Gurner:
And if there is a workplace agreement at your place of work then you can opt out of this 10 hour rule completely and carry on as normal.
So do you have to sign anything to opt out or is it opt out by default ?
Our firm claim I have to sign a paper to opt out, but they can’t find it 
steve_24v:
Gurner:
And if there is a workplace agreement at your place of work then you can opt out of this 10 hour rule completely and carry on as normal.So do you have to sign anything to opt out or is it opt out by default ?
Our firm claim I have to sign a paper to opt out, but they can’t find it
You can only opt out if all or a majority of Drivers agree to the ‘opt out’, you cannot opt out as an individual by a single agreement with the company.
CM:
You can only opt out if all or a majority of Drivers agree to the ‘opt out’, you cannot opt out as an individual by a single agreement with the company.
I think it is not quite as clear cut as that.
Schedule 1: Workforce agreements
- An agreement is a workforce agreement for the purposes of these Regulations if the following conditions are satisfied -
a. the agreement is in writing;
b. it has effect for a specified period not exceeding five years;
c. it applies either -
(i) to all of the relevant members of the workforce, or
(ii) to all of the relevant members of the workforce who belong to a particular group;
d. the agreement is signed -
(i) in the case of an agreement of the kind referred to in sub-paragraph (c)(i), by the representatives of the workforce, and in the case of an agreement of the kind referred to in sub-paragraph (c)(ii), by the representatives of the group to which the agreement applies (excluding, in either case, any representative not a relevant member of the workforce on the date on which the agreement was first made available for signature), or
(ii) if the employer employed 20 or fewer workers on the date referred to in sub-paragraph (d)(i), either by the appropriate representatives in accordance with that sub-paragraph or by the majority of the workers employed by him; and
e. before the agreement was made available for signature, the employer provided all the workers to whom it was intended to apply on the date on which it came into effect with copies of the text of the agreement and such guidance as those employees might reasonably require in order to understand it in full.
For the purposes of this Schedule -
‘a particular group’ is a group of the relevant members of a workforce who undertake a particular function, work at a particular workplace or belong to a particular department or unit within their employer’s business;
Therefore, I suggest, that there is scope to have different schemes for employees working from the same Operating Centre, but engaged on different contracts, or for different schemes dependant upon a particular Rota of Work. I can even visualize a ‘group of one’ (more likely 2 or 3), where, by choice, an individual is engaged on what could be called, for instance, “The Scottish Changeover” Trunking up to Carlisle, swapping trailers, and back again. In such a case any necessary opt-outs might only apply to that individual driver and he would be the only ‘relevant member’ of the sector of the employees that undertook that task.
Yes. The opt-out does have to be in writing, signed by the individual, or by elected Driver’s Representatives, and is valid for no longer than five years.
steve_24v:
Our firm claim I have to sign a paper to opt out, but they can’t find it
Your firm can’t find it, because they have to write it. There isn’t an opt out paper included in the WTD because each firm will have different requirements. A cover-all document wouldn’t be feasible.
Simon:
Your firm can’t find it, because they have to write it.
I hadn’t thought of anything SO obvious.
Then again, we are dealing with management in the Haulage sector. 
what are the implications for night time working with the the wtd
coming into force.heard a few things ,have any of your companys
told u what u will be doing,
can u work more than 10 3/4 hrs in a shift,
not more than one shift in 24 hr period(saw this on a driver hire poster)
could this mean if u start 10pm on a monday u have to start 10pm all week.
answers please
thinks
Night working is if you work at all between 12midnight and 4am
You can only work 10 hrs (POA’s don’t count - don’t confuse shift time with work time)
but you don’t have to start at the same time EVERY day, so long as you have not worked over 10 hours in any 24 hour period.
so start at 10pm work til 8am then start at 10pm or even 11pm again is cool
but start at 10pm work til 8am and start again at 9pm is not, cos you’ll have done 11hrs in that 24 hour period
BUT but start at 10pm work til 8am with 1 hour POA and start again at 9pm IS ok
I think…someone care to doublecheck me?
Dapper Scavenger:
First impression. It looks good to me.
The operative terms are “Ten hours work” as opposed to “Working ten hours”
The way i read it, is, that you only fall under the 10 hour rule if you start between 12am and 4am, so buy starting at 10pm you could do a 15 if you wanted.
And if there is a workplace agreement at your place of work then you can opt out of this 10 hour rule completely and carry on as normal.
If a mobile worker does any work during the nighttime period, they will be subject to the night work limit. The night work limit can only be exceeded where this is permitted in a relevant agreement - (see section 7).
Although I suppose, that if the period between 2400 and 0400 was a rest period then you could do a 16 hours without a workplace agreement.
Gurner:
The way i read it, is, that you only fall under the 10 hour rule if you start between 12am and 4am, so buy starting at 10pm you could do a 15 if you wanted.
And if there is a workplace agreement at your place of work then you can opt out of this 10 hour rule completely and carry on as normal.
Carry on as normal ?
I certainly hope not, I’m banking on the wtd to get me off running max from 18:00 till finish… Can’t keep it up much longer 
Gurner:
The way i read it, is, that you only fall under the 10 hour rule if you start between 12am and 4am, so buy starting at 10pm you could do a 15 if you wanted.
And if there is a workplace agreement at your place of work then you can opt out of this 10 hour rule completely and carry on as normal.
Gurner
Think its if you work any hour between midnight and 4am your a night driver