At the weekend I reduced my daily rest down to
9 hours to do a job for the agency. I would have
done a 16 hour shift and got close to a 10 hour
drive if I had done what the agency had asked
which was to take my card out on 15 hours and
drive back with card out or keep it in and make
a note on printout. They said the truck was not
needed to monday and the client would not pay
for a night out and they wont come and get me.
It was a case of run back as no other options in
there book as they only getting £110 for the shift
on a saturday for a planned 15 hour shift and
10 hour drive. I took the option 3 told them I’m
nighting out and will take the truck back after
9 hours off.
I have said pay me for work done previous to that
night also to pay me for the 15 hours, night out and
8 hours guaranteed for doing the 1 hour on sunday.
I know some might look at this and think bad of me
but I don’t work for people who tell me to do stuff like
drive without card in so I have told the agency to remove
me aswell off there books.
I was in a secure free safe place where I nighted out without
any night out gear. I booked off a few minutes before I had
worked my 15 hours and I had gone over 9 hours driveing.
sunday I did 1 hour shift and 35 mins driveing to yard.
I got told by a guy who owns is own haulage company that
if someone picks you up it cannot be a company vehicle and
everyone there said don’t go over 15 hours confirming my thoughts
also at a place I worked for once I heard someone say company’s
should not plan runs over 13 hours and 9 hour drives as the 15 hour shift
and 10 hour drives are there for emergencies not for planners to
plan 15 hour shifts ect. Is he right or is that just a drivers rumour as
it sound like sense to me but he was a moaning disgruntled driver so
I hear from the planners.
From reading this post and what I hear I would say im right to night out
as I have done some long shifts and reduced my rest recently but all
done legally but I was tired and in a safe place but it seems who rights
these rules was smokeing some good stuff at the time as its how people
interoperate it to there likening that’s my view. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=53407
leave the vehicle there and get the bus/taxi/train home
you get paid for your time, then it is down to the idiot in the office who planned the run to get his vehicle back, you would also be within your rights to claim back the travelling expenses
no company can ask or force you to run illegally, and if they do, then they are really not worth your time and licence
I had a run recently where I thought I wouldn’t make it back in time and rang the company. Explained if i followed their plan they’d have to collect the wagon from m40 Warwick msa. My option was to miss the last drop and run back direct. Latter option chosen as no other drivers available. Got back in 9hr 55m driving. They accepted my decision probably because I’d given them the choice and not just dropped them in the [zb]. Later found out regular driver has no problem doing on the limiter everywhere
Best to be aware of the timings yourself and not rely on the planner. Good Luck
I will keep that option in mind shuttlespanker but
my thoughts at the time being tired ones where I
bet I have to chase the money im owed off the agency
not just for this shift so trying not to have them oweing
me to much encase I dont get it. I got a text today saying
they will pay me but not for what will just see this week and
take it from there.
Agency asked me as haulier not open to monday but word is
haulier are struggling to get drivers. I found this out when I run
out of hours.
saratoga the company was not open in my case and the agency
new the run from the start I thought it was going to be a 15 hour
and 10 hour drive but going to be tight but maybe achievable and
gave it a shot. I had to do the clients work and by the time I realised
that I could not get the truck back I made the call to the agency and
they did not need the truck back to monday but I welcome all reply’s
and open to being educated in doing something better
I had a similar incident a couple of years ago, Saturday shift and my last of the week and in need of a 45 after this one. Heading down to Oxford from Yorkshire and reload in Bicester. Easy enough but it was snowing. It was becoming clear that it’d be unlikely I wouldn’t make my first tip in my 4 and a half so I’d end up with a weekend out. Dhl said they wouldn’t pay me for the 45 so I said I’d not be staying with the vehicle. Dhl told me that as the driver I would be responsible for the load. but you’re not paying me? says me. Unlucky says Dhl.
So I turned round and drove back to Yorkshire. Dhl effectively sacked me by telling the agency not to send me again. Agency paid me and were fine, so option 4 for me in your case.
Technically it would be illegal to leave the vehicle and travel home on bus/train when you’d run out of hours as the travelling time would be counted as other work.
Legal or not it would still me my favoured option unless I was assured I’d be paid a night out and running in time for Sunday though
Anyone confirm if you run out of hours you cannot
be picked up in a company vehicle as in the past I
have been picked up in managers car and rental van
to the company. To me if this is true it seems petty
as long as im not driveing does it matter unless the
thinking is you would drive a company vehicle as you
would be covered
The second thing can anyone answer my question of
should runs not be planned to go over 13 hours as its
the normal and in some instance leaving you to reduce
your daily rest or get the shift time be moved back also
better planning to keep the extra 1 hour driveing for
emergencies sounds better to me but is it written officially
anywhere
A lot of places I have worked for do plan to keep you under
13 hours but things happen not there fault sometimes which
I understand and will be flexible.
convoy:
Anyone confirm if you run out of hours you cannot
be picked up in a company vehicle as in the past I
have been picked up in managers car and rental van
to the company. To me if this is true it seems petty
as long as im not driveing does it matter unless the
thinking is you would drive a company vehicle as you
would be covered
Legally travelling home is counted as other work regardless of what vehicle you travel in.
convoy:
The second thing can anyone answer my question of
should runs not be planned to go over 13 hours as its
the normal and in some instance leaving you to reduce
your daily rest or get the shift time be moved back also
better planning to keep the extra 1 hour driveing for
emergencies sounds better to me but is it written officially
anywhere
There’s nothing illegal about planning a job for 15 hours, obviously it’s not wise because things can go wrong but it’s not illegal.
mick.mh2racing:
I had a similar incident a couple of years ago, Saturday shift and my last of the week and in need of a 45 after this one. Heading down to Oxford from Yorkshire and reload in Bicester. Easy enough but it was snowing. It was becoming clear that it’d be unlikely I wouldn’t make my first tip in my 4 and a half so I’d end up with a weekend out. Dhl said they wouldn’t pay me for the 45 so I said I’d not be staying with the vehicle. Dhl told me that as the driver I would be responsible for the load. but you’re not paying me? says me. Unlucky says Dhl.
So I turned round and drove back to Yorkshire. Dhl effectively sacked me by telling the agency not to send me again. Agency paid me and were fine, so option 4 for me in your case.
When I was working full time I got told that company’s
cannot pay you for the time after you run out of hours
as it looks like they are encouraging running bent but on
the few occasions I have run out of hours I always got paid
for the extra hours and got a 11 hours off before my next
shift. but other drivers said what they do is give you the next
shift off and pay you your guaranteed 9 hours at this place
but that never happened in to me. Maybe company’s think
if they told drivers they paid for hours over a 15 hour shift
everyone would deliberately do it.
I find your story interesting in that what dhl expected of
you to do and in your situation bring the load back is the
only option glad you got paid but dhl not allowing you to
do anymore work for something that’s is not your fault is terrible.
Tachograph do you know anywhere I can get a copy
of something that I can produce stateing Legally
travelling home is counted as other work regardless
of what vehicle you travel in so in the event of things
happening like this again in the future I have proof to
educate them as they dont believe you plus I like to back
up my point and case.
convoy:
Tachograph do you know anywhere I can get a copy
of something that I can produce stateing Legally
travelling home is counted as other work regardless
of what vehicle you travel in
Thanks tachograph that’s enough proof for my needs
but I bet you could not produce enough to make agency’s
or planners admit there wrong as all you get is you
misunderstood now how can I misunderstand being told to
drive back without a tacho card in is not running bent.
I seen drivers put good information up on the wall or notice
board for it to be quickly removed. I once seen a poster on the
wall and asked a planner to photocopy it the planner said your
the 3rd driver to ask that and later it was gone. I asked that
planner why it gone and he said we don’t want you drivers to
know as your already defecting vehicles and trailers which they
did not have already enough but the company was adamant
safety and driver training was top of there list
convoy:
I find your story interesting in that what dhl expected of
you to do and in your situation bring the load back is the
only option glad you got paid but dhl not allowing you to
do anymore work for something that’s is not your fault is terrible.
In fairness I wasn’t too bothered, for a major player in the business we’re in, they ran it like a circus. Every run was timed to the maximum, I’d arrive for a 4am start with your first tip two hours away only to find you waited until six for the night trunk to get back with the unit with your name on it. They’d then complain that you were late or turned away from your tip implying it was your fault you were late.
The fact you left their yard hours after you should because of their mistake somehow washed over their head.
They’d send you to load at Kraft foods at Bicester with just enough hours to get back as long as you did your trailer swap in double time only to then discover that the load you were taking wouldn’t be ready for another 6 hours. So you ended up with a night out you weren’t expecting and when you went back to trailer swap, DHL would have changed the goalposts and tell you that your load was ready yesterday and you could have taken it and not have had a night out.
convoy:
Tachograph do you know anywhere I can get a copy
of something that I can produce stateing Legally
travelling home is counted as other work regardless
of what vehicle you travel in
This was quite interesting. I’ve learned a fair bit from your posts tachograph.
So if I’ve got this straight, it means that travelling to and from work is only counted as rest if the vehicle is at the yard where it’s normally based … otherwise it’s counted as other work? If that’s right then when would the period of “rest” begin? Is it once you’ve arrived back at base after being dropped off there? …Even if that means you’re having to drive yourself home from that point onward, or even worse, get public transport, to get home from there (which - ironically - in real life is actually more “work” than just being chauffeured back to base)
Overkill isn’t even the right word for some of these ridiculous laws, after all aren’t all these regulations meant to be there to protect drivers??. If you’re unexpectedly stuck in the middle of nowhere, your 15hrs is up, and the company says ok we’ll come and get you (someone else drives, you just sit/sleep/whatever), then what this law effectively is saying is that they can’t? You’re forced to sit it out for 9 or 11 hrs■■?
I’m hoping I’m wrong here, because if I’m not, then this is EU bureaucracy ■■■■■■■■ at its finest
COOKiEEES!!:
So if I’ve got this straight, it means that travelling to and from work is only counted as rest if the vehicle is at the yard where it’s normally based … otherwise it’s counted as other work?
Legally travelling to and from work is only counted as rest if you’re travelling to or from the place of work where you are usually based, it’s more to do with where you’re usually based than where the vehicle is usually based.
COOKiEEES!!:
If that’s right then when would the period of “rest” begin? Is it once you’ve arrived back at base after being dropped off there? …Even if that means you’re having to drive yourself home from that point onward, or even worse, get public transport, to get home from there (which - ironically - in real life is actually more “work” than just being chauffeured back to base)
The daily rest would start when you book off at your usual base.
If the vehicle is being recovered when you run out of driving hours and you’re being picked up and going straight home then legally the daily rest would start when you get home.
Travelling between your home and your usual place of work is not and never has been counted as work.
COOKiEEES!!:
Overkill isn’t even the right word for some of these ridiculous laws, after all aren’t all these regulations meant to be there to protect drivers??.
On the face of it this regulation may seem like over-kill but it is there to protect drivers from unscrupulous employers.
Without this law an unscrupulous employer could have some drivers travelling long distances in there own time and not having any time to rest properly.
Have another read of the OPs post where he was told to keep driving back to base and you’ll see why laws like this are necessary
It’s one of those laws that is necessary but unfortunately it can back-fire on the driver
