We’ve started to see a weekly chart on our notice board to show how many hours over or under we are from our ‘contracted’ working hours - not sure this is a good move as it gives the impression that there are workers and shirkers doing the same job when that isn’t really the case.
Bearing in mind we are on a salary, it’s quite an eye opener to see the differences in hours worked for the same amount of money and hear the attitudes of some drivers.
We have some drivers who have been running at 60 hrs a week since the wtd came in thinking that they would get a week or more off at the end of the 26 week period - some of these are now up to 150+ hrs over where others have decided it better to job and finish and are ‘owing’ the company up to 100hrs personally I owe them 80 hrs which is about average for the night shift.
Now as time goes on the company must realise that they need to get better control to prevent those stretching their working day out - indeed it has been mentioned that ‘rest days’ will be introduced to bring drivers hours down but surely if they fall into a contracted working time ie not a weekend then surely they will still count as 8hrs??
For those of us owing hours I cannot see how they can claw back the hours at more than 10 hours tops per week and we don’t currently have the work load to do that on nights.
Surely having a fleet of drivers who are ALL under their quota is better for versatility towards the end of reference period when extra work might be required??
We have a chart in the office too, and all but one has kett within the average and I believe that was a mode switch error which in my opinion doesnt count anyway, I still havent worked the difference out between a rest and a POA when you are on salary.
If anything we have got some longer runs rather than doing 2 trips per week to France.
Wheel Nut:
I still havent worked the difference out between a rest and a POA when you are on salary.
That’s easy for us - no poa’s at all, all counts towards working time bar breaks even if were sat for 2 hours waiting for enough room in the silo to empty the tank. technically that would be a poa but the company line is it’s working time so who am I to argue!
A quick check in the diary and i’m running just under 43hrs a week average so I’m not far off the mark.
map-man:
We have some drivers who have been running at 60 hrs a week since the wtd came in thinking that they would get a week or more off at the end of the 26 week period - some of these are now up to 150+ hrs over where others have decided it better to job and finish and are ‘owing’ the company up to 100hrs personally I owe them 80 hrs which is about average for the night shift.
Thoughts?
Steve
You’re in trouble. For the purposes of calcualting the WTD, a weeks holiday counts as a 48 hour week. Similarly, a “compensating” week off will only count as 48 hours off their hours owed so they’re looking at nearly four weeks with no work. I have a funny feeling that may also mean no/basic money.
Conor, this is what a few of the drivers are saying and those that are well over still believe they will get a big holiday money wise they will still get paid as were on salary so they have effectively been working without being paid for the extra hours they have been working so far.
I really do feel that someone in management needs taking to one side and have this situation properly explained. They have tried to reduce the day shift’s hours by making us load their lorries before we take them out at night so they can go straight home but all that happens is they disappear for a coffee/cigarette and then do their paperwork to compensate and book the same hours as before.
It’s not a case of needing more drivers to cover the work, more a need to stop drivers spending x number of hours each day drinking tea or sitting in laybys to make up their hours. Although it doesn’t help starting at say 5am and the first drop is at 10am but is only 30mins away!!
I can see a time coming when half the day shift get told to do one shortish 3-4hr run a day starting at what ever time is required so they don’t have time off - we’ll then see who drags the work out in the next 26 week period.
From my perspective I go in and do the run I’m given to my own requirements, if I need an early night then I might get a wriggle on, other nights when there isn’t a rush or I don’t want to be back too soon I’ll take a more scenic route or have a longer break/kip on the bunk.
At the end of the day it’s down to the office to plan the runs and it’s them that should be checking on hours worked but I don’t think there is any communication or if there is it’s not being understood. Time is rolling on and there is just 10 weeks left for everyone to get there hours under the 48 average.
Although it doesn’t help starting at say 5am and the first drop is at 10am but is only 30mins away!!
Haulage companies have to realise that slave labour and pushing small boys up chimneys has finished. Some payroll departments and managers are still in the 18th century.
We gain in this benefit because, although we have an office in the UK we do not have any transport staff. All the work is run from France, So if I have a delivery in Manchester at 11am on a Monday, then I do not need to go into the yard till 9.30, the same thing happens on a Friday, if i get home at 9 in the morning, I just park the truck up and go to my house, it’s rare to finish so early but I am regularly home before 2pm on Friday.
Basically we are given our work by computer and we then are left alone to get on with it, sometimes not speaking to anyone for 3 days
That’s the same as me, Wheelnut. Take today for example; started at 6.30am (already loaded last friday), had 10am tip Walsall, left drop at 10.30, next job comes through on in cab computer, 10am Wigan tomorrow. Got back to factory, loaded it and was parked up and on my way home at 2pm. Doesn’t happen too often but great when it does
i have increased my hours to gain financially while i can. once i sign a contract, i will be paid 55 hours a week. whether i am over or under, i get paid the same so i will not go over that. i am currently working around 60 hours over 5 days or around 65 hours if i do a saturday too.
the supervisors have evidently not been trained on the WTD since they are threatening to dock pay for excessive POA for those drivers who do not call in when they are delayed. they take that as a scam to limit their working week. those of us who know what they are talking about do know that POA does not count towards working time which is the only way that i am clocking up the overtime that i have managed.
at the moment, i am getting every penny i can before i find out how limited i am with Exel. they would rather pay an agency driver to do shunting on a saturday (i am still eligible at the moment) than pay their own staff overtime. this has been questioned but its down to different budgets
Spardo:
Mapman,
Seems to me like a severe case of managers not managing.
Aren’t there any ex drivers on the management staff?
Salut, David.
In a word, no, there aren’t although we sometimes have a driver help re-plan the runs once in a while as some of our deliveries need to be double manned for safety. it’s more effective to send 2 drivers in two wagons to do a pair of these deliveries that are close together rather than the way the office will have someone ride shotgun on each using 4 drivers in total 2 of which have their own run to do afterwards.
When a driver gets involved things are better but that isn’t the norm, some of the office staff dont even know where the drops are, let alone which need double manning so how can they plan linked runs??
Managers seem more concerned with putting out letters and memo’s telling us to be careful cos a contractor got electricuted in venuzwala(sp?) for which we have to sign that we’ve read it
Even our timesheets have been changed, no thats the wrong word, reorganised is more appropraite. parts moved around on the page and all the important bits taken off… things like the contact numbers for emergencies
Managers seem more concerned with putting out letters and memo’s telling us to be careful cos a contractor got electricuted in venuzwala(sp?) for which we have to sign that we’ve read it
:
Ha! Reminds me of the Japs who ran Toray. They heard that one of the little people had got killed in Japan by running into a kerb backwards with his forktruck, turning it over on top of him.
Immediately the instruction went out ‘no running backwards’.
A day later they had to change back again on being told that the H&S rule was - backwards.
Or was it the other way round?
Either way, dangerous things in the hands of idiots. Just as in everything it’s the man behind the wheel that counts.
so the pc at work says i owe them 5 hours to bring it back under 48.
and yes a full weeks holiday counts as 48 hours because im off next week and i thought that might bring my average down but alas no. it looks like a lot of drivers at map mans place will be taking a few weeks off unpaid
where others have decided it better to job and finish and are ‘owing’ the company up to 100hrs 
personally I owe them 80 hrs which is about average for the night shift.
A lot of companies expect that these days. 
