as far as i am aware it is the drivers choice as to weather he/she does a shift extention 15 and a reduced break not the employer.
if any of our drivers go home during the week (which is very rare) we always get 11 hours off minimum.
and i can assure you that i will only work a 15 if its going to benefit me not the company.
you need to stand your ground with them and tell them its your driving hours and spread not theirs.
karl67:
gazzad:
This is one of the caring supermarket chains lol14.45 hr
Sure isn’t tesco then.
I was offered work at the Tesco’s Avonmouth site when it first opened, was advised by the recruiter that they expect all drivers to come to work prepared to do a 15 hour shift if requested; they followed it up with, they plan the runs to max the hours out, if your not prepared to do it, don’t bother taking the application any further
Herongate:
I was offered work at the Tesco’s Avonmouth site when it first opened, was advised by the recruiter that they expect all drivers to come to work prepared to do a 15 hour shift if requested; they followed it up with, they plan the runs to max the hours out, if your not prepared to do it, don’t bother taking the application any further
Lucky if i’ve done 6 1/2 hrs driving and 10 hr duty time. Got caught out once and done a 12 hr.
no company should plan a shift of 15hrs … they should only plan a max 13 that gives you 2hrs for any delays
karl67:
shuttlespanker:
so, where is the problem?Least 11 hrs gives you time to unwind.
9 hrs don’t.
Now you’re moving the goal posts, the OP was ■■■■■■■■ about sleep time, not time to unwind
The company is well within their rights to plan you for a 15 hour duty shift
There is no law that states you must have 11 hours rest if you are back at base
lizard:
as far as i am aware it is the drivers choice as to weather he/she does a shift extention 15 and a reduced break not the employer.
if any of our drivers go home during the week (which is very rare) we always get 11 hours off minimum.
and i can assure you that i will only work a 15 if its going to benefit me not the company.
you need to stand your ground with them and tell them its your driving hours and spread not theirs.
The company can plan anything they like as long as it meets with the driver’s hours rules and your contract of employment. There is nothing in the driver’s hours rules that says they can’t plan a 15h shift, so unless you have it written in your contract of employment then it’s entirely up to them.
This whole “I’ll do whatever I want and the company will have to fit in around me” business is part of the reason why British industry is collapsing around us. We’re in the middle of the worst recession in living memory and playing silly games with your employer about what hours you do isn’t going to help us get out of it.
They’re paying you to do a job. If the job involves 15 hours days, either work them or go and find one that is more suited to your needs.
Paul
Well mixed results fromall of that.Guess just have to get on with it hope dont nod off.Got the expected feedback from those who run there own wagons on here.Would love to know if my boss would be happy to do shifts he wants as he hasnt got a licence or ever done the job just like a lot of the process managers and clerks/planners.Amazing how jobs change from being good to bad.Nevermind thanks for feedback lads.
When tramping, I’ve always been happy to do as many hours as legally possible - that’s why I’m there after all.
When back at base, I’ll still do a 15 if required, but I’ll not be returning to work under 10hrs from when I leave.
I’m happy to sleep in the truck at the depot, but if they want me to reduce my rest time (I’m not talking about the legally reduced ie over 13hrs work = reduced, I’m talking under 10hrs off) then I’d expect night out money, if not, I’ll go home and have 10hrs off.
I don’t think that’s unreasonable myself, the law actually does state that we can do a maximum of 13hrs per day and 9hrs driving, the extensions aren’t really supposed to be planned, they were put in for flexibility, ie delays at customers etc, it’s just changed now that if you’ve got time, they’ll get you to do this and that.
Like I said though, if I’ve started at 4am, I won’t start spitting my dummy out at 5pm saying I must go home, but even if I finish at 7pm, if back at depot, you won’t see me before 5am next day.
Oh, I usually have around 8hrs sleep at home - well, 8hrs in bed anyway, but only around 6.5 - 7 when down the road.
gazzad:
Well mixed results fromall of that.Guess just have to get on with it hope dont nod off.Got the expected feedback from those who run there own wagons on here.Would love to know if my boss would be happy to do shifts he wants as he hasnt got a licence or ever done the job just like a lot of the process managers and clerks/planners.Amazing how jobs change from being good to bad.Nevermind thanks for feedback lads.
Yes, I run my own wagons, but I also have a licence to drive them
Good job really, seeing as I do actually drive one of them every day
Anyway, can’t talk now, I did a 15 hour day yesterday, and had a reduced 9 hour rest whilst at home, so I must be nodding off because there is no way possible for me to have had a full 8 hours sleep 
If the jon entails being planned for a 15 hour shift and a reduced rest at home, then tough, either get on with it or find something else
Lorry driving is not a 9 to 5 job, it never has been, in todays climate, it is a 24/7 operation, and the needs of the job must come first
shuttlespanker:
gazzad:
Well mixed results fromall of that.Guess just have to get on with it hope dont nod off.Got the expected feedback from those who run there own wagons on here.Would love to know if my boss would be happy to do shifts he wants as he hasnt got a licence or ever done the job just like a lot of the process managers and clerks/planners.Amazing how jobs change from being good to bad.Nevermind thanks for feedback lads.Yes, I run my own wagons, but I also have a licence to drive them
Good job really, seeing as I do actually drive one of them every day
Anyway, can’t talk now, I did a 15 hour day yesterday, and had a reduced 9 hour rest whilst at home, so I must be nodding off because there is no way possible for me to have had a full 8 hours sleep
If the jon entails being planned for a 15 hour shift and a reduced rest at home, then tough, either get on with it or find something else
Lorry driving is not a 9 to 5 job, it never has been, in todays climate, it is a 24/7 operation, and the needs of the job must come first
So are you saying it’s legal to do 5 x 14 3/4 hour shifts with 5 reduced rests in a week?
Flap to the clap:
shuttlespanker:
gazzad:
Well mixed results fromall of that.Guess just have to get on with it hope dont nod off.Got the expected feedback from those who run there own wagons on here.Would love to know if my boss would be happy to do shifts he wants as he hasnt got a licence or ever done the job just like a lot of the process managers and clerks/planners.Amazing how jobs change from being good to bad.Nevermind thanks for feedback lads.Yes, I run my own wagons, but I also have a licence to drive them
Good job really, seeing as I do actually drive one of them every day
Anyway, can’t talk now, I did a 15 hour day yesterday, and had a reduced 9 hour rest whilst at home, so I must be nodding off because there is no way possible for me to have had a full 8 hours sleep
If the jon entails being planned for a 15 hour shift and a reduced rest at home, then tough, either get on with it or find something else
Lorry driving is not a 9 to 5 job, it never has been, in todays climate, it is a 24/7 operation, and the needs of the job must come first
So are you saying it’s legal to do 5 x 14 3/4 hour shifts with 5 reduced rests in a week?
I don’t think he said that, but considering he’s a box jockey and probably gets 3hrs kip most days, it would be for him 
repton:
lizard:
as far as i am aware it is the drivers choice as to weather he/she does a shift extention 15 and a reduced break not the employer.
if any of our drivers go home during the week (which is very rare) we always get 11 hours off minimum.
and i can assure you that i will only work a 15 if its going to benefit me not the company.
you need to stand your ground with them and tell them its your driving hours and spread not theirs.The company can plan anything they like as long as it meets with the driver’s hours rules and your contract of employment. There is nothing in the driver’s hours rules that says they can’t plan a 15h shift, so unless you have it written in your contract of employment then it’s entirely up to them.
This whole “I’ll do whatever I want and the company will have to fit in around me” business is part of the reason why British industry is collapsing around us. We’re in the middle of the worst recession in living memory and playing silly games with your employer about what hours you do isn’t going to help us get out of it.
They’re paying you to do a job. If the job involves 15 hours days, either work them or go and find one that is more suited to your needs.
Paul
Codswallop!!
The reason were in a recession and Industry is falling down is because of the spend spend spend culture of the early 00’s, and the Banks gambling, mainly on mortgages, and failing miserably, resulting in them not lending now to private inddividuals or businesses, in order to build up their balance sheets.
Add to this the fact it is cheaper to manufacture, not only in Eastern Europe, but Asia and the Far East, and there you have the main reasons why Industry in the UK is falling apart.
Because of the financial benefits of overseas manufacturing, the working classes are and have been for years squeezed in order to drive down costs and drive up profit margins. The opening of the borders in Europe also assisted in this situation, resulting in it being preferential for a Polish National, for example, to come to UK and work for £6 ph and still be better off than the same job in Poland.
“This whole “I’ll do whatever I want and the company will have to fit in around me” business is part of the reason why British industry is collapsing around us. We’re in the middle of the worst recession in living memory and playing silly games with your employer about what hours you do isn’t going to help us get out of it.”
This is simply nonsense. People have been squeezed enough and, as such, put more value on home life rather than crap paid long hours, which is no bad thing looking at the chav society that has evolved over the last 20 years or so.
To conclude, the current state of the UK is more to do with Policy of succesive Governments over the last 50 years than by a few drivers getting a bit annoyed that they have to work two weeks hours for one weeks pay!!
i have lived on about 5/6 hrs sleep a night since i started driving thats doing days /nights and tramping it takes more out of you of your home every night thats why i went tramping not half as tired and doing more hrs
the firm is doing nothing wrong i suggest give it go if you dont like it stick it out till something better comes along
If the company NEEDS to plan a 14.5 hour day then it strikes me that it should also plan to be much much better at managing the people who will be expected to do this sort of shift. If I do a brutally long day then I expect to given sufficient time to recuperate, just because it is legal doesn,t make it safe or acceptable.
My take is this. It’s a supermarket operation which is going to be a 24/7, 364 days a year. If you get a long planned shift 1 day you will you really be doing it for 2-3 more in the same week? I do deliver for a supermarket and what I see are loads of notices and policies which encourage the staff, not just drivers, to work safely, be aware of the hazards you may encounter, be mindful of the customers needs.
Now I personally have had “challenges” when I’ve been expected to do this when the company literature/policy suggest I do that. Put your point at the time, if you don’t get a satisfactory response escalate the issue, if still no satisfactory response escalate again in writing. You might be surprised how few 1st line managers want to put their name to anything in writing if it will come back to bite them.
One final point is this the company has all manner of policy to protect THE COMPANY it doesn’t mean that you can’t use these policies to protect you.
This issue can boil down to a choice between two things so which would anybody choose 
1 - Drive tired/unsafe but keep job
2 - Give up/lose job and not drive tired/unsafe
Thats the bottom line so make a choice 1 or 2
cliffton 27:
i have lived on about 5/6 hrs sleep a night since i started driving thats doing days /nights and tramping it takes more out of you of your home every night thats why i went tramping not half as tired and doing more hrs
the firm is doing nothing wrong i suggest give it go if you dont like it stick it out till something better comes along
I am lucky if I get 5 hours sleep a night, probably more like 4 and it has been like that for a lot of years, most days I would be sat at my “desk” waiting for the clock to go over 9 hours rest.
The company has two options, they either put you on short time and double shift your lorry or they allow you to get some hours in and stand it for 9 hours. The less manufacturing industry in the UK means far more imports from the far east, all of which require lorries to deliver them. As mentioned most container and RDC drivers get 3 or 4 hours waiting to tip, and another 3 or 4 hours waiting to be allocated a motor. That doesn’t allow much time to do some paying work from a drivers day.
Lorry driving has always been a lot of hours, unlike factory or office work where the rewards are much less, ask the planner how much he gets paid?
waynedl:
the extensions aren’t really supposed to be planned, they were put in for flexibility, ie delays at customers etc.
Can you show us where in the regulations it says that?
And yes, that is a rhetorical question. It doesn’t say anywhere in the regulations why the extensions are there, but it amazes me how many people seem to think it does…
Paul
coreysboys:
Codswallop!!
If you read my post I said part of the reason. Obviously there is no single reason for it and I’m not trying to claim that everyone doing 15h shifts would magically pull us out of the mess we’re in, but I maintain my claim that the militancy of the workforce is part of the reason this country has slowly but surely been losing all its proper industry over the last few decades.
coreysboys:
Add to this the fact it is cheaper to manufacture, not only in Eastern Europe, but Asia and the Far East, and there you have the main reasons why Industry in the UK is falling apart.
… and one of the reasons it’s so much cheaper to manufacture elsewhere is that people there have a positive work ethic and actually want to get a job done rather than trying to twist the regulations around to ensure they do less work. This is the same reason such a high proportion of the businesess we do have left employ eastern european staff, put simply they will work ten times harder than our own people.
Paul
repton:
lizard:
as far as i am aware it is the drivers choice as to weather he/she does a shift extention 15 and a reduced break not the employer.
if any of our drivers go home during the week (which is very rare) we always get 11 hours off minimum.
and i can assure you that i will only work a 15 if its going to benefit me not the company.
you need to stand your ground with them and tell them its your driving hours and spread not theirs.The company can plan anything they like as long as it meets with the driver’s hours rules and your contract of employment. There is nothing in the driver’s hours rules that says they can’t plan a 15h shift, so unless you have it written in your contract of employment then it’s entirely up to them.
This whole “I’ll do whatever I want and the company will have to fit in around me” business is part of the reason why British industry is collapsing around us. We’re in the middle of the worst recession in living memory and playing silly games with your employer about what hours you do isn’t going to help us get out of it.
**They’re paying you to do a job. If the job involves 15 hours days, either work them or go and find one that is more suited to your needs.**Paul
Bravo!!! Wish there was more drivers with that attitude where i work. They seem to be under the impression that the company work for them and not that they work for the company. Makes my blood boil when i hear the comments " You want me to go how far" genrally get that if its 3 ish hours away from the yard. or “Im not doing that job now been waiting 1 hour for the load”’ and was only a 8 to 9 hour job anyway. Some even seem offended by the company asking them to go and drive a lorry, and they get away with it time after time due to the HR department getting involved all the time.The numer of arguments i’ve had trying to explain to them that they are lazy f…s and if they don’t want to work for a living do one and give someone else a chance thats sat at home, on the dole just gagging for a job and a salary. 
You guys doing 15hr days, what sort of life do you have, hobbies, social life wife partner etc. Do you realise your doing twice as much work in a day compared to normal folk and trust me the money in trucking is not worth 15hrs work 9hrs off
Our firm is great as in it never plans drivers for a 15hr day, but at some point we all have/done a 15hr for unforseen circumstances.
15hrs and 9 off as a tramper, yes i can see the logic, but living at home then nope.