THE PERIODIC (ongoing) DRIVER CPC

DRIVERS TOOL BOX FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (READ ONLY FORUM)
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THE PERIODIC (ongoing) DRIVER CPC
There are TWO types of DRIVER CPC and it has nothing to do with the OPERATOR CPC (National & International).

The PERIODIC (ongoing) for when you have the C1, C or C+E licence & the INITIAL (Which goes with a C or C1 licence acquisition)

The INITIAL driver cpc which goes with a C or C1 licence acquisition can be found HERE

The medical requirements will not change.

The upgrading to a C+E licence will not change.

THE PERIODIC (ongoing) DRIVER CERTIFICATE of PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE ( PDCPC )

If you have a C1, C or C+E licence on 10 Sept 2009 then you have ‘acquired rights’ (AKA ‘Grandfather rights’)
The 35 hours will need to be completed by Sept 2014 to retain your right to continue as a commercial LGV driver.
This does NOT affect your right to retain your LGV licence. (The licence and the PDCPC are seperate issues)

Effectively, the PDCPC is akin to any other vocational qualification that needs to be revalidated every so often, such as ADR, First Aid at Work, HIAB or FLT licence etc. IMHO, any confusion arising from the idea of a PDCPC comes from the fact that it is a new concept. The qualifications I’ve mentioned above have all been ‘periodic’ ever since they were introduced.

Another way to think of the PDCPC is that you already hold the relevant LGV driving licence, but the PDCPC is intended to allow you to continue to practice the trade or profession of a paid LGV driver in that it’s your proof that you’re trained and qualified in the other elements of the job, apart from driving the vehicle.

The PDCPC is an ATTENDANCE of 35 hours of training over a set 5 year period at an approved centre with an approved trainer and can be done in 5 x 7 hour sessions - each 7 hour session can be split over 2 consecutive days.

The Driver CPC Qualification Card (DQC) will not be issued until the 35 hours has been completed and the driver does not have to produce one for the first 5 years if they have ‘acquired rights’ on 10 Sept 2009.
There is no need to carry your UK licence if driving in the UK during this period as the authorities can check via the DVLA database to see if a driver should have a DQC or have got aquired rights.

Once the full 35 hours has been completed at any time before 10 Sept 2014 the DQC will be issued and the expiry date on the DQC will be 10 Sept 2019.

NOTE: - If all of the 35 hours is not completed by the DQC expiry date or, in the first instance, by 10 Sept 2014, then any training already done is lost and the whole lot of the 35 hours must be started again and completed before a DQC is issued.

This next bit may seem daft but it is OK under the regulations -
If a driver does 35 hours in the week before the DQC expiry date and then does 35 hours in the week after the DQC expiry date then they could have almost a 10 year gap before having to do another 35 hours :exclamation:
Example -
35 hours done in the week prior to 10 Sept 2014 gets a DQC with expiry date of 10 Sept 2019.
35 hours done in the week after 10 Sept 2014 gets a DQC with expiry date of 10 Sept 2024. The DQC for this will get issued when the 2019 DQC expires.
The next 35 hours could be done in the week prior to Sept 2024.
So almost a 10 year gap in training from 2014 to 2024 :exclamation: :exclamation: :exclamation:

COST

  • A full list of APPROVED CENTRES & COURSES is available on the website of the Joint Approvals Unit for Periodic Training
  • The website is updated regularly and provides information on approved training providers at region/nation level

The prices below are from two of the major training providers for a 7 hour training session but they are subject to slight changes and inflation etc so I suggest that they are taken as an approximate realistic guide.

Major Provider A
Groups of 1-11 Drivers £125 each driver
Groups of 12-20 Drivers £1,150 each group

Major Provider B
Groups of 1-6 Drivers £160 each driver
Groups of 7-11 Drivers £152 each driver
Groups of 12-16 Drivers £144 each driver or Groups of 12-16 Drivers £1,405 each group.

Watch out for hidden costs such as VAT, the upload cost to the database which, at present, is £1.25 per hour per driver - ask if the course price is all inclusive.
The price for the DQC is included in the course fee.

Why are the courses so expensive :question: - Click the link to the JAUPT/skills for logistics site (below) and see how much the training providers have to pay just to be allowed to deliver the courses :exclamation:

The PCV PDCPC has been in force since 10 Sept 2008 and works in just the same way as the LGV.
Only one set of 35 hours PDCPC is needed to cover BOTH PCV & LGV

A PCV driver did 7 hours of PDCPC attendance training and you can read about that experience - HERE

Post contributors: - ROG, dieseldave & Krankee

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Most of the couses on offer are classroom based which many members are not happy with but thanks to delboytwo this has been brought to our attention: -

Mercedes Benz training are offering a 1 day (7 hours) or 2 day (14 hours) JAUPT approved DRIVER CPC course(s) which is MAINLY non-classroom.

MERCEDES DCPC PRACTICAL TRAINING is their website to see what it entails - the price does not include VAT.

They are also putting together an ‘In the yard’ type course for load securing etc so that too will be mainly non-classroom.

Other providers may also be offering such non-classroom based courses and if any member can provide information on such then PM a FAQ Forum Moderator and it too will be added here.
Thank you.

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DRIVER CPC FAQs

ONLY ONE SET OF 35 HOURS IS NEEDED TO COVER BOTH PCV & LGV

For those with aquired (grandfather) rights on both LGV & PCV

Any 35 hours of periodic driver cpc will count for both LGV & PCV as long as it was done between 10 Sept 2008 and 09 Sept 2014.

If the 35 hours for PCV are not completed by 09/09/2013 then the PCV will be suspended until all 35 hours are done.

When the 35 hours have been completed then the DQC (Driver CPC Card) will have the expiry date of 09/09/2019 for everything.

This will only be an issue until 09/09/2014 - after that date both LGV & PCV DQC (Driver cpc card) dates will be the same.

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From the resident VOSA person on this site…

geebee45:
Put simply, it doesn’t matter where the dCPC training is undertaken or whether the driver is being paid to attend the course or who pays the course fees; driver or employer, the course time cannot be counted as rest under the EU drivers hours rules.

If you want the detail. EC 561 gives the definitions of; driving time, other work, rest and break. As we all know, ‘rest’ is the period during which a driver may freely dispose of his (or her) time. Being on a compulsory training course doesn’t fit with that definition. ‘Break,’ cannot be claimed as a driver cannot do any ‘driving’ or ‘work’ on a break.

The definition of ‘other work’ in '561 refers back to 2002/15 (EC) our old friend that gave us the Road Transport Working Time Regulations in April 2005. If you look at Article 3 you will find the following definition of work;

‘working time’ shall mean:

  1. in the case of mobile workers: the time from the beginning
    to the end of work, during which the mobile
    worker is at his workstation, at the disposal of the
    employer and exercising his functions or activities, that
    is to say:
    – the time devoted to all road transport activities.
    These activities are, in particular, the following:
    (i) driving;
    (ii) loading and unloading;
    (iii) assisting passengers boarding and disembarking
    from the vehicle;
    (iv) cleaning and technical maintenance;
    (v) all other work intended to ensure the safety of
    the vehicle, its cargo and passengers or to fulfil
    the legal or regulatory obligations directly
    linked to the specific transport operation under
    way, including monitoring of loading and
    unloading, administrative formalities with
    police, customs, immigration officers etc.

I’ve put the important bit in part 5 in red.

The dCPC is a legal obligation for drivers that wish to use their vocational licence commercially. Therefore the time is ‘other work,’ needs to be recorded as such and cannot be counted as ‘rest’ under the EU drivers hours rules. It also needs recording under the aforementioned RT(WT)R as ‘working time’ and would count towards the maximum ‘working time’ of 60 hours per week or 48 average.

NOTE: - That other work (the Dcpc course) will now have to be recorded on a digi tacho, seperate printout or on a seperate analogue chart - each record must contain name, date, start & finish time.

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Another issue that has arisen recently - this is for drivers who already have one category by either aquired/grandfather rights or by passing the initial Dcpc module 4 test and are going for another category.

For this example the driver already has aquired/grandfather rights for LGV and is now going for PCV.
The driver has not yet got all 35 hours of periodic training
Driver passes all 4 initial PCV Dcpc modules on 02/07/2012 and gets issued with a DQC (driver cpc card)
That DQC will have expiry dates for LGV 09/09/2014 & PCV 01/07/2017
Driver completes all the 35 hours of periodic training before 09/09/2014 and gets a new DQC with both LGV & PCV expiry dates at 02/07/2022 - Any further periodic training will not count until 01/07/2017

All this is so that both expiry dates for LGV & PCV can be the same to save the driver from confusion over periodic training requirements

All periodic training counts for both LGV & PCV if the driver either has aquired rights or has passed the initial Dcpc module 4 for each catagory