I,m being told by my employer that he can now tell me when to reduce my 11hr break to 9 hrs is this correct as I was under the impression it was only the driver who could do this
Legally they can! But who has the keys and the loud pedal! 
You can refuse, just say you’re tired. But I’m sure they would get funny if you kept saying that, just reduce your break in and out to keep them off your back or if it suits you do it like towards the end of the week so you finish up earlier Friday.
If it says (and it will) in your terms and conditions that shift times will vary in accordance with the needs of the business then yes they can. As a one off you could say you are too tired and ask for it to be changed but I can only see you getting away with this if you are not nighting out. And if you were saying it all the time I am sure they would be suggesting you see a doctor about your sleep problem or consider another career.
robbo2452:
I,m being told by my employer that he can now tell me when to reduce my 11hr break to 9 hrs is this correct as I was under the impression it was only the driver who could do this
Of course they can. You are working for them - in their truck. As long as it legal they can ask you to do whatever they like. Most drivers use reduced rests to their own advantage anyway, so why can’t the employer.
Any employer worth his salt wouldn’t tell you to do something, he would ask if you didn’t mind doing it !
It is why traffic clerks have more recently been called planners, they plan to deliver loads with the resources they have available,
So if a driver has 3 reduced periods left towards the end of the week, of course they will utilise that, the ones with no other reduced periods have probably done the same job for the planner earlier in the week.
robbo2452:
I,m being told by my employer that he can now tell me when to reduce my 11hr break to 9 hrs is this correct as I was under the impression it was only the driver who could do this
just ask them to put it in writing that there forcing you to reduce rest time even though your tired and feel you need a full 11 hrs or whatever just in case you fall asleep at the wheel and end up killing someone,i bet they wont 
.
as for they can do this/that/whatever, i know plenty of ours who refuse to reduce,and there all still employed,all theyll do is get the spare driver,agency or just use one of the drivers who will reduce to cover job,
Our company don’t force reduced breaks on us thats why on the odd occasion they do I say ok just to keep them happy. I probably reduce once or maybe twice a month but I realise I’m lucky.
If i get to friday and ive got any reducers left then ive had a bad week 
last week i had one left on friday and ended up doing a 15 and being last man home 
robbo2452:
I,m being told by my employer that he can now tell me when to reduce my 11hr break to 9 hrs is this correct as I was under the impression it was only the driver who could do this
depends if you are nighting out or not i supose.personaly i dont mind reducing if im kipping in the truck,but if im going home then 9 hours simply isnt a long enough break-end of.i will reduce now and then if theyre desperate(usually to 10)but i make sure they know im doing them a favour.
if they take the ■■■■ then so do i and they know it,so by and large we have an understanding and it seems to work on both sides
Alot also obviously will depend on the type of work the company undertake, if time critical ect, reduced daily and weekly rests are the norm, something that i did for several years, mostly double manned too & used to be 8 hrs off after a stint of upto 22hrs with 10 hrs drive each 3 times a week, which was not good for sleep, especially during the summer months once we had our daily rest in Spain about 100k north of Madrid starting at around 2pm and in a temp of 45 c with no air con, no sleep at all, both doors wide open, getting harassed by those shady jewelry sellers trying to flog it to you,
Fortunately we didn’t have a long drive,as we had another drop in santander and couldn’t tip it until next day so we got a decent kip that same night fortunately
on my induction course i was told that it is up to the driver if he wishes to reduce his rest…to force a driver to drive whilst tired would be illegal.
xamtex:
on my induction course i was told that it is up to the driver if he wishes to reduce his rest…to force a driver to drive whilst tired would be illegal.
Not under the tacho rules it isn’t but if the driver claims he is too tired to drive after a reduced rest period then it would be foolish for the company to insist he went out, that would leave themselves open to legal action if an incident occurred which could be blamed on tiredness. However if the driver does that too often the company might get rid of up for being unsuitable for the job, it’s a risk you take by refusing .
I always took 11 hrs off and wouldnt reduce…hence me always being late for the delivery…but one day they asked me why i always had 11 hrs and not 9…so i told them that the law says that a driver has to have 11 hrs rest between two periods of work…yeah but you can reduce they would say…and i would always answer back that there are no buts…the law clearly says 11…then added that if you were a good planner, you would take into account an 11 hr break before making delivery timetables… i never worked 15 hrs, and never drove for 10 either…i was punished for it by taking me off international, and not allowing me back on it, but replaced me with newbies on the firm…oh well…doesnt matter now…but i suppose… nose…spite…cutting offf comes to mind…
I did remind them that reducing 3 times a week = £60…12 times a month = £240…and over a period of a year i have given them nearly £4000…based on an average £10 per hour…so that gives them something to think about as well…all in all i can be an awkward cantankerous ol git…but wouldnt reccommend it to everyone, each to their own i say, whatever you can get away with Bluff…is the key word.
truckyboy:
I did remind them that reducing 3 times a week = £60…12 times a month = £240…and over a period of a year i have given them nearly £4000…based on an average £10 per hour…so that gives them something to think about as well…
Do the drivers at your place not get paid for the first 2 hours of their shift after reducing to 9 then? 
If so I wouldn’t reduce either.
Thankfully our place is different. I took 9 off last night, it wasn’t a reduced rest, and was back in earning money 2 hours earlier than I would have been if I had taken 11. On a shift which will end up being about 14 hours just now but I have been parked in Greenford since 11:45 and won’t be leaving here until 16:30. Nearly 5 hours getting paid for doing nothing which I would have missed out on if I had refused to reduce. Reduced rests don’t just benefit the boss. Probably another 9 or 10 off tonight and hopefully more ‘9’s’ Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
you will often find some drivers will be taking reduced rest without even knowing it 11 off or not if the spreadover is over the 13 hrs!
moose