At the moment I’m working nights , but the boss keeps moving the goal post. I never know from one day to the next what time I’m starting.
The company seem to think that a night shift starts between 12am ans 4am. So they (and me, under duress!) can opt out of this 10 hour working shift.
Is this true? 
the midnight to 4am thing, is just the WTD/RTD bull.
a night shift to me, is when you do a full shift throughout the night. maybe starting at 3pm and ending at 6am, or 6pm to 9am.
but i wouldn’t count a night shift of, say 9am to midnight.
I would have thought 9 pm.
some days my shift starts at 5 pm till 3 am other days my night shift starts at 11pm tiil 13.30 pm its absolutaly tiring !! 
“Night time” explained:-
dft.gov.uk/pgr/freight/road/ … ge=6#a1005
Drivers at our place are on “night rate” if they start after 12 noon 
The ones starting @ 12.01 are finished by 9/10 pm
gorby1:
The company seem to think that a night shift starts between 12am ans 4am
There are not quite correct
It is when you are working at ANY TIME between midnight and 4am whether that be the start, middle or finish of your shift.
ROG:
gorby1:
The company seem to think that a night shift starts between 12am ans 4amThere are not quite correct
It is when you are working at ANY TIME between midnight and 4am whether that be the start, middle or finish of your shift.
so what’s daytime then? 
gorby1:
some days my shift starts at 5 pm till 3 am other days my night shift starts at 11pm tiil 13.30 pm its absolutaly tiring !!
That’s interesting. What time is 13.30 pm exactly.
enit?:
gorby1:
other days my night shift starts at 11pm tiil 13.30 pm its absolutaly tiring !!That’s interesting. What time is 13.30 pm exactly.
Half past one in the afternnon - 14 and a half hours after he started
right so can i refuse to do a shift of 14 hours say from 11pm till 13.30 the next day ! the problem is i start my nite shift from say 7pm till 5 am , monday till wednesdaythen thursday 11pm till 13.00 friday then back in at 22.00 friday night till 9 am saturday morning its the friday night & saturday morning im more tired…
redboxer850:
Drivers at our place are on “night rate” if they start after 12 noon
The ones starting @ 12.01 are finished by 9/10 pm
I want to work where you work lol !!
gorby1:
right so can i refuse to do a shift of 14 hours say from 11pm till 13.30 the next day !
Depends on whether the ‘work’ (driving + other work) is over 10 hours and also whether you have an opt out of the RT(WTD)R night time rules.
gorby1:
the problem is i start my nite shift from say 7pm till 5 am , monday till wednesdaythen thursday 11pm till 13.00 friday then back in at 22.00 friday night till 9 am saturday morning its the friday night & saturday morning im more tired…
Those sort of irregular start times are terrible for many as they do not allow for the body to get into a regular sleep pattern.
Is there any way that the planners can accomodate regular shift times for the drivers 
or has no-one bothered to ask and perhaps inform them of the problem
iv already told my managers my t.m. &his boss only to be told it cant be helped its better than you not having a job!! 
My personal opinion is that shifts should be 06:00 - 18:00 days. 18:00 - 06:00 nights. They are 12 hour shifts with a little room for craftiness from the exploiters…sorry typo, I meant employers. My pay scale changes at 06:00 & 18:00 so in my book one is clearly a day shift and the other a night shift.
Up to each individual what they work cus some of our drivers work really strange times, but for me - I only work 05:00 - 19:00 as a day tramper. That is a little lee way for unforseens (14 hour shift is more than enough). Unforseens however (accidents/road closures) I will start or finish accordingly.
ROG:
gorby1:
right so can i refuse to do a shift of 14 hours say from 11pm till 13.30 the next day !Depends on whether the ‘work’ (driving + other work) is over 10 hours and also whether you have an opt out of the RT(WTD)R night time rules.
gorby1:
the problem is i start my nite shift from say 7pm till 5 am , monday till wednesdaythen thursday 11pm till 13.00 friday then back in at 22.00 friday night till 9 am saturday morning its the friday night & saturday morning im more tired…Those sort of irregular start times are terrible for many as they do not allow for the body to get into a regular sleep pattern.
Is there any way that the planners can accomodate regular shift times for the drivers
its an accident waiting to happen they dont give a zb
gorby1:
iv already told my managers my t.m. &his boss only to be told it cant be helped its better than you not having a job!!
nothing you can do then - except just make sure you are not too tired to drive safely
gorby1:
its an accident waiting to happen
Then make sure you are not that accident - too tired, don’t drive
and look for another job… thanks for the advice lads 
I posted at the same time as 2 above but your employer is taking the proverbial gypsys kiss. To me that is unreasonable working hours and I personally wouldn’t do it. I would give leeway but not that much!
ROG:
enit?:
gorby1:
other days my night shift starts at 11pm tiil 13.30 pm its absolutaly tiring !!That’s interesting. What time is 13.30 pm exactly.
Half past one in the afternnon - 14 and a half hours after he started
Wrong. look again. You’ll need to think about this one. The answer isn’t in one of your manuals.
enit?:
Wrong. look again.
OK
11pm
that’s 2300 hours
or
eleven o clock in the evening
13.30 pm
that’s 1330 hours
or
Half past one in the afternoon
Hmmm… DEFFO 14.5 hours - 1 hour before midnigh plus 13 and a half hours after midnight