Pull into the yard pop in the loos it’s on break might only be 6 or 10 mins but while I’m doing what I gotta do I ain’t working ,
steve4545:
Hi all just looking for a bit of advice, started a new job on Monday, gaffer is asking me to put the tacho on break when I get held up loading/unloading etc. even if it’s just for a few minutes he says it is to keep my working time down, is this legal I have, been driving 20 years and never been asked to do this before, I thought a break was for the driver to recuperate (rest).
Are your breaks paid or duducted if the first crack on if the latter NFC.
The explanation does, to me, suggest that you will be extending your attendance but not your income. The choice is yours wether you comply but held up early may cause problems later in the day if you have to take breaks for needed “recuperation”.
nick2008:
Pull into the yard pop in the loos it’s on break might only be 6 or 10 mins but while I’m doing what I gotta do I ain’t working ,
well that kinda depends on what you go in there for…
Your boss has no right to ask you to set your tacho to break whilst being tipped. If I’m on a loading bay and being tipped from the rear… I put it on break. Tipped from the side is other work as your usually required to move the curtains etc. Its your decision not your bosses. Afterall its your licence and I’m sure he wont be offering to pay your infringement fines.
Jimd:
Your boss has no right to ask you to set your tacho to break whilst being tipped. If I’m on a loading bay and being tipped from the rear… I put it on break. Tipped from the side is other work as your usually required to move the curtains etc. Its your decision not your bosses. Afterall its your licence and I’m sure he wont be offering to pay your infringement fines.
+1
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The-Snowman:
kyoung:
Thats me told then.More than once!
Quit when you’re behind
I miss doing rdc work somtimes.
A waiting room full of drivers with opinions. All of them right.
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What I do mate is this.(which may bring on a stroke to all the purists and ner do wrongs.)
Firstly I never use poa, I’ll book a break instead, purely to keep myself right on the tacho when I’m waiting about or… shock horror …sometimes if I’m actually working 
…to suit my day, workload, and planning a decent place to park up rather than a ■■■■ lay by or something.
However unlike some on here I don’t look on breaks as something you ‘‘need to get in’’ 
, so I will definitely have a proper break also, but when it suits ME.
I never drive tired,.never get stressed, but try and run the job to suit both me and the boss, and to get through my workload.
Not saying it’s right, not saying it’s entirely legal, but I am saying that’s the way I do it, and at the end of the day it looks legal, and you don’t get nicked.
You do need to stress to your boss that if you play ball with him, that you are not just going to book breaks willy nilly just to suit HIM, and more importantly to yourself…NOT as an alternative to a proper genuine break, but that you will be flexible as long as he understands that you will take a proper 45 minute OFF also, whatever. 
Don’t listen to those who bite off their nose to spite their faces just to please their bosses and book breaks while tipping/loading INSTEAD of a proper rest break…
Good advice I reckon, take it or leave it, but it works for me.
Hope that helps.
kyoung:
A waiting room full of drivers with opinions. All of them right.
Maybe you should have listened to them then…
The-Snowman:
kyoung:
A waiting room full of drivers with opinions. All of them right.Maybe you should have listened to them then…
What?
All of them?
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Jimd:
Your boss has no right to ask you to set your tacho to break whilst being tipped.
Total tosh. Your boss has the right to ask you to do anything he wants you to do. Whether you comply with that request is up to you, although the potential consequences depend upon whether it is (a) legal and (b) reasonable.
Of course the other side of the coin is whether the OP gets paid breaks or not…
Jimd:
Your boss has no right to ask you to set your tacho to break whilst being tipped. If I’m on a loading bay and being tipped from the rear… I put it on break. Tipped from the side is other work as your usually required to move the curtains etc. Its your decision not your bosses. Afterall its your licence and I’m sure he wont be offering to pay your infringement fines.
Why are you assuming he’s been asked to go on break illegally? The OP might be loaded on bays, even loaded through the sides could be on break, I used to load at a place where you opened and tied the curtains back before entering a shed to load, once in the shed you would never get out of the truck, a) because you didn’t need to b) because you get run over by a forklift, once loaded you left the shed to secure the load and close the curtains.
So as has been pointed out the request is perfectly legal provided the driver is fulfils the requirements to be on break, its up to the driver to find out if its reasonable.
truckyboy:
.but dont forget that bosses can also get the hump when you have sat on a bay for an hour or so…and when you pull out go to the nearest cafe…moans cos you have just had a break of over an hour…
I dont do RDC work but going by the nightmare stories I read on here then I wouldnt be putting it on break if I was sitting inside a freezing cold cage with Jeremy Kyle white noise torture blasting out.
For me a break is a break…that means sitting inside a nice warm cafe or lying on my bunk asleep!
muckles:
Jimd:
Your boss has no right to ask you to set your tacho to break whilst being tipped. If I’m on a loading bay and being tipped from the rear… I put it on break. Tipped from the side is other work as your usually required to move the curtains etc. Its your decision not your bosses. Afterall its your licence and I’m sure he wont be offering to pay your infringement fines.Why are you assuming he’s been asked to go on break illegally? The OP might be loaded on bays, even loaded through the sides could be on break, I used to load at a place where you opened and tied the curtains back before entering a shed to load, once in the shed you would never get out of the truck, a) because you didn’t need to b) because you get run over by a forklift, once loaded you left the shed to secure the load and close the curtains.
So as has been pointed out the request is perfectly legal provided the driver is fulfils the requirements to be on break, its up to the driver to find out if its reasonable.
Well… it depends. I don’t get paid for my breaks. And if I can’t leave the truck and go for a walk or a run it’s not going on break. If I am not being paid I am not working so can do whatever I please as long as it’s legal.
I’m not that experienced of RDC’s - I’ve only been to one proper one - and a few maga factories/plants. And I can’t see them being too happy if you just abandoned your truck and left site for a bit. So it’s not a break - it’s other work as a truck supervisor/security guard.
Next time I’m at a very big site - for a laugh I’ll explain my wagon’s on break and I’m going for a walk off site and I’ll be back in around 45 mins. I’ll see how they react to that.
Probably get hung but never mind. 
I use lots of poa,I’m paid from book on to book off,I fill a time sheet in and it asks total breaks and total poa,whenever I put it on poa I write driving time used before poa and time I put it on.
I can spend ages waiting for loads,waiting for paperwork and twice this week waiting for a unit.
I don’t put it on break because I’m not on a break,I cannot use my time to use freely,I’m ready and waiting as they say…
Everyone is different and if it works on break for one,poa may work for another.
It probably depends who you work for but poa seems to be the devil on hear sometimes 
robroy:
What I do mate is this.(which may bring on a stroke to all the purists and ner do wrongs.)Firstly I never use poa, I’ll book a break instead, purely to keep myself right on the tacho when I’m waiting about
AKA running bent.
Conor:
robroy:
What I do mate is this.(which may bring on a stroke to all the purists and ner do wrongs.)AKA running bent.
Conor:
robroy:
What I do mate is this.(which may bring on a stroke to all the purists and ner do wrongs.)Firstly I never use poa, I’ll book a break instead, purely to keep myself right on the tacho when I’m waiting about
AKA running bent.
How so?
One of our EX new boys was tipping at Cargill Nash in Manchester… waited 3 hours…
He tipped drove out of the place and parked back up again. Boss asked him I thought you’d just got tipped… yes boss I’m sat outside on my 45min break now… he didn’t last much longer lol
How you run the job depends on how you are paid, and what sort of hours you want to do.
Salaried, only book the bare legal min of breaks, and never use POA, make sure every minute you are at work adds up to your 48 hour average.
Annualised hours, much the same…unless you get paid overtime at the proper rate (preferably calculated on a daily basis so it can’t be clawed back )…it’s not in your interests to be working more hours than necessary.
Hourly paid, we’ll assume you are paid right through or docked a max of 45 mins per day for legal break…if you want lots of hours to book then you’ll make as much use of break or POA as you can legally, if you don’t want to be working 60 or more hours week in week out you’ll not be maxing break/POA.
If you are paid on the tacho hours, then obviously it needs to be confirmed what won’t be paid, ie any breaks over 45mins, or POA.
Breaks should be to suit the driver, not the office monkey.
Perched on a cell bench, on remand almost, in a desolate waiting room at some RDC hell hole is not my idea of a suitable break even if its 6 hours…if they are a decent place and offer use of canteen etc and the waiting room is comfortable, well that would be different again.