ADR at the weekend?

[delboytwo]

ROG:
Do self employed drivers come under RTD(WTD) rules

Hi Rog

it was in March 09 that self employed were due to come under the RTD/WTD but i think there some confusion to what self employed means and i think the EU are trying to sort it out

this is the quote from the regs

1.4 Self-employed drivers

Self-employed drivers (as defined under the Regulations) are excluded from all the requirements until March 2009. However, the definition of “self-employed driver” under the Regulations has been tightly drawn. Therefore, those who might be classed as self-employed for the purpose of the Employment Rights Act 1996 or the 1998 Regulations are not necessarily classed as self-employed under these Regulations. Nor is the test the same as applied by HM Revenue and Customs.

As a consequence, only a limited number of drivers are likely to be regarded as a “self-employed driver” for the purposes of the Regulations.

“Self-employed driver” means anyone whose main occupation is to transport passengers or goods by road for hire or reward within the meaning of Community legislation under cover of a Community licence or any other professional authorisation to carry out such transport, who is entitled to work for himself and who is not tied to an employer by an employment contract or by any other type of working hierarchical relationship, who is free to organise the relevant working activities, whose income depends directly on the profits made and who has the freedom, individually or through a co-operation between self-employed drivers, to have commercial relations with several customers" (Regulation 2 of SI 2005 No. 639)

Key considerations are that:

• a self-employed driver must have an operator’s licence;
• the amount of control that the driver has over their work is a key point, as is their reliance on profits to provide them with an income;
• if the worker is restricted (either implicitly or explicitly) from working for another client/customer, then they would be covered by all the requirements of the Regulations;
• in addition, most agency workers would not count as a self-employed driver because they are normally paid at a fixed rate. Once they accept a job, an agency worker is not free to organise their working activities.

For the purpose of the Regulations, drivers who are partners in a firm or who have limited liability will be treated no differently to sole traders. Providing they have an operator’s licence and meet the other requirements under the Regulations, then they can class themselves as a self-employed driver.

[rog]

So would I be correct in saying that at the moment they do not come under the RTD(WTD)

[delboytwo]

ROG:
So would I be correct in saying that at the moment they do not come under the RTD(WTD)

i could not comment for fear of been wrong, so someone IE geebee45 needs to confirm

[coffeeholic]

ROG:
Do self employed drivers come under RTD(WTD) rules

Self employed drivers have never been exempt from the WTD. The self employed criteria for the WTD exemption are different to those for the Revenue accepting someone as a self employed driver. The main requirement to claim exemption from the WTD is the individual having an O Licence and whose main occupation is to transport goods by road for hire or reward under that authorisation. Self employed drivers do not generally have an O Licence unless they are owner drivers.

ROG:
So would I be correct in saying that at the moment they do not come under the RTD(WTD)

You would not be correct. A self employed driver who works directly for companies or through agencies is not and has never been exempt from the WTD as it applies to mobile workers.

This is the definition of self employed driver for the RTD(WTD), as already posted by Del, and the bold bits are the requirements self employed drivers who are not OD’s fall foul of.

“self-employed driver” means anyone whose main occupation is to transport passengers or goods by road for hire or reward within the meaning of Community legislation under cover of a Community licence or any other professional authorisation to carry out such transport, who is entitled to work for himself and who is not tied to an employer by an employment contract or by any other type of working hierarchical relationship, who is free to organise the relevant working activities, whose income depends directly on the profits made and who has the freedom, individually or through a co-operation between self-employed drivers, to have commercial relations with several customers.

[rog]

Thank you for that coffeeholic

The question of whether it would be classed as ‘other work’ if, for example, doing the Driver CPC at the weekend (or any time off) would it then be thus -
Owner driver - no
Self employed but not O/D - no, unless someone they were contrated to was nice enough to either pay them for doing it or paid for the course - ooh, pig flying…