hi all
need avise. i am starting a new job on monday . and the wagon is a 7.5 ton
rigid with digital equipment a fixed to the vehicle. it is not driven for commercial gain . do i still come under tacho rules and regs ? i have just come off artics
after 10 yrs i know rules and regs but i am getting conflicting reports. it is only 35hrs a week £7 hr so i want to try and make my money up by doing agency work the week end as long as hrs allow
regards
ricky
Basically it depends what it’s actually carrying/ used for…there are very specific exemptions from 3820/85 (the tacho rules) but not very many…and if you are being paid then you will definately come under the scope of Domestic Rules at the very least, which means keeping a log book…
Perhaps you could tell us a bit more for a conclusive answer. 
What type of Digital equipment? you say it’s not for commercial gain?
Only vehicles not used for commercial gain are the likes of the horse boxes used by the weekend hobby showjumpers etc, or the truck used by Joe Motorsport for carrying his litte souped up mini for the rally etc
I run a business, if I’m hiring a 7.5 tonner for carrying equipment for the benefit of the business i.e to shows etc, then it’s classed as commercial, if however, I hired it to move my home to another place then it’s private use and therefore exempt from tacho rules.
You say you want to do Agency work?
If whilst doing agency work you drive on a tacho for even just 1 day in the week, then that full week becomes legally required to have the weekly and daily rest periods taken .
So in effect 5 days on this 7.5 tonner then a saturday on Agency means you must take the 45hr weekly rest after saturdays work, or reduce it to 36 hrs at base, but you would still have the 9 hrs compensation to repay before the end of the second week after the reduction.
Check the Exemptions in the drivers Hours Legislation to see if you Qualify for exemption from the Tacho for Mon - Fri, but working sat will inevitably bring you under the regs again, i.e 6 maximum shifts per week etc etc etc
Hi Ricky, I posted a similar question
trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1512
Have a look at it and see if it helps. I think the main difference is you’re being paid to drive the truck. So I would say tacho in.
hi all thanks for your replys
as to clear up the situation. the vehicle will be used to take to schools
community centres etc . for the general public to search for jobs etc.
it has pcs on that access the internet via a satalite dish theses fixtures are all
fixed. it is done for no commercial gain. i will be taking it to the location and setting it up. not much driving involved. still confused over tacho rules etc
regards ricky
The hire & reward tag goes beyond is it earning money. Swallow Hotels use to run free mini bus tours as part of thier buisness but where found to need an O Licence & PCV driver as the vehicle effected company profits, the question was would the vehicle not being needed effect exspenses & the court decided yes & this made it hire & reward.
alan:
The situation for (mini)buses is slightly different. The legal definition of “hire or reward” for PCVs is “Where a consideration is made in return for a person’s right to be carried”. (“consideration” is the legal term for a payment, whether in cash, in kind, etc.)
In this case, the “free” minibus is actually paid for - the charge for the hotel room effectively includes your bus “fare”. Whether it is a profit-making business or not is irrelevant - it’s whether the passengers are paying (or someone else is paying on their behalf) for their right to be carried (whether they exercise that right or not).
If you go and hire a minibus from the local hire company, and use it to take you and your friends for a camping trip (for example), and everyone pays their share of the cost, that is legally “hire or reward”, and you need a full PCV driving + operators’ licenses + insurance.
You get around the driving + operators’ licenses bit if you are a non-profit organisation run for various purposes (one of them being “social”, so you could set up a “club” called “Alan’s Mates”), and apply for a Section 19 Small Bus Permit, which exempts you from the requirement to have full PCV D+O licenses. However, you still need insurance, and most self-drive hire companies have “not for hire or reward” as a clause of their insurance contract. When you ask them about it, most of them are totally clueless that a large proportion of the people who hire their minibuses are doing so either totally illegally (no driving license, no O-license, no insurance), or (in the case of organisations that have Section 19 permits) just invalid insurance. It’s something that really worries me.
Having said that, I’m not sure of the exact legal definition of “hire or reward” with respect to HGVs.
The Swallow case though PSV has implications for HGV.
In the Swallow Hotels case the argument that its free & we do not charge for its use so no O Licence required was rejected, the court said its use or non use effects the profit, thus hire & reward, as the prosecution was not based upon is it included in the cost, but would it be more profitable if it was not used.
So the situation is not only does it get charged for, but would its use, or its non use effect the company profit.
The definition was not about PSV or HGV but about reward & how that is defined.