Having a few problems just lately with infringements so any advice would be welcome…
My most recent problem however is weekly rests, the last few weeks have been a bit of a blur to be honest and I’ve not done a good job of keeping track of what I’ve done, which has caused a bit of a problem. I’m ashamed to say I’ve trusted the agency when they’ve said I’m o.k. to do this that and the other and the fact of the matter is - I wasn’t o.k.
So, I told them from now on I’d not be working friday nights if I’d done sunday and if I worked friday I wouldn’t be working sunday, a little drastic I suppose but at least I can keep track of it. That was last weekend.
So, what have they done? They had me working at 01:30 on monday which I just about managed a 45hour that weekend so fair enough I suppose, they rang me yesterday for my availability for next week and (following my new rule) were told monday onwards because I’m working tonight and it would ensure I get a full 45hours - makes sense to me 
Sadly, that’s not good enough for them and, after a relatively futile argument, I’m working sunday night 
I now see how foolish I was to have any faith in their knowledge of driver’s hours, the girl started babbling on about 5 and 6 day weeks 
So, I’ll be sending a copy of the relevent page of my driver’s hours book (18) with my timesheet this week. And making a point of having erm 53 ish hrs off next weekend (get it out of the way so I don’t forget).
Lets say I finish work about 5Am on Saturday and start again 19:45 on sunday evening; I make that 38.75 hrs so 7.25hrs short so (if I’ve got this right) I need a 45hr weekly rest plus 7.25hrs compensation = 52.25hr weekend right?
OR, iirc, I could have a long daily rest of 9 or 11hrs plus that 7.25hrs at any point in the next fortnight?
Am I somewhere near or have I got this totaly round my neck? I know the compensation doesn’t need to be taken next weekend, could be any time by (and including) the weekend after next, is that right?
Firstly you obviously don’t need to be told that you should not be relying on the agency to track your hours, let them worry about the 48 hour week if you want but under no circumstances rely on them when it comes to your drivers tachograph hours 
As far as weekly rest is concerned any compensation can be paid back by adding it onto any rest period of at least nine hours, which basically means you can add it onto a daily or weekly rest period.
The compensation should be paid back by the end of the third week following the week in which you had the reduced weekly rest.
In any two consecutive weeks you should have either two regular weekly rest periods or at least one regular and one reduced weekly rest period, in other words you should have a regular weekly rest period at least every second week.
I know you already know this stuff but it seems a reminder may be in order
If I were you I would keep a record of your working hours and especially weekly rest periods as you say this is where most of your problems are, a record can be kept in numerous ways such as a calender either a paper one or on the computer, a spread sheet such as Excel is a quite popular way of keeping record, myself I use an access database though whilst it may be a good way of keeping records there is quite a learning curve so may not be considered by some people.
And then of course there is the good old tried and tested method of simply keeping written records of your work in a diary or notebook 
There’s really no need to refuse to work more than five days a week unless that’s what you want to do, as long as you understand the regulations and keep a record of what work you do you should be fine, when the agency tells you they need you to work 6 days simply tell them you can’t if that’s the case, they may need reminding that the law requires you to have a full regular rest every other week and you need to pay back compensation for previous reduced weekly rest periods so be prepared to point that out to them.
Whatever you do don’t allow the agency to intimidate you into working illegally … unless you want to which I doubt 
Cheers tacho, and more importantly - Thankyou for making an effort not to be patronising, much appreciated
Sooo, I was more or less right except the compensation can wait up to three weeks (three weekends) after the reduced one.
The point of making it 5 day weeks was just to simplify things for myself (not that it’s worked), numbers and remembering things isn’t a strong point - I’m not out to work all hours god sends, be greedy or dishonest but my disorganisation is going to end up spoiling an otherwise good reputation and costing me in vosa bbq donations; which none of us can afford at this time of the year
Time to sort a spreadsheet out methinks.
darkseeker:
Sooo, I was more or less right except the compensation can wait up to three weeks (three weekends) after the reduced one.
That’s generally right but remember that (to be precise) the compensation should be paid back by the end of the third week ie 24:00 Sunday, which may not be the same as the end of your weekly rest for the third week, may be worth watching that.
Good luck
darkseeker:
Sooo, I was more or less right except the compensation can wait up to three weeks (three weekends) after the reduced one.
Just a small point of clarification. The compensation must be made before the end of the third week following the reduction so as you say, the third weekend. But, it must be made before midnight Sunday of that weekend because of the phrase “before the end of”. For example if you were taking a reduced rest and had 7 hours to compensate for then you must have taken 31 hours, 24 hour reduced rest + 7 hours compensation between finishing work for the week and midnight Sunday. If it was a week where you required a full weekly rest then you must have taken 52 hours, 45 hour full weekly rest + 7 hours compensation by midnight Sunday. This only applies when it is the end of the third week following the reduction, earlier weeks your weekly rest and the compensation can go past midnight on the Sundays.
