A little confused about the 15 hour rule and would appreciate some guidance
Started new contract with a start time of 18:00. Get 2 hours break and finish at around 08:45 the next day. Total drive time is less than 9 hours.
Does the 15 hours rule include the 2 hours break, so that means I’ve only done a ~13 hour shift?
Got to say that by the time I get home, I can only get max 7 hours rest to eat and get some sleep which isn’t a lot especially if it’s 4 days in a row.
You need to be done and dusted 15 hours after you started work, regardless of how much break (or poa) you have taken.
You get 3 of those max a ‘week’, others up to 13 hours.
But you can take a split daily rest, if you can get 3 hours rest during a shift (unbroken), you can finish with a 9hr daily rest and isn’t counted as a reduced daily rest.
Once you have taken a weekly rest, your 15’s are back again, not based on a fixed week.
Sounds like you are on night trunks. Many drivers I have been up at a dc with overnight could sleep for 2 or 3 hours while it’s going on around them, I never managed that trick more than once or twice.
Yes, it’s a spreadover, the total of everything from start to finish.
I fell foul of this in an opposite sort of way not long after I started working here in France. I had tipped somewhere in the morning and they told me to go to a service area just south of Bordeaux (Cestas) and await instructions. I was there all day and I was getting twitchy after 12 hours as the nearest resto to park up was 20 minutes away, and I phoned and warned them that I would head to park up, now.
Got to the resto, took the disc out, and touched the door handle when the phone rang and they told me to go about an hour away to re-load. I refused because I had run out of hours. The next morning I collected the load but when I got home and was chatting to a mate, he mentioned the 15 hour twice a week rule and I realised I could have done it after all.
My last job in the UK for 15 years was in the own account sector and we never worked such long hours there. Fortunately, in true French fashion, nothing was said and no punishment administered.
if you can get 3 hours rest during a shift (unbroken)
Ah, that’s what’s mentioned in the work. That’s how they’re working it. Problem is, that 2 hours is the max I’ve been able to get as finding somewhere to park is a nightmare.
Rainforest , Herpies or postman pat work ?
Just hope if it’s rainforest work you get paid in the new year and the boss ain’t done a flyer with the money
I’d only do 15’s on tramping as it’s nuts if day/night working
PS you can only reduce 3 times a week unless you can get 3 hours continuous break in the day
I’m lucky as I do containers
In order to fully understand this you need to understand that there is no 15 hour rule in the regulations, the 13 and 15 hour maximum shifts comes from the fact that the EU regulations state that within a period of 24 hours from the start of a shift you must complete a daily rest period.
A daily rest period is a regular 11 hour daily rest or a reduced 9 hour daily rest period.
An 11 hour daily rest period from a period of 24 hours leaves a maximum shift of 13 hours (24-11=13)
A 9 hour reduced daily rest period from a period of 24 hours leaves a maximum shift of 15 hours (24-9=15)
A new period of 24 hours starts after a weekly or daily rest period.
Lets say you start work at 18:00 on Monday after a weekly rest period, you must have completed a regular 11 hour daily rest period by no later than 18:00 Tuesday (24 hours from the start of the shift).
That means you can only do a 13 hour shift from the start to the end of your daily work period.
The regular 11 hour daily rest period can be reduced to no less than 9 hours 3 times between weekly rest periods.
That means that 3 times between weekly rest periods you can do a 15 hour shift.
So if you work 4 shifts in a working week, after at-least one of those shifts must have a regular 11 hour daily rest period within the period of 24 hours from the start of the shift, that will restrict your shift to 13 hours from the start of work to the end of your working day.
There is a thing called a split daily rest period which means you can do 15 hour shifts every day but that involves having no less than 3 consecutive hours rest during the shift, it does not sound like that applies to you so there's no point going into it in any more detail.
Don’t give up on driving HGV vehicles if that’s what you want to do, there are all sorts of jobs in this industry and it’s just a case of finding one that suits your way of life
You’re obviously not tramping so if they’re planning your job on the basis that you’ll be having a split daily rest period every day I hope the money’s good.
The job should be a part of your life not a replacement for it
Thanks, that makes sense. One other question if I may. I get the 15m break before 6,9,12 hours. But if I take a 15 after 5 hours say, how does that work? Does it just mean I need to take another 15 before 9? And how does taking 45 mins in one go reset the clock?
under road working time regs you need to take a break of at least 15 minuets before 6 hours is up so if you take a break after 5 hours of work be it driving or other work you dont need a rtd break for another 6 hours.
Also under rtd if working a shift of more than 6 hours but less than 9 you need a break or breaks totaling at least 30 min. If your shift is longer the 9 hours you need a break or breaks totaling at least 45 min.
Please note YOU DO NOT have to have a break between 6 and 9 hours your second break can be after 9 hours total work provided you dont contravene the 6 hour rule above.
ie work 5 hours have a 15 min break work another 5 hours have 30 min break work another 2 is perfectly fine as far as rtd goes
Just remember you cannot go more than 6 hours with out a break.
Tacho rules also state that you cannot drive for a total of more than 4.5 hours without a 45 min break. This usually covers your rtd break only thing you have to watch is the 6 hour rule when coming back to the depot if you have to deliver or drop of cages on the way back
