3 weeks ago full weekend rest nothing owing, 2 weeks ago worked sat till 1300 started mon 0700 therefore owe 3 hours this week worked sat till 1330.
Can I wait to pay back my 6.5 hours till next weekend (bank hol) or do I have to have 45 hours this weekend ?
Thought I had it all sussed but confused now , no pressure from management just me trying to get it right .
Jim
Rog would be the one to answer that question but read some of the post about reduced breaks, and even after driving 20 plus years they confuse me, its all about which week you assign the break to, as a normal rule of thumb you can only do a reduced break every other weekend that’s the way I have always done it, do a reduced and then a full with a payback for the previous weekend that way you don’t get confused and caught out 
JFC999:
3 weeks ago full weekend rest nothing owing, 2 weeks ago worked sat till 1300 started mon 0700 therefore owe 3 hours this week worked sat till 1330.
Can I wait to pay back my 6.5 hours till next weekend (bank hol) or do I have to have 45 hours this weekend ?
Thought I had it all sussed but confused now , no pressure from management just me trying to get it right .
Jim
There could be a different answer to this if we go backs a few more weeks or months but to keep it simple this would be my answer …
Bit confused as to how you worded it but here goes …
If your last weekly rest was a reduced then this weekly rest must be a regular 45
If your last weekly rest was a 42 leaving 3 to pay back then I suspect that you already paid that back by adding 3 hours to a regular or reduced daily rest period
JFC999:
3 weeks ago full weekend rest nothing owing, 2 weeks ago worked sat till 1300 started mon 0700 therefore owe 3 hours this week worked sat till 1330.
Can I wait to pay back my 6.5 hours till next weekend (bank hol) or do I have to have 45 hours this weekend ?
Thought I had it all sussed but confused now , no pressure from management just me trying to get it right .
Jim
The compensation has to be paid back by the end of the third week following the week in which the reduced weekly rest period was taken.
If you had a reduced weekly rest period last week you will probably need a 45 hour weekly rest period this week anyway.
ROG will be along soon to ask you for your weekly rest periods back a few months, but it gets complicated and two people have nearly had illegal reduced weekly rest periods this past week because they misunderstood what was being said.
Take some advice, unless you really need another reduced weekly rest period this week stick to having a reduced weekly rest period no more than every second week.
edit: ROG beet me to it 
tachograph:
ROG will be along soon to ask you for your weekly rest periods back a few months, but it gets complicated and two people have nearly had illegal reduced weekly rest periods this past week because they misunderstood what was being said.Take some advice, unless you really need another reduced weekly rest period this week stick to having a reduced weekly rest period no more than every second week.
edit: ROG beet me to it
Realised that complicating it too much on open forum was perhaps getting confusing for some so in future will suggest it goes to PMs only for those who wish to investigate further for a possible different but legal answer
ROG:
tachograph:
ROG will be along soon to ask you for your weekly rest periods back a few months, but it gets complicated and two people have nearly had illegal reduced weekly rest periods this past week because they misunderstood what was being said.Take some advice, unless you really need another reduced weekly rest period this week stick to having a reduced weekly rest period no more than every second week.
edit: ROG beet me to it
Realised that complicating it too much on open forum was perhaps getting confusing for some so in future will suggest it goes to PMs only for those who wish to investigate further for a possible different but legal answer
Correct me if I’m wrong but one (maybe both I can’t be bothered to check) of those that misunderstood did give the details by PM and still misunderstood.
There are occasions when it’s worth getting complicated when people really want or need to max their hours out, but generally the chance of a misunderstanding is to great in my opinion.
Either way I don’t really see what’s gained by taking it to PM unless someone asks a question by PM, this is a discussion forum after-all.
Weekly rest periods
A driver must start a weekly rest period no later than at the end of six consecutive 24-hour periods from
the end of the last weekly rest period.
A regular weekly rest period is a period of at least 45 consecutive hours.
Note: An actual working week starts at the end of a weekly rest period, and finishes when another
weekly rest period is commenced, which may mean weekly rest is taken in the middle of a fixed
(Monday to Sunday) week. This is perfectly acceptable — the working week is not required to be
aligned with the ‘fixed’ week contained in the rules, provided all the relevant limits are complied with.
Alternatively, a driver can take a reduced weekly rest period of a minimum of 24 consecutive hours.
If a reduction is taken, it must be compensated for by an equivalent period of rest taken in one block
before the end of the third week following the week in question. The compensating rest must be
attached to a period of rest of at least 9 hours — in effect either a weekly or a daily rest period.
For example, where a driver reduces a weekly rest period to 33 hours in week 1, he must compensate
for this by attaching a 12-hour period of rest to another rest period of at least 9 hours before the end of
week 4. This compensation cannot be taken in several smaller periods.
In any two consecutive ‘fixed’ weeks a driver must take at least:
- two regular weekly rests; or
- one regular weekly rest and one reduced weekly rest.
A regular weekly rest is a period of rest of at least 45 hours’ duration.
A reduced weekly rest is a rest period of at least 24 but less than 45 hours’ duration.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Weekly rest 33 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours +
12 hours’
compensation
A weekly rest period is the weekly period during which drivers may freely dispose of their time.
It may be either a ‘regular weekly rest period’ or a ‘reduced weekly rest period’.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
45 hours
Rest
144 hours 45 hours 80 hours 45 hours
Rest 2 hours Driving/other work
(embarkation)
30 minutes
Rest (on ferry or
train) 7 hours
Driving/other work
(disembarkation)
30 minutes
Rest 2 hours
The following is an example of how a driver’s duties might be organised in compliance with the rules
on weekly rest, which allow two reduced weekly rest periods to be taken consecutively. This complies
with the rules because at least one regular and one reduced weekly rest period have been taken in two
consecutive ‘fixed’ weeks.
A weekly rest period that falls in two weeks may be counted in either week but not in both.
However, a rest period of at least 69 hours in total may be counted as two back-to-back weekly
rests (e.g. a 45-hour weekly rest followed by 24 hours), provided that the driver does not exceed
144 hours’ work either before or after the rest period in question.
Where reduced weekly rest periods are taken away from base, these may be taken in a vehicle,
provided that it has suitable sleeping facilities and is stationary.
Note: Operators who utilise a cyclical shift pattern should take care that their shift patterns allow
for compliance with the rolling two-weekly requirements for weekly rest and compensation.
Travelling time
Where a vehicle coming within the scope of the EU rules is neither at the driver’s home nor at the
employer’s operational centre where the driver is normally based but is at a separate location, time
spent travelling to or from that location to take charge of the vehicle may not be counted as a rest
or break, unless the driver is in a ferry or train and has access to a bunk or couchette.
Unforeseen events
Provided that road safety is not jeopardised, and to enable a driver to reach a suitable stopping
place, a departure from the EU rules may be permitted to the extent necessary to ensure the safety
of persons, the vehicle or its load. Drivers must note all the reasons for doing so on the back of their
tachograph record sheets (if using an analogue tachograph) or on a printout or temporary sheet
(if using a digital tachograph) at the latest on reaching the suitable stopping place (see relevant sections
covering manual entries). Repeated and regular occurrences, however, might indicate to enforcement
officers that employers were not in fact scheduling work to enable compliance with the applicable rules.
A judgment by the European Court of Justice dated 9 November 1995 provides a useful guide to
how this provision should be interpreted. It can apply only in cases where it unexpectedly becomes
impossible to comply with the rules on drivers’ hours during the course of a journey. In other words,
planned breaches of the rules are not allowed. This means that when an unforeseen event occurs, it
would be for the driver to decide whether it was necessary to depart from the rules. In doing so, a
driver would have to take into account the need to ensure road safety in the process (e.g. when driving
a vehicle carrying an abnormal load under the Special Types regulations) and any instruction that may
be given by an enforcement officer (e.g. when under police ■■■■■■).
Some examples of such events are delays caused by severe weather, road traffic accidents, mechanical
breakdowns, interruptions of ferry services and any event that causes or is likely to cause danger to the
life or health of people or animals. Note that this concession only allows for drivers to reach a suitable
stopping place, not necessarily to complete their planned journey. Drivers and operators would be
expected to reschedule any disrupted work to remain in compliance with the EU rules
Its good to post the rules but that does not always help a driver to understand them especially when they want to do something which could be legal but seems illegal at first glance
Apart from one, who missed reading a line I put in a PM, all have come away with the correct info
'Kin ell chaps ! Thanks for your input , I’ve already told my gaffer I wonnt start untill 1000 on monday but just thought I’d run it by you all
If I 'm ever stuck on hours issues ( which I think I understand) I always like to consult and am never dissapointed.
So tomorrow morning when your all up at stupid o’clock think of me jim
JFC999:
this week worked sat till 1330.
JFC999:
'Kin ell chaps ! Thanks for your input , I’ve already told my gaffer I wonnt start untill 1000 on monday
1030
sat 1330 to mon 1030 = 45 hours …yes?
we sometimes used to after a 45 or longer period at home would do a 24 hr sometimes followed by another 24hr rest, when doing euro work, then would always be back home before the end of the following week ,and off for serveral days the boss would always make sure of it, but that was back in the days when they paid you for each day you was out on the road