Breaks

Hi can anybody please explain this to me, my manager asked me to do a return to work when my tacho had been on break cor 10 minjtes i explaned i was on a break to wich he answered it doesnt matter it wont take long- is he allowed to do that.
Thanks

NO if its a break required to comply with the law . YES if its just a comfort break (cuppa,pee) in which case tell him to wait 5 minutes to clear 15 minute minimum.

As has bee said, if you was on a legally required break that could not legally be put off until later then your manager cannot tell you to disrupt it.

On the other hand, if you was having a break just because you felt like a break the manager has every right to ask you to return to work.

There’s legalities and there’s also the real world.

Legally if you’re on a legally required break then you’re on a break and no work must be undertaken.

In the real world its a few questions on a form so I’d have just gone with it and got it out the way while on break.

waits for howls of derision from our resident driver compliance squad

Depends if your perm or agency is your perm you can be arsey and say your on break hold on till i put it on other work ( they cant sack you, if they do you get a big payout)

if your agency, yes sir three bags full ( they cant sack you but they wont ring you in saying work is quite meaning sacked )

toonsy:
There’s legalities and there’s also the real world.

Legally if you’re on a legally required break then you’re on a break and no work must be undertaken.

In the real world its a few questions on a form so I’d have just gone with it and got it out the way while on break.

waits for howls of derision from our resident driver compliance squad

Well I certainly ain’t a member of such squad, but I would deffo tell him to wait until my break was done, in fact if I felt really arsey I would re.start the break after he’d ‘interrupted ’ it.
Thing is these ■■■■ ers want things done to the letter, so much so that they employ and (over) pay people to be …’‘Compliance managers’'.
So they can’t just pick and choose when to break rules, however minor, just because it suits THEM at the time.

robroy:

toonsy:
There’s legalities and there’s also the real world.

Legally if you’re on a legally required break then you’re on a break and no work must be undertaken.

In the real world its a few questions on a form so I’d have just gone with it and got it out the way while on break.

waits for howls of derision from our resident driver compliance squad

Well I certainly ain’t a member of such squad, but I would deffo tell him to wait until my break was done, in fact if I felt really arsey I would re.start the break after he’d ‘interrupted ’ it.
Thing is these [zb] ers want things done to the letter, so much so that they employ and (over) pay people to be …’‘Compliance managers’'.
So they can’t just pick and choose when to break rules, however minor, just because it suits THEM at the time.

Agreed… you’ll get an infringement for not recording a working time break; working during the break is in the same vein.

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Can we assume the manager didn’t know if you were driving or resting when they called, what happened when you said 'yeah, thats fine, just be a few minutes to finish my break and I’ll do it then or I’ll call you back"

toonsy:
waits for howls of derision from our resident driver compliance squad

And you’ll get it. That attitude is what’s allowed the practice of planning unrealistic runs that expect the driver to tip on break. So when you’re chasing your backside off and the only way you can get home as a day driver that day by doing everything on break and you’re having to pee in a bottle and eat your dinner whilst you drive because you’ve no time to stop then you can thank those that have the “and there’s also the real world” attitude.

Everything that is crap about the job that you whine about being brought in is as a direct result of what drivers have done in the past. Tachographs because drivers couldn’t resist running bent with log books, speed limiters because they couldn’t resist hooning down the road, cameras because they can’t drive without hitting something.

Good post Conor and so true, drivers are their own worst enemy and never stick together and accept any new law or regulations without fighting against it.
They are only worried what their work colleagues are doing and why they get the best run or early finish on a Friday.
No surprise why some companies have fitted cameras to record or observe them in the drivers seat especially after the multiple fatalities on the A34 crash with a whole family wiped out as he touched his device then lied about brake failure.

Conor:

toonsy:
waits for howls of derision from our resident driver compliance squad

eat your dinner whilst you drive because you’ve no time to stop then

Ok let me stop you right there - I eat my dinner on the move because I’d rather have a nap on my break than eat, ok

Acorn:
Can we assume the manager didn’t know if you were driving or resting when they called, what happened when you said 'yeah, thats fine, just be a few minutes to finish my break and I’ll do it then or I’ll call you back"

If it was a phone call and not in person, wtf did you answer the phone?

ETS:

Conor:

toonsy:
waits for howls of derision from our resident driver compliance squad

eat your dinner whilst you drive because you’ve no time to stop then

Ok let me stop you right there - I eat my dinner on the move because I’d rather have a nap on my break than eat, ok

Why not do both? Stop and eat when your stomach wants a meal, stop and snooze when you need to. This approach has worked for me for the past 15+ years.

Conor:

toonsy:
waits for howls of derision from our resident driver compliance squad

And you’ll get it. That attitude is what’s allowed the practice of planning unrealistic runs that expect the driver to tip on break. So when you’re chasing your backside off and the only way you can get home as a day driver that day by doing everything on break and you’re having to pee in a bottle and eat your dinner whilst you drive because you’ve no time to stop then you can thank those that have the “and there’s also the real world” attitude.

Everything that is crap about the job that you whine about being brought in is as a direct result of what drivers have done in the past. Tachographs because drivers couldn’t resist running bent with log books, speed limiters because they couldn’t resist hooning down the road, cameras because they can’t drive without hitting something.

We’re talking a chat of a few minutes at most. Any return to work I’ve ever done has lasted no longer than 30 seconds and consisted of nothing more than “are you better”, “is there is there an ongoing issue” and then “sign here”.

If we’re going right down to the letter I sincerely hope nobody cleans their truck or mirrors whilst sat on break, or checks the next leg of the journey for traffic and so on. I mean that’s all a work related activity after all isn’t it?

toonsy:

Conor:

toonsy:
waits for howls of derision from our resident driver compliance squad

And you’ll get it. That attitude is what’s allowed the practice of planning unrealistic runs that expect the driver to tip on break. So when you’re chasing your backside off and the only way you can get home as a day driver that day by doing everything on break and you’re having to pee in a bottle and eat your dinner whilst you drive because you’ve no time to stop then you can thank those that have the “and there’s also the real world” attitude.

Everything that is crap about the job that you whine about being brought in is as a direct result of what drivers have done in the past. Tachographs because drivers couldn’t resist running bent with log books, speed limiters because they couldn’t resist hooning down the road, cameras because they can’t drive without hitting something.

We’re talking a chat of a few minutes at most. Any return to work I’ve ever done has lasted no longer than 30 seconds and consisted of nothing more than “are you better”, “is there is there an ongoing issue” and then “sign here”.

If we’re going right down to the letter I sincerely hope nobody cleans their truck or mirrors whilst sat on break, or checks the next leg of the journey for traffic and so on. I mean that’s all a work related activity after all isn’t it?

Yep it is, but to get back to my point it is usually voluntary, not a case of being pulled of having your break by your boss…oooher Mrs.

I think these transport managers ,office bods etc know who to say these sort of things too , I been driving trucks way before I should of been ,and would never except that question with out saying f off .

I have once or twice in my early days work over 15 hours off tacho but was shunting in the yard on a sunday ,but I did it because it was double time and it helped me out with the next days job.

I am a transport manager/owner of a removal/storage company now and would never ask that question.

A return to work ie off sick should be completed before you even do any other work let alone going on break

Carthorse11:
Hi can anybody please explain this to me, my manager asked me to do a return to work when my tacho had been on break cor 10 minjtes i explaned i was on a break to wich he answered it doesnt matter it wont take long- is he allowed to do that.
Thanks

It isn`t clear to me what is being said here.

It isn`t clear what “do a return to work” is.

Is Carthorse on a driving break, done 4hr30, and is being told to drive to base?
That is a NO!

Has he done 5hr55 duty and on a break, and being told to work?
A No.

If he is has done 2hrs drive, and 2hrs duty, just started having a cuppa, and the boss says: “You`re only half hour away, come on back and take your break here”.
Totally legal. Might or might not be “nice” though.

Ten minutes break on a tacho is in no way illegal.
It won`t count for anything, but there is nothing intrinsically wrong with it.
So long as correct breaks are taken, you can sprinkle ten min breaks all over as well, if you want to.

Carthorse11:
Hi can anybody please explain this to me, my manager asked me to do a return to work when my tacho had been on break cor 10 minjtes i explaned i was on a break to wich he answered it doesnt matter it wont take long- is he allowed to do that.
Thanks

Most topics with those key words is just a driver being awkward.

mrginge:

Carthorse11:
Hi can anybody please explain this to me, my manager asked me to do a return to work when my tacho had been on break cor 10 minjtes i explaned i was on a break to wich he answered it doesnt matter it wont take long- is he allowed to do that.
Thanks

Most topics with those key words is just a driver being awkward.

Hmmmm so if your tm asks you to do something which you assess or suspect is taking the ■■■■, you just do it in case he thinks your’e ‘being awkward’
Ok.