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Whilst working for one of the biggest transport companies in
the UK., Drivers were always waiting for a unit to become
available at the start of their shift.
Several drivers got a rollocking for not making a manual correction
on their digi tacho (for not entering their correct duty start time.)
The waiting time could be anything from 5 minutes to 3 hours.
Some also got a rollocking for calling this waiting time POA.
its other work if you dont know how long the wait will be. if someone says your truck will be half an hour then its POA. seems simple enough to me. you either know how long the wait is or you dont
m1cks:
So if they know the duration they are expected to wait, and they
are available to work, then POA is OK to use.
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Well, that would be my understanding too.
However,
The Manager ruled that it is NOT a Period of AVAILABILITY for work.
He stated that they were NOT AVAILABLE to work because they had no truck
to undertake any work. Neither was it a BREAK “unless they had been waiting
for six hours.”
He ruled that the wait should be recorded as OTHER WORK.
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Legally if the driver wasn’t doing any work he could legally book the waiting time as break, if he knew roughly how long he would be waiting he could book the waiting time as either break or POA.
The fact that the driver had no lorry doesn’t stop him being available for work, if a job arose unexpectedly the driver would be available to start work.
I’ve rarely used POA but I’ve had my waiting time cut short to go and recover a driver who had run out of driving time, I was used because I was available, and if I’d been on POA I would still have been available, there’s no logic in what the manager said.
I’d love to know his reasoning when he said it couldn’t be break unless you was waiting 6 hours, how does waiting 6 hours magically mean you can book break when you’re doing exactly what you’ve been doing for the past 6 hours
The manager was wrong, unless of course he didn’t want POA or break used to stop drivers having the ■■■■ ripped out of them by the company
tachograph:
. . . how does waiting 6 hours magically mean you can book break when you’re doing exactly what you’ve been doing for the past 6 hours
I can’t speak for the Manager but, assuming that he is correct to
declare waiting time at the start of a shift as OTHER WORK then
presumably the Driver would would need a 30 minute BREAK after
six hours of “OTHER WORK.”
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tachograph:
. . . how does waiting 6 hours magically mean you can book break when you’re doing exactly what you’ve been doing for the past 6 hours
I can’t speak for the Manager but, assuming that he is correct to
declare waiting time at the start of a shift as OTHER WORK then
presumably the Driver would would need a 30 minute BREAK after
six hours of “OTHER WORK.”
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If you’ve booked the waiting time as other work you would have to book 15 minutes of it as break at 6 hours I agree.
The point is that at 6 hours you won’t be doing anything different to the rest of the time, so if you can call it break at 6 hours you can call it all break, maybe it’s me but I’m missing the logic in what he’s said
tachograph:
. . . how does waiting 6 hours magically mean you can book break when you’re doing exactly what you’ve been doing for the past 6 hours
I can’t speak for the Manager but, assuming that he is correct to
declare waiting time at the start of a shift as OTHER WORK then
presumably the Driver would would need a 30 minute BREAK after
six hours of “OTHER WORK.”
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If you’ve booked the waiting time as other work you would have to book 15 minutes of it as break at 6 hours I agree.
The point is that at 6 hours you won’t be doing anything different to the rest of the time, so if you can call it break at 6 hours you can call it all break, maybe it’s me but I’m missing the logic in what he’s said
There’s only two scenarios I can think of for this.
The company doesn’t pay drivers for breaks they claim - Therefore he’s doing drivers a favour
When I worked on buses and was a spare driver, quite often you’d pick up the tail end of a duty and they would tell you when to take your break, so you couldn’t radio in after an hour on the road saying you needed to take your break.
Have you asked this manager why it can’t be classed as POA in his opinion?
if you are on a digi tacho and do’nt touch the mode when you pull up (leaving it on the crossed hammers) does it stop clocking up the driving time? i allways thought other work kept clocking up your driving time but i guess i was wrong
m1cks:
Have you asked this manager why it can’t be classed as POA in his opinion?
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I mentioned this earlier . . .
He argued that a Driver cannot be available to work if there is
no vehicle for him to do some work in.
In other words, he is UNAVAILBLE to work because there is no truck.
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Sorry, you did didn’t you!
So if he can’t be available to work because there’s no truck, how does he explain the fact he’s told you to use other ‘WORK’ as the mode.
He contradicts his own argument.
By his reckoning the only mode you are able to use would be rest.
stobarttrucker:
if you are on a digi tacho and do’nt touch the mode when you pull up (leaving it on the crossed hammers) does it stop clocking up the driving time? i allways thought other work kept clocking up your driving time but i guess i was wrong
Driving time and working time are different. Driving time is only when you are driving and other work only when you are not driving. The two combined count towards your WTD hours.
stobarttrucker:
if you are on a digi tacho and do’nt touch the mode when you pull up (leaving it on the crossed hammers) does it stop clocking up the driving time?
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As far as I know, all Tacho’s record Drive Time automatically.
However, here is an anomally - when you are stuck in a traffic
jam, e.g. for 10 minutes (without moving).
You are still driving or in charge of a vehicle on a public highway but
your tacho has been recording the last 8 or 9 minutes as OTHER WORK.
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when i used to get stuck in a bad jam i used to stick it on poa because i thought it would clock up a load of driving time,guess that makes me a nob but you live and learn
stobarttrucker:
when i used to get stuck in a bad jam i used to stick it on poa because i thought it would clock up a load of driving time,guess that makes me a nob but you live and learn
Not an attack on you but this is what annoys me when people criticise the DCPC. There’s so many people who are unsure of what modes to use or the driving / WTD hours.
Brussels tries to do something about it and everyone complains.
