daily rest

[polo]

can an employer make you reduce your daily rest i.e from 11 to a 10 or is it up to the driver if he wants to reduce it

[delboytwo]

your in charge of your truck when driving so its up to you

[polo]

thanks so they couldnt dicilpline you for it then

[ste164580]

suppose if you miss a delivery they could if they wanted to

way i look at it is my boss is paying me to do as im told so if he asks me to do summin and it’s legal i do it

[delboytwo]

polo:
thanks so they couldnt dicilpline you for it then

yes there mite it all depends on what you done for the rest of the week

[cbr_si]

don’t forget what goes round comes around, you scratch my back and all that, so you could reduce to 9 hours and in a couple of weeks ‘remember the other week I reduced to 9 hours rest? yeah well I really need an early finish tomorrow’ . . . .

[limeyphil]

a good driver will work his or her cards to get the job done legally.
so if you can legally take a nine and an eleven would make you late then you take a nine. A bad driver could also take a nine knowing damed well that he or she would be far too early to get tipped or loaded, therefore wasteing his or her spread over. therefore an eleven or more may have been appropriate.

So there are various reasons that your employer could get upset.

But it dosn’t help if they can’t tell you what is happening over the next 24 hours.
Like when you get tipped at 8am then they tell you your reload isn’t ready until 5pm.
If you knew that then it’s your fault, if you didn’t then it’s your planners fault.

But the way things are in haulage at the moment the rules are just another way of putting a nail in the coffin of uk haulage.

[mr_b]

they can’t make you do anything but they can “suggest” you do the job the way they want.
As long as they don’t “suggest” i do anything illegal i’ll do it their way.
I’m So long as they pay me on friday.

[kenny1975]

Suppose depends on circumstances.

If i’m tramping or doing overnights i prefer 9 hour daily breaks and have no problem doing them.

When i’m working from home depends on circumstances, ive gone out done a 15 hour shift and been asked back in 9 hours time knocked it back, mainly because it takes me an hour each way to get to work and back, when i get home from work need an hour to wind down, also time for food etc… so becomes your getting very little sleep. I’ll do it occasionally but some places i’ve worked i.e. supermarkets expect you to do that three times a week and its no use end up like a zombie.

[rog]

SAFETY should be your top consideration in this issue.

If reducing your rest would, in any way, cause you to be tired then don’t do it.

[darby_flyer]

Kenny1975:
I’ll do it occasionally but some places i’ve worked i.e. supermarkets expect you to do that three times a week and its no use end up like a zombie.

I always thought that if you were back at base then it was 11 hrs anyway.

I seem to get the feeling that has been answered in another thread of mine but cant find it,

ROG will no doubt put us straight though. (cos he’s a top bloke)

[tachograph]

Darby Flyer:

Kenny1975:
I’ll do it occasionally but some places i’ve worked i.e. supermarkets expect you to do that three times a week and its no use end up like a zombie.

I always thought that if you were back at base then it was 11 hrs anyway.

There’s no such regulation m8, you can reduce the daily rest to no less than 9 hours up-to three times between weekly rest periods, regardless of weather you’re away from base or not

ROG:
SAFETY should be your top consideration in this issue.

If reducing your rest would, in any way, cause you to be tired then don’t do it.

If you’re tired to the point that it’s likely to significantly reduce safety then I’d agree, really depends on how tired you are and how much you want to keep your job though doesn’t it

[gardun]

I can’t see any reason why they technically couldn’t. They can ask you to perform your duties as laid down in your contract/terms of employment. Provided what they ask is within the law I would expect it to be reasonable. Obviously they must be made aware that you can only reduce your rest three times during the week (they should be aware, but we all know what they can be like!) but otherwise they can ask you to do anything legal that is part of your job.

Just my take on it

[rog]

gardun:
I can’t see any reason why they technically couldn’t. They can ask you to perform your duties as laid down in your contract/terms of employment. Provided what they ask is within the law I would expect it to be reasonable. Obviously they must be made aware that you can only reduce your rest three times during the week (they should be aware, but we all know what they can be like!) but otherwise they can ask you to do anything legal that is part of your job.

Just my take on it

I think the drivers are salaried where he works and are trying to make them do more hours for the same money which is why they are resisting the change.
If they were hourly paid then I do not think the resistance to the change would be so great.

[xjrv8]

They can tell you to reduce the break to 9 hours, even if you are tired they can still insist.

[chippy]

xjrv8:
They can tell you to reduce the break to 9 hours, even if you are tired they can still insist.

And if they do insist and you have told them you do not feel you will be “fit to drive”. Then you have a crash then what?

[rog]

xjrv8:
They can tell you to reduce the break to 9 hours, even if you are tired they can still insist.

Get that in writing - bet they won’t do that - against H&S if driver too tired - especially under the new corporate culpability laws.

[xjrv8]

delboytwo,

You may be in charge of the truck but unless you are contributing towards the purchase of it you have no say in the matter, you are employed and you will do what is reasonably requested by your employer. You also contradict yourself later by saying " you might get disciplined", why if it is up to you?

You guys don’t seem to understand the drivers hours.

A reduced daily rest break of 9 hours can be taken, this was decided by the powers that be that this is the safest minimum rest break(apart from 8 hours but that is not what we are on about here).

Now it is the drivers duty of care to make sure that he has sufficient rest before he commences his next duty of work, not his employer. If the driver does not do this how is the employer responsible?? Why would you still be tired after 9 hours off? If you have been told to take 9 hours off then you make sure you have sufficient rest. If you are tired and do not do what is requested by your employer you may face disciplinary action. By being tired you are making yourself unfit to perform your duties for your employer, again disciplinary action can/will be taken.

If you have to drive an hour each way to work, it’s not the employers fault. You took the job on knowing this. An employer may take this into consideration when asking for a reduction, but he can still request you take 9 hours off.

Being told to take 9 hours off is a reasonable request from the employer and if not done disciplinary action can/will be taken.

ROG it is against H&S to drive whilst tired, but whose fault is that…not the employer unless he has knowingly made you commit hours offences regarding breaks,but this is not the case here. How many drivers that have fallen asleep at the wheel and have had proper breaks and went to jail because they killed people and had their employer charged also. NONE. Drivers responsibility not employer.

Chippy, if you tell them you are too tired then they may not make you drive and will be unhappy because of the problem that may occur regarding the delivery, and disciplinary action may be taken.

I suggest Polo that you ask your employer what would happen if you refused to take the 9 hours off.

[rog]

xjrv8:
delboytwo,

You may be in charge of the truck but unless you are contributing towards the purchase of it you have no say in the matter, you are employed and you will do what is reasonably requested by your employer. You also contradict yourself later by saying " you might get disciplined", why if it is up to you?

You guys don’t seem to understand the drivers hours.

A reduced daily rest break of 9 hours can be taken, this was decided by the powers that be that this is the safest minimum rest break(apart from 8 hours but that is not what we are on about here).

Now it is the drivers duty of care to make sure that he has sufficient rest before he commences his next duty of work, not his employer. If the driver does not do this how is the employer responsible?? Why would you still be tired after 9 hours off? If you have been told to take 9 hours off then you make sure you have sufficient rest. If you are tired and do not do what is requested by your employer you may face disciplinary action. By being tired you are making yourself unfit to perform your duties for your employer, again disciplinary action can/will be taken.

If you have to drive an hour each way to work, it’s not the employers fault. You took the job on knowing this. An employer may take this into consideration when asking for a reduction, but he can still request you take 9 hours off.

Being told to take 9 hours off is a reasonable request from the employer and if not done disciplinary action can/will be taken.

ROG it is against H&S to drive whilst tired, but whose fault is that…not the employer unless he has knowingly made you commit hours offences regarding breaks,but this is not the case here. How many drivers that have fallen asleep at the wheel and have had proper breaks and went to jail because they killed people and had their employer charged also. NONE. Drivers responsibility not employer.

Chippy, if you tell them you are too tired then they may not make you drive and will be unhappy because of the problem that may occur regarding the delivery, and disciplinary action may be taken.

I suggest Polo that you ask your employer what would happen if you refused to take the 9 hours off.

Not everyone can get enough sleep in less than 9 hours.

Some, like myself, need 8 hours sleep a night to function properly the next day - others only need 5 or 6 hours sleep a night.

9 hours off - perhaps a 45 min drive home and a 45 min drive back plus say, an hour and a half for a meal, a clean up and breakfast etc the next morning - that only leaves 6 hours for sleeping which certainly would not be enough for me

[xjrv8]

I totally agree with what you are saying ROG. If this is the case then the employee should of looked at this when taking up the employment and whether it would affect his performance to carry out his duties. This should also be discussed with the employer to see if some arrangement over rest can be made.

The question was “can an employer make you reduce your daily rest i.e from 11 to a 10 or is it up to the driver if he wants to reduce it” and the answer is YES he can.