Can someone please explain law regards night working.
I know between 10 and 4 your classed as a night worker can only do 10 hours shifts.
But I’m a day driver. If for instance I was to start at 2 am I a night worker. Or a day one. How many hours could I do?
Is it 10 because I started im.the Night hours. Or is.it as normal 13 / 15 hours.
Why would you think starting at 2 would be day work?
Edd1974
-Did you Opt Out of “Night Hours Agreement”?
If yes you can work max out your shifts.
If not 10 hrs it is as far as I know.
Silly o’clock starts and long shifts definetly ■■■■.
mac12:
Why would you think starting at 2 would be day work?
Because some hauliers tell their day drivers to start at silly o’clock and call it day shift.
Most day drivers who work from lets say 2am-6am don’t even get night rate for that time. [emoji33][emoji45][emoji45]
Lots of companies do only pay an “early start bonus” what is not fair in my opinion.
Tipperdipper1:
Edd1974-Did you Opt Out of “Night Hours Agreement”?
If yes you can work max out your shifts.
If not 10 hrs it is as far as I know.Silly o’clock starts and long shifts definetly ■■■■.
He won’t have opted out someone will have years ago who maybe don’t even work there now
So of started at 2 I could only do 10 hrs finish at noon?
Only asking as where I am lately we have lot of delivers that need be on site 8am on a Monday. We are given a choice start 2 3 am Monday or go Sunday.i tend go on a Sunday. As not keen starting at 2 am doing 13 15 hours. If I only could do 10 by law then I’m Gona start going Mondays. Although need read contract fully I guess
Hi Edd
Night hours are any shifts that go between the hours of midnight (not 10pm) and 4am (1am and 5am for PSV)
However, as mentioned, you need to check the ‘opt out’ situation and whether they believe you have signed. Someone can’t sign for you but it might have in the middle of the wedge of paper you signed when you started work there.
edd1974:
Can someone please explain law regards night working.
I know between 10 and 4 your classed as a night worker can only do 10 hours shifts.
15 hours nights shifts ok if the driving + other work in that shift does not exceed 10 hours
ROG:
edd1974:
Can someone please explain law regards night working.
I know between 10 and 4 your classed as a night worker can only do 10 hours shifts.15 hours nights shifts ok if the driving + other work in that shift does not exceed 10 hours
This and most definitely possible if you’re doing pallet network hub trunking. You could also do a 15 every day as you’d be able to get 3hrs rest in between tipping and reloading so doing a split daily rest which doesn’t count as a reduced.
From memory the opt out of the night hours rules has to be a COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT. You cant opt out as an individual. Either you all do or non of you do.
Nite Owl:
From memory the opt out of the night hours rules has to be a COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT. You cant opt out as an individual. Either you all do or non of you do.
Nite Owl - I think you’re correct but how on earth do you find out if everyone has signed or not? I don’t think you can expect the company to tell you. Not some of them anyway 
good_friend:
Nite Owl:
From memory the opt out of the night hours rules has to be a COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT. You cant opt out as an individual. Either you all do or non of you do.Nite Owl - I think you’re correct but how on earth do you find out if everyone has signed or not? I don’t think you can expect the company to tell you. Not some of them anyway
That’s my point earlier drivers working for the company 10 years ago decided to work more hours but how many are still there now and should it be up to each driver to decide when they start working for a firm
good_friend:
Nite Owl:
From memory the opt out of the night hours rules has to be a COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT. You cant opt out as an individual. Either you all do or non of you do.Nite Owl - I think you’re correct but how on earth do you find out if everyone has signed or not? I don’t think you can expect the company to tell you. Not some of them anyway
When I started I was told that everyone had opted out and if I signed my contract it was taken that I’d opted out to.
The alternative is you stand in the office in front of someone who matters and ask them. Or read your contract carefully.
if the law states your a night worker between midnight and 4 am. And can only work 10 hours.
So.if the law states it why do you of to opt in or out. Surely it’s compulsory no opt in or out
There is upside and downside to signing an agreement to “work over 10 hours on nights”.
The upside is that the company cannot force you to work longer than 10 hours per shift.
The downside is that you can kiss goodbye to any and all your overtime you might otherwise be able to pick up working the night shift, that is, “four hours worked between 10pm and 4am”.
Thus, if you start a shift at 00:01 hours, then technically you are “early doors” rather than “nights”.
A company wouldn’t get much take-up of such shift starts though - as you would not get the “night premium” either that way.
It is down to the individual as to what makes an “optimum shift” for them.
I prefer starts no earlier than 7pm for example, and finishes ideally that get me home in time to do the school run.
Working 15 hour shifts at Tescos whilst on agency - had me starting at 18:00, and finishing with the nodding dog at 09:00 - which I would NOT call “An optimum shift”. I found from experience that the “ideal shift” for me pulling 15 hours - was actually a 14:00-15:30 start!
Trouble is there, that you don’t get the night premium for that either, as some agencies pay a “right through” rate, based on the start time.
A FULL time job with those hours - is a different matter however. I used to lean towards such hours when I was working at RM a decade ago.
“Basic Duty” might be say, 18:30-04:06, with me coming in at 15:30 and booking three hours docket on the front of that. If I got stuck on the M25 or M1 or M40 because of a serious accident one night, I might not get back until Breakfast time, but because there was no “10 hour rule” to hamper me, - instead of calling someone in to pick me up, unpaid - I would simply drive back normally once the RTA had been cleared, and book the extra hours as overtime, maybe completing a 14-15 hour shift by the time I was done.
In 2002 I grossed 42k for working hours like this at RM at the time. 2002 was my highest earning year ever, as well.
These days, I’m barely doing 10k less than that… But then again, I don’g get overtime any longer, so it’s swings and roundabouts as always. 
Night hours, in a simple sentence, anything upto a 15hr spread, because no haulage firm will give a max of 10hrs it wont pay, you will have been expected to have opted out of the agreement. Basically the 10hrs max work is a load of bollox. What amazes me more than anything is the amount of day menwho start at 1am or 2am then turn around and sayi could never work nights. er are you sure about that!
Nite Owl:
From memory the opt out of the night hours rules has to be a COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT. You cant opt out as an individual. Either you all do or non of you do.
Indeed. In any firm larger than a handful, there has to be a ballot and an elected representative to sign in writing on behalf of the workforce iirc.
It’s not just a case of putting it in each worker’s contract. And if the workforce do opt out, it’s binding on all (in the sense you lose the protection of the limit - you can’t however be compelled to work long nights if you weren’t contracted for that in the first place).
Athough if there is a huge turnover of staff they might have to keep balloting, and I think it has to be refreshed from time to time, but don’t quote me on this last paragraph.
dowahdiddyman:
Night hours, in a simple sentence, anything upto a 15hr spread, because no haulage firm will give a max of 10hrs it wont pay, you will have been expected to have opted out of the agreement. Basically the 10hrs max work is a load of bollox. What amazes me more than anything is the amount ofday menwho start at 1am or 2am then turn around and sayi could never work nights. er are you sure about that!
The worst thing about that kind of Night shift (aka “Early Doors”) is that you get a DAY cab, and are automatically expected not to moan about 12-15 hour shifts in heavy traffic at that…
Bugger that. I did the occasional day shift whilst on agency - and I hated even trying to go back to what I thought I’d given up in the early 90’s when I first got my licence.
At least on agency for the larger firms, you might get a proper tractor unit, so if you got ponced about at some place like Tilbury Docks - you could get your head down once they inform you “There’s a backlog, and you’ll be here for hours - we’ll come and get you when you’re wanted in to tip”…