stu675:
You should try and get Covid. It’s really great, no issue at all and then you can stop worrying about it for the rest of your life.
In London alone, there are 51 bus drivers that caught Covid and died. That from official Transport for London data. Try telling their families how great Covid is…
I’ve been double jabbed, but that doesn’t stop me catching Covid, becoming seriously ill, nor passing it on to others. Even those who have had full blown Covid aren’t immune from catching a different variant, nor passing it on to others.
LIBERTY_GUY:
From a purely personal perspective, there is no way on earth I’d take a job that involved sharing a cab with anyone whilst Covid is still out there and I’m guessing many other drivers think the same.
Gritters would be okay, as they tend to be single occupancy vehicles.
You should try and get Covid. It’s really great, no issue at all and then you can stop worrying about it for the rest of your life.
Covid is nowhere near as great as terminal bowel cancer.
According to the official truck driver hours rules, bin men employed by a local council are exempt from the EU driver hours.
Even if you are required by your employer (local council) to use the tacho, it doesn’t mean you are working to EU driving hours, it’s more likely to be used for record keeping as you will be working under GB domestic hours, which also includes gritter and road sweeper drivers.
Door-to-door household refuse collection or disposal
It is the Department for Transport’s view is that, in order to be considered as exempt from the EU rules on drivers’ hours and tachographs, a door-to-door household refuse collection and disposal operation should have the following characteristics:
It should be carried out either by a public authority or by a private undertaking under contract to a public authority;
Will you get a pay rise every year? Didn’t the public sector have their pay frozen as a thank you for their efforts as key workers during lockdown?
For the avoidance of doubt I’m not being snarky, genuinely thought that very few key workers in the public sector were getting a rise anytime soon.
That is a good point i remember we were in discussion for a two year deal and we eventually got it but that may have been pre covid.
I guess we wont be getting out thanks from the government for emptying bins full of Covid masks, disposable gloves and used tissues this year.
hutpik:
Bin man just wrote that gritting is not tacho exempt,maybe that works in the UK but up here in Lappland all snow clearing work,gritting,ploughing,sanding IS tacho exempt otherwise the countries would just stop.
Sorry i meant our bin wagons are not tacho exempt although having read a recent post here apparently they can be, we don’t have grit wagons so i am not sure how the bin men would drive the grit wagons unless they were taken off their day jobs to do it.
Suedehead:
Are they/you not tacho exempt. Domestic rules and does it only snow or freeze at night ?
No we are not tacho exempt.
You are right it doesn’t always snow at night but one driver can only drive one wagon and at a time, we are struggling to keep the drivers we have and get more drivers i don’t imagine the 18 depots who have had to stop collections are any different.
LIBERTY_GUY:
From a purely personal perspective, there is no way on earth I’d take a job that involved sharing a cab with anyone whilst Covid is still out there and I’m guessing many other drivers think the same.
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We have lateral flow test kits a wall mounted thermometer (similar to the one below) we all wear gloves due to the nature of the job and if anyone in the cab wears a mask all people in the cab must wear them, to be honest they don’t wear them now but even when covid was at its height we only had a couple of cases non of which spread to colleagues.
Vehicles used in connection with sewerage, flood protection, water, gas and electricity maintenance services, road maintenance or control, door-to-door household refuse collection or disposal, telegraph or telephone services, radio or television broadcasting and the detection of radio or television transmitters or receivers.
Exemptions from EU regs. gov.uk/guidance/drivers-hou … erogations
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But almost certainly under scope of UK Domestic regs.
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The employers can tell you to use a tacho and obey EU rules if they want. You could possibly break EU rules so getting in trouble with the employer, but not at all with police, ministry, nor courts etc.
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Snow ploughs seem to be under UK Domestic rules too.
So far as I can see they are not totally exempt in the way that fire appliances, rescue vehicles etc are?
Important but not blue light emergency vehicles.
Franglais:
Vehicles used in connection with sewerage, flood protection, water, gas and electricity maintenance services, road maintenance or control, door-to-door household refuse collection or disposal, telegraph or telephone services, radio or television broadcasting and the detection of radio or television transmitters or receivers.
Exemptions from EU regs. gov.uk/guidance/drivers-hou … erogations
.
But almost certainly under scope of UK Domestic regs.
.
The employers can tell you to use a tacho and obey EU rules if they want. You could possibly break EU rules so getting in trouble with the employer, but not at all with police, ministry, nor courts etc.
.
Snow ploughs seem to be under UK Domestic rules too.
So far as I can see they are not totally exempt in the way that fire appliances, rescue vehicles etc are?
Important but not blue light emergency vehicles.
I was under domestic regs for all of my time on the council.
Even EU regs would allow 07.30 start 22.30 finish with a reduced daily rest.
Or 15.00 finish, 11 hours daily rest, 0.200 start,15.00 finish.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons why it’s easier to use road workers who have plenty of driving time as opposed to a driver running out of driving time before they’ve run out of duty time.
Also ploughing and gritting needs some basic training which most agency drivers won’t have time for.
Sounds like a good part time job for retired council drivers with gritter/plough experience.No need for road workers to be out driving through the night after a day’s work and save the overtime and call out payments.No letter from Boris as yet.
Very low sporadic pay and you need this qualification which looks like its City and Guilds so likely costs quite a bit. Not suitable for general agency unless they were previous council or really desperate (don’t know if it expires).
