obtain their total number of weeks worked, total number of days worked and the total working hours (driving hours!!!!!) over weeks 1 to 6.
If their previous employers were/are conforming to the legislation then the necessary data should be easily obtained.
Q6: More than 4wks holiday?
A6: You only record the first 4 weeks of personal holiday as holiday. Any subsequent days of holiday are not recorded within the system.
Q7: What do I do regarding days off?
A7: A day off (i.e. not sick, on holiday) is a day on which the driver is not working or at work - there is no need to record anything for them on the day in question.
Q8: How do I manage Part-Time drivers?
A8: Part Time drivers can be a significant problem. There are two types of part time driver, 1 - Who only works for you; 2 - Who works for other organisations (driving or otherwise).
For type 1 get them to sign a suitable letter stating that they work ONLY for you.
For type 2 they MUST provide you with details of their working hours for the other company. You record those details accordingly. You are not responsible for their time with another company but you do have a Duty of Care whilst they are undertaking activities for you.
So, if they have worked in a warehouse all week & done 55hrs already and then you send them out driving, if they have an acident you could be serious trouble.
Q9: Self-Employed Drivers
A9: If you use drivers who are Self-Employed (i.e. have their own accounts etc.) then you may have to account for their time as well.
If they work for you only, even though they invoice you for their work, they are NOT treated as self-employed for purposes of this legislation.
You MUST record their time in the same way as you do for your employed drivers.
Q10: What should I do with new drivers?
A10: There is a legal requirement for the new driver to provide to you their details of weeks worked, days worked & hours worked over the previous weeks of your current reference period.
This is required so that you can be confident that they have not exceeded their hours to date & so that the system correctly calculates their totals over the whole of the current reference period - not just what they have worked for you.
Q11: What about owner-drivers/one man bands?
A11: As from end of March 2009 ALL drivers will be subject to the Road Transport (Mobile Workers) Regulations.
You as the user of their services must be satisfied that they are not exceeding the limits and can demonstrate this fact.
You can not 'off load' the responsibility by saying that you were only using them for a couple of days and you didn't know how much they had worked.
