Hi All,
I work for a firm thats not that great and they certainly dont know what they are doing. However A few years back I asked if we are using a 17 week refernce period, the response was we dont use one. Cough, a few weeks later I asked again and was told we use the default 17 week period. However I have just learnt it has changed to 26 weeks now. This is where im not fussed but curious, I was under the impression to change the refernce period all drivers should at least know of it if not agreeing to it.
In my mind - changing from default 17 to 26 weeks is like saying when you’ve just lost twice in a row “Oh alright then - let’s make it the best out of five”…
Think of it from a planner’s point of view… A driver might not have taken any non-stat leave (counting zero hours) during the entire 17 week period, meaning that if the driver gets run ragged, there’s more of a risk they’ll run out of hours (especially WTD hours) before the end of that period. Extend it to 26 weeks, and you’ve given the driver a few more weeks to get some non-stat leave in , to help balance out those hours.
Of course there’s no guarantee that this will work - even more of a risk should the driver be on “minimum holiday” of 20 days per year, when it’s ALL “Stat leave” with NONE of it counting as zero hours against…
I don’t see the EU driving regulations and WTD being dropped any time soon alas. “Work place agreements” cannot really be done properly unless there is Union representation at that workplace.
Firms won’t normally be put under any pressure to let a Union start locally, so it’s really up to drivers themselves to make sure that all regulations are complied with.
It’s easy to stay legal in terms of actual driving hours - but somewhat harder to keep on an even keel with the WTD hours, especially if one is working well over 48 hours week-in, week out, and has no non-stat leave to play with - ANY reference period. 