hi can your boss enforce a driver to work 15 hours
Get the full story up.
Short answer is yes, no and maybe
why shouldnt he if the situation requires it assuming its legally done on your card.■■
the tail dont wag the dog.
Hmmm, interesting this one. I have absolutely no idea of the actuality of this from a legal standpoint, only my personal viewpoint. I’m quite contrary, I believe in getting the job done but NOT at all costs. To clarify; I have and probably will in future done many, many 15 hour shifts. The proviso being that it is MY choice. If I was ordered to do 15 hours you’d see me digging my heels right in! My first dig in would be “I’m feeling really tired boss. If you want me to drive whilst tired I’d need a text/e mail from you ordering me to do just that after me telling you I’m tired”.
There are plenty of ways around this tbh. Our planners plan us 15 hour days 6 days a week, we just ignore their planning and do what we see fit tbh.
kendon:
hi can your boss enforce a driver to work 15 hours
No. Health and Safety overules your bosses desire to flog you to death.
I dont think they are allowed to plan for a 15 hour day.
But the rules are rarely enforced so they are pretty much meaningless.
Unless you are working for a decent firm or one of the big boys (e.g. supermarkets) no one cares about working time directive.
adam277:
I dont think they are allowed to plan for a 15 hour day.
But the rules are rarely enforced so they are pretty much meaningless.
Unless you are working for a decent firm or one of the big boys (e.g. supermarkets) no one cares about working time directive.
The 15 hour limit on a shift has nothing at all to do with the Working Time Directive. It comes from the limits on Daily Rest imposed by the Drivers Hours Regs (which all operators, regardless of size, are bound by).
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Roymondo:
adam277:
I dont think they are allowed to plan for a 15 hour day.
But the rules are rarely enforced so they are pretty much meaningless.
Unless you are working for a decent firm or one of the big boys (e.g. supermarkets) no one cares about working time directive.The 15 hour limit on a shift has nothing at all to do with the Working Time Directive. It comes from the limits on Daily Rest imposed by the Drivers Hours Regs (which all operators, regardless of size, are bound by).
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True, I was mainly referring to working time in general. e.g. 60 hour work week, 6 hour rule.
the maoster:
Hmmm, interesting this one. I have absolutely no idea of the actuality of this from a legal standpoint, only my personal viewpoint. I’m quite contrary, I believe in getting the job done but NOT at all costs. To clarify; I have and probably will in future done many, many 15 hour shifts. The proviso being that it is MY choice. If I was ordered to do 15 hours you’d see me digging my heels right in! My first dig in would be “I’m feeling really tired boss. If you want me to drive whilst tired I’d need a text/e mail from you ordering me to do just that after me telling you I’m tired”.There are plenty of ways around this tbh. Our planners plan us 15 hour days 6 days a week, we just ignore their planning and do what we see fit tbh.
^ This.
It’s also possible to view it as a late finish followed by an early start ( reduced daily rest ).Sorry finished late yesterday too knackered to start early today.EU hours regs good for the workers yeah right.
We get given,a wad of tickets, then told what’s next days work, and off we go, us as drivers decided, only proviso, don’t be late, goodbye.
Also if they start telling us you this you can this, I might get tired or oversleep, wouldn’t want to drive tired boss.
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I do 15 hour shifts sometimes, but when it suits me,.( same as reduced rests)
It ain’t all selfish reasons either, sometimes it’s to get the job done…other times planning to meet somebody for a decent night out, or to get home sooner the next day. 
If I was planned for it I’d be asking why, if I was attempted to be pushed or blackmailed into it, I too would be playing the tiredness card…but that’s just because I can be a right arse when I want to be.
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I personally object to the rules being seen as licence to ask drivers to work in a certain way, for example the minimum rest requirement being stretched to the limit.
In terms of the nine hours rest, this was probably conjured up with a vision of a driver stopping at services, having a bite, a chill out and a sleep and getting going again. This does seem fair enough and overnight drivers probably see this as part of the job. Wake up and crack on type of thing.
For me, when you are doing day work and returning home, the nine hours rest becomes problematic. Day work can also involve much manual labour as well as pushing the boundaries of driving hours. Once travelling home and back again accounts for 1-2 hours, there really isn’t that much time at home and lets face it you have probably only had one meal during the 15 hour shift so you are going to have to have something to eat. Eating and then going to bed generally doesn’t work too well. Then you may well be asked to do another 13 plus hours the next day when by all accounts you are not in particularly good shape.
I also object to the flunky standing there telling you you don’t have to reduce when you have already done more than 13 hours.
That is my take anyway.
There’s absolutely no difference in the legislation to the 2 X extended drives and the 3 X reduced daily rests (that allows the 15 hour shift) there’s 100% nothing in there about either of them being at the driver’s discretion. So you either believe you can’t be planned anything or you can be planned and therefore planned a 15.
The tired thing is a separate argument that applies at any point in the shift, but if you were employing a driver would you think they were suitable if they’re always saying they’re tired?
That said it always works better when there’s a good understanding between you and the employer between what you want and expect and what they want and expect and it’s always gonna work best when those wants and expectations are roughly aligned, but the above is the legal position.
stevieboy308:
The tired thing is a separate argument that applies at any point in the shift, but if you were employing a driver would you think they were suitable if they’re always saying they’re tired?
It’s not rocket science to realise that starting a new shift with less than around 7 hours sleep in the 24 hours since starting the previous one, especially assuming a commute of any realistic duration, is going to mean a knackered driver at the start let alone later.
The only real surprise in that case would be if that driver isn’t knackered certainly too knackered to be piloting a truck on the roads.
stevieboy308:
There’s absolutely no difference in the legislation to the 2 X extended drives and the 3 X reduced daily rests (that allows the 15 hour shift) there’s 100% nothing in there about either of them being at the driver’s discretion. So you either believe you can’t be planned anything or you can be planned and therefore planned a 15.The tired thing is a separate argument that applies at any point in the shift, but if you were employing a driver would you think they were suitable if they’re always saying they’re tired?
That said it always works better when there’s a good understanding between you and the employer between what you want and expect and what they want and expect and it’s always gonna work best when those wants and expectations are roughly aligned, but the above is the legal position.
You say planned, but the driver often finds out his run on pitching up in the morning.
I would be inclined to think after a 15, more rest would be required rather than less, so tiredness is the result, it is just a question of if the driver is too tired the next day or not. By the end of two back to back fifteens maybe with 5-6 hours sleep, it is not a question of if the driver will be too tired anymore, the driver will be too tired. If you throw in some heavy handball, I would be seriously worrying about the driver’s welfare.
kendon:
hi can your boss enforce a driver to work 15 hours
If you’re a day driver, and it isn’t stated in your contract that you can only do a max shift of ■■■ hours - then sure - your boss can try and demand anything out of you in theory, that isn’t specifically ruled out in your contract… If you’re a night driver - you can try refusing on the grounds of not having opted out of the 10 hour WTD limit on working night shift.
Agency contract client firms - even routinely push the agency to “only supply us with a driver who is 15-hours-ready”, I’ve found as well over the years…
I’ve been sent home twice on an assignment when I refused to flip the 10 hour job I’d been given - into a 15 hour shift on arrival for the assignment. You’ve got no rights at all on agency, and they can treat you like dirt as they see fit. That’s why the money needs to be good - to make up for that, of course… No way would I work for any agency paying near minimum wages for ANY job on that basis…
If you want to work no more than 10 hour shifts on nights - you might like to try firms that have a union prescence, where you can be sure that the 10 hour limit - will be rigidly enforced.
Agencies - will get you to opt out when you apply, of course…
Noremac:
I would be inclined to think after a 15, more rest would be required rather than less, so tiredness is the result, it is just a question of if the driver is too tired the next day or not. By the end of two back to back fifteens maybe with 5-6 hours sleep, it is not a question of if the driver will be too tired anymore, the driver will be too tired.
Absolutely agree, it just goes to prove that all this H&S bullcrap is just a pretence.
On one hand you have the pointys actually planning for 9s off,.and on the flip side you have the teararse dicks saying ‘‘I only need 5 hours sleep me, just give me the hours I’m a hero’’. 
…and so the ridiculous hours some are expected to work with short rests in between, just carrys on being ignored.
The rest of us can see the job for what it really is.
Quite a few years ago I was pulled on the M1 by plod as apparently I kept wandering onto the rumble strip . I was 14 hrs 45 mins into a 15 , plod looked at my taco disc and just shook his head " The idiots that made this law want hanging , its us that have to deal with the fallout " . I was only a few minutes from J13 truck stop , which was where I was heading so they followed me to the slip road and cleared off . I was lucky to get a decent plod and had to agree with him , when you keep pushing the hours you are physically drained by Friday and shouldn’t even be behind the wheel . Not long after I quite and went on steady daywork .
Regardless of all the bullcrap about what drivers would/would not or should/should not accept, the answer to the OP’s question is “No, your employer cannot force you to do a 15 hour shift.” He can however ask you to do it, and you are free to agree or decline this request. Whether or not there is a contractual obligation to do the 15 hour shift rather depends on what is written in your employment contract.
Roymondo:
Regardless of all the bullcrap about what drivers would/would not or should/should not accept, the answer to the OP’s question is “No, your employer cannot force you to do a 15 hour shift.” He can however ask you to do it, and you are free to agree or decline this request. Whether or not there is a contractual obligation to do the 15 hour shift rather depends on what is written in your employment contract.
My contract (and probably a fair few others) reads something to the degree of “40 hours…plus any additional hours to meet the business requirements”. This seems a very broad statement which could in theory have you locked into doing a 15 if it meant the needs of the business required it?