So, I’ve always thought I had a pretty passable understanding of the EU driver’s hours regs, but I think I may be over complicating it here.
Basically, I’ve only ever worked mon-fri as my core hours, with weekend work either being a day shift on sat/sun. Usually I’d just take a reduced rest period and then make it up the next weekend.
I know generally speaking you can usually only work every other weekend unless you do what some of the Biffa guys used to do, which was working just a few hours every Saturday so they’d still get the full 45 hours in every weekend.
I know you need at least one 45 hour rest between every two week period, and a reduced rest needs made up by the third week.
What’s stumping me a bit is that I’ve been asked to work a four 12hr shifts over bank holiday which will be Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon. Shipping are giving me Thursday off and also Tuesday if I need it. What’s kind of stumping me is that it throws out the balance of the week in my head.
So, I’m assuming I can take Thursday as the reduced daily rest period I would’ve usually taken on the weekend? What I’m trying to get my head around is whether the working week effectively now starts on Friday for me as that’s the first day following my weekly rest rather than the last day before starting it like it’d usually be?
Is the best way just to still view the week as Sun-Mon and just keep track and ensure I don’t exceed the 56 hours driving or the 45 within two weeks etc?
I guess what’s confusing me is that I usually work on a Mon-Fri basis and it’s throwing me off with my weekly rest starting Wed night rather than Fri night due to having Thur off.
You will need Thursday off and a 24 hour rest period before the weekend after the bank holiday so Tuesday would be good.
It looks like you will be having a regular 45 hour weekly rest period the weekend before the Bank holiday weekend and the same the weekend after the bank holiday weekend so you will be fine.
Having Thursday and Tuesday off will reset the six 24-hour periods you can work before needing a weekly rest period.
Think of the working week as the work period between weekly rest periods. In a working week:
You cannot work more than six 24-hour periods (144 hours) before having a weekly rest period.
You can have 3 reduced daily rest periods.
The fixed week is 00:00 Monday to 24:00 Sunday. In a fixed week
You cannot drive for more than 56 hours.
You must have at-least one weekly rest period (regular or reduced).
You can have two 10 hour driving shifts.
In any two fixed weeks.
You can drive for a maximum of 90 hours.
You must have at-least one regular 45 hour weekly rest period.
If I’ve missed anything that’s relevant to your situation I’m sure someone will add it
Thanks gents, can always rely on this place for solid advice.
So, really, as long as I’m getting a daily rest between the Mon-Sun, not doing more than 6 consecutive days days without a rest, and staying within the driving/wtd limits it doesn’t really matter what day I ‘start my week’ in terms of the day after my daily rest?
I’m still on the mixers btw. Working on HS2 which is a good little number. Never seem to be particularly rushed as we do high volumes but the batching plant is often set up on the site where we’re pouring.
Obv have the odd long day but I’m away by 4-5pm most days (was 12:30 on Wed ). I’ve been doing an evening shift every other week when they’re available and we get nine hours guaranteed at 1.5x plus a £100-150 bonus if we go past midnight. If I start Sat afternoon and work to say 1am I’m pulling £300-350 before tax and in bed by 2am so doesn’t mess me up to bad for Monday.
Over BH they’re paying £200 bonus for days and £300 for night. 12 hr shift with double time on the hourly rate. Days should pay just shy of £550 and nights £650. I’m kinda blown away a bit by that as shows how much they’re paying for the truck as must be a fair bit more for them to get their margin in too.
Sometimes it’s flat out, but last few evening shifts I’ve got in, sat around for a couple hours before loading, dropped one load onsite about 1/4 from plant, and then sat there for another six hours having a kip before taking the last load.
The problem is working Monday to a Friday and unable to see a dentist, but some are open Saturday mornings, or see a doctor or attend a hospital appointment, night shift workers have that advantage to get things done in the day.
Talking of earning the big bucks there was an employment agency in Melksham called Baileys, they are gone now, the owner must have done alright has he owned a helicopter.
One lad I was talking to was earning a huge amount of money by doing very long shifts while shunting around milk tankers at a dairy near Cricket St Thomas near Chard, he stayed in a mobile home or a caravan on site, I can’t remember the pay but it could have been a lot.
I can well imagine the guy earning good money staying out. We’ve got a lot of guys at one of the hauliers who stay down mon-fri. They get £50 a night which I’m assuming is basically an extra grand a month. But they’re not slumming it by any means.
They used to have to park offsite but the insurance has been sorted so they now stay at the big plant. They’ve got showers etc and decent kitchen facilities etc. They’ve got a big Smeg fridge in the kitchen which nobody else is allowed to use and there’s an air fryer etc and loads of kitchen utensils - proper knife sets etc. The guys are frying up bloody rump steaks etc on the night.
It wouldn’t work for me but some of the younger guys love it. Some have girlfriends that live nearby who they see on the night and they just come back late and sleep in the bunk or come back early doors before the pour starts.
But at some point it’ll all end and I’ll have to go back to the normal graft no doubt. But if you can get into somewhere like Hanson/Aggregate Industries etc as a company driver they tend to look after you well from what I’ve seen.
I’ve moved to a dentist that does Saturday mornings. As it happens I’m in there 9am tomoz. But a lot of them seem to be going back to mon-fri only so I do end up switching every now and then.
That’s an interesting post,the guy from up north who started out as a commercial vehicle dealer who then set up his own bank called Bank of Dave also owns a helicopter, and the actor David Jason has one, he would film Only Fools and Horses in London to fly home to Yorkshire in minutes.
Alan Sugar has one but not sure if he is a pilot or not.
But mixer work seems to be a marmite thing. The mates I’ve got earning good money on Class 1 probs wouldn’t want to come and trudge around in the mud but I like it. We do some long pours (14 hours on Monday, for example) but it’s rare here. However, I know the Cemex lads get murdered at some of the bigger plants in terms of hours.
I like the fact that I’m not out on my own like when I did GH. I’ll be at plant grabbing a coffee while I queue to load, having a chat with the lads. Then I drive to site (usually within 10 mins drive) and have a bit of banter with the builders or the other wagons waiting to pour. Then back for another load.
Always have time for a brew and reading some stuff on my phone. Like, today I came in 7am and I’m still sat here waiting for the pour to start. I’ve had a cheeky powernap already as I know somebody will pap the horn and wake me up if we need to get moving.
). I’ve been doing an evening shift every other week when they’re available and we get nine hours guaranteed at 1.5x plus a £100-150 bonus if we go past midnight. If I start Sat afternoon and work to say 1am I’m pulling £300-350 before tax and in bed by 2am so doesn’t mess me up to bad for Monday.
That’s living the dream.