Hi mainly out of interest im hoping someone can make sense of this for me. Can a driver be on standby for 7 days getting paid to stay at home but between the hours of 1800-0600 each day they are on standby to go out in the truck if needed? Im asking this just to make sense of POA would those hours of beeing on call have to be recorded as POA? And if the driver did not recieve a callout in those 7 days would that then be allowed to be recorded as break for the week? Or does POA count as duty time so you would only be allowed to do 6 days on standby?
Being paid for that time has nothing to do with the regs as the regs require you to record any work or driving you actually do so if you do nothing then I cannot see why you need to record anything
Thank you for the reply, at the moment we are currently only having a driver on 6 days standby as we are led to believe that 7 days is illegal as you cant work 7 days straight so we are losing money by having to have contractors cover saturday evening’s for us, even though most weeks our standby driver will recieve no call outs so effectively they have had a week break so i was sure if that was the case they would be able to cover the saturday aswell as they have not used any duty time actually in work, but i was told that is wrong as beeing in standby at home is considered on duty
watsonfm:
Thank you for the reply, at the moment we are currently only having a driver on 6 days standby as we are led to believe that 7 days is illegal as you cant work 7 days straight so we are losing money by having to have contractors cover saturday evening’s for us, even though most weeks our standby driver will recieve no call outs so effectively they have had a week break so i was sure if that was the case they would be able to cover the saturday aswell as they have not used any duty time actually in work, but i was told that is wrong as beeing in standby at home is considered on duty
This is one of those grey areas
Being paid has nothing to do with the regs we know that much
Although rest for the regs means being able to dispose of your time as you see fit does not seem to fit into the fact that the driver must be in one place so reading that literally means it is not rest
I think the only way to get a definitive is to contact the DVSA
Got answer from DVSA
Good Morning
Ref: AMS/404
Thank you for your query which has been forwarded to me for a response.
Under EU Drivers’ Hours tachograph Rules – time spent on call would be recorded as POA.‘Periods of availability’ (POAs) means:
· periods when the mobile worker is not required to remain with the vehicle (but must be available to answer any calls to start or resume driving or to carry out other work). It includes periods accompanying a vehicle being transported by ferry or train, as well as periods of waiting at frontiers and those due to traffic prohibitions.
· for multi-manned journeys, the time spent sitting next to the driver or on the couchette while the vehicle is in motion.
POAs, and their foreseeable duration, must be known in advance by the mobile worker (so before departure or just before the actual start of the period in question). POAs do not include break or rest periods
The record of other work must be either:
· written manually on a chart
· written manually on a printout from a digital or smart tachograph
· made by using the manual input facility of a digital or smart tachograph or
Additionally, for days where a driver has been subject to the domestic drivers’ hours rules, a record may also be required under those rules. See Record keeping, recorded in a domestic log book
Rest and other days off
Drivers are required, in addition to breaks and rest periods, to record periods of annual or sick leave under the rest mode (bed symbol) by using the manual inputs on a digital/smart tachograph or by making a manual record on a chart or print out paper.
It is not acceptable to use attestation letters as an alternative for recording periods of annual or sick leave. Other countries may accept attestation letters from drivers on international journeys for other types of leave, but we are not aware if that is the case so such drivers should ensure that all periods of rest and leave are recorded as detailed the paragraph above. The UK will not accept attestation letters as an alternative to keeping records as detailed in the paragraph above.
Under GB Domestic Rules - time spent ‘on call’ would be recorded as time spent on duty in a log book.
Kind regards,
I am obliged to emphasise that the advice is the view of DVSA and is not intended to be an interpretation of the law, only a court of law is able to give a legal definitive interpretation.
Alison Smith, Remote Enforcement Examiner
Remote Enforcement Office