I know that the hours we can work, for the first 4, or 5, days of the week, are governed by the requirement to complete daily rest within 24 hrs of start of shift, but what dictates the length of shift on the last day, when your next rest is a 24, or 45? I can’t find any definitive info on this. Not that I woukd want to work any longer than any other day, just can’t find any actual regs on it.
After no more than 6 24hr periods after the start of your week you must take a weekly rest either 24 or 45. So if you start your working week at 0600 on Monday morning you must start your weekly rest no later than 0600 on Sunday morning.
Yeah, I get that bit, but, if you haven’t maxed your hours all week, then that could mean that your last day of the week could still be of any length.
Well assuming you hadn’t used all your reduced rests then you can work for 15hrs on the last day, so then after the 15hrs you start your 24 or 45 instead off taking 9 off. You just treat the last day like any other day except your taking a weekly rest at the end of it instead of a daily rest.
I’ve fixed it now, I said part of it wrong.
Another way of putting it is your weekly rest includes your daily rest for the last day.
So what dictates that your last day can be no more than 15? Every other day is dictated by the finish of your rest period, ie within 24 hours of start of shift, whereas weekly is only to start no later than 6 24 hr periods from last weekly rest, so to use the example of 4 on 4 off, what would govern the maximum working time on the 4th day?
Yes you are correct the daily rest rule states that you must have either 9 or 11 hours rest within 24hrs of starting the working day but it doesn’t matter how long you are off after that 24hr period you still have to have at least 9 off within that 24hr period so that means 15 is the max. The 6 24hr periods per week is a maximum after which you must take a weekly rest but with 4 on 4 off you don’t need to worry about that.
With 4 on 4 off the daily rest still applies the exact same so the last day you can work 15hrs (as long as you havint used your 3 reduced rests already)
So say you start the last day at 0600 even though your off for the next 4 days you still must have at least nine hrs rest before 0600 the following day to comply with the daily rest rule, so that means the max hours you can work is 15.
What you are saying Jay, whilst sounding plausible, is not the way that this gov.uk/government/uploads/s … europe.pdf, which I tend to take as the definitive guide to drivers hours, explains it.
Ok well I can’t see where I’ve gone wrong but I am absolutely certain that you cannot work any more than 15hrs in a 24hr day. I’m sure someone else will be along to explain it a bit clearer or maybe pm tachograph on here would be your best bet.
Just like every other shift the maximum length of the last shift in the working week is governed by the daily rest period that must be completed within the 24 hour period from the start of the shift.
After the last shift of the working week the daily rest period is extended into a weekly rest period but you must still have the daily rest period within the 24 hour period.
Basically the daily rest period is both a daily rest period and the start of the weekly rest period, but it is first and foremost a daily rest period.
- Within each period of 24 hours after the end of the
previous daily rest period or weekly rest period a driver shall
have taken a new daily rest period.
- A daily rest period may be extended to make a regular
weekly rest period or a reduced weekly rest period.
Note that the daily rest period is extended to make a weekly rest period, nowhere does it say that on the last shift of the working week you don’t need a daily rest period within the 24 hour period from the start of the shift.
Hope this helps 
I get that, and didn’t doubt that what Jay, or yourself, say is wrong, but the way that it is worded is, I believe, somewhat ambiguous. If a daily rest has to be completed within 24 hrs of start of shift, then, as I see it, extending it means it can finish later than 24hrs after start of shift, as this is what it undoubtedly will do, if turned into a 24, or 45.
cracker-bar:
I get that, and didn’t doubt that what Jay, or yourself, say is wrong, but the way that it is worded is, I believe, somewhat ambiguous. If a daily rest has to be completed within 24 hrs of start of shift, then, as I see it, extending it means it can finish later than 24hrs after start of shift, as this is what it undoubtedly will do, if turned into a 24, or 45.
No, the daily rest period being extended to make a weekly rest period means that you have the daily rest period first and then it can be extended.
If you don’t have a daily rest period you can’t extend it, and the regulations are clear that the daily rest period must be completed within the 24 hour period, the total rest period can fall outside of the 24 hour period but the daily rest part of the rest period must be completed within the 24 hour period.
cracker-bar:
I get that, and didn’t doubt that what Jay, or yourself, say is wrong, but the way that it is worded is, I believe, somewhat ambiguous. If a daily rest has to be completed within 24 hrs of start of shift, then, as I see it, extending it means it can finish later than 24hrs after start of shift, as this is what it undoubtedly will do, if turned into a 24, or 45.
You aren’t actually extending the daily rest period, the daily rest period part of the weekly rest will stay the same. You add hours onto the daily rest to extend, or turn it into if you prefer, a weekly rest period. The first part of any weekly rest period is always the daily rest for the last day before the weekly rest period and will be between 9 and 11 hours depending on the length of your shift.
Shift of 15 hours the first 9 hours of the weekly rest will be your required daily rest then those 9 hours are added to the remaining hours you take to give you your weekly rest, could be another 15 hours to give you a reduced 24-hour weekly rest.
Shift of 13 hours the first 11 hours of the weekly rest will be your required daily rest then those11 hours are added to the remaining hours you take to give you your weekly rest, could be 34 hours to give you a regular weekly rest of 45 hours.
Shift of 10 hours the first 11 hours of the weekly rest will be your required daily rest then those 11 hours are added to the remaining hours you take to give you your weekly rest.
The regulations clearly state that you must complete a daily rest period of 11 continuous hours, which can be reduced to a minimum of 9 hours 3 times between weekly rest periods, in the 24-hour period beginning when you resume work after a rest period. That is the same for all the shifts you work and it makes no difference if it is the last shift before a weekly rest period
The Sensai has spoken. Gong.
I consider myself told!