last week i had a bit of a fall out with the boss over my working day ? I was out tramping all week which wasn’t the problem but come Friday morning at 7.30 am after been parked up since 3.30pm Thursday I rang the office to find out what I was doing ? they said to me sit tight and we will send you a text with the details as soon as we sort something out ? still everything ok but at 10.30am I ring them again asking have you forgotten me and they say “no” details are been text as we speak ( which means they had forgot about me ) anyway my day goes by and at 5 00pm im fully loaded with a 6hr drive back to base and a 45min break ahead of me ? now this is where it all gets confusing because boss rings and says “we need it back tonight” and I say I haven’t got time and he says you didn’t start till 10.30am so you can work till 1.30am on a 15hr day and I said no I started at 7.30 when I rang the office for my reload details and I am parking up at 10.30pm and will be back tomorrow ? so when I got back the sparks flow and im now looking for work again ? now am I in the wrong or is he ? .
In your bosses eyes you weren’t doing anything so could have just left the tacho on rest until you got instructions. If you weren’t told to phone them up at 7.30am I can see why he might have been a bit peeved. If you were expected to phone them up though it’s different, as the phone call would class as part of your daily duties.
Bit of a bellend to have sacked you for this though.
rob22888:
In your bosses eyes you weren’t doing anything so could have just left the tacho on rest until you got instructions. If you weren’t told to phone them up at 7.30am I can see why he might have been a bit peeved. If you were expected to phone them up though it’s different, as the phone call would class as part of your daily duties.Bit of a bellend to have sacked you for this though.
he didn’t sack me I told him to shove it but your supposed to phone in for load instructions at 7.30am so that’s what I did and I did leave it on rest mode but that’s by the by as far as im concerned I started work when I phoned the office for instructions now if I had left the truck and gone off spending my time freely then he would have had a point but they told me to hold tight while they sorted something out ?
Name and shame I say.
Ken.
He is in the wrong obviously. If he tells his drivers to ring in at 7:30am then that’s what time they start work, you could have put it on poa or something for a couple of hours but it doesn’t change your finish time of 22:30.
If you had left it on rest at 7:30 and not switched modes at all then I suppose you could have worked like he suggested but then it depends on how good a boss he is, whether he pulls stunts like this a lot or if it’s a one-off, whether you’re paid by the hour, and if you want to be home or prefer to stay out and earn the money.
For a decent company I probably would have ran back to base on Friday night, save me having another night out and working a Saturday morning, but then I’d prefer to be at home than down the road, but if he’s a bit of a knob then he’d have go the same response that you gave.
I would have come back (unless tired) and made sure they paid me from 7.30 till 1.30, had a coffee with the boss explain that Mr ■■■■ up had his best shoes on Today and that he owes me one.
This seems to be a common practise. I’ve spoken to a couple of drivers recently who have been told to ring in after 11 off and then been kept waiting for instructions. As much as I can see the business need in all of this it isn’t legal for someone to break their rest and be expected to wait “off card” so to speak. Not worth a fuss if it’s a one off but I think it might be taking the mick if it got to be a regular occurence.
I agree it would have to be a very rare occurence.
if I had been a day driver and I had got to work at 7.30am then been told you have no job till we sort you something out go wait in the rest room would that mean im not working until they give me a job ? I know they like to think we are robots that they can activate at the push of a button but it would of meant me doing a 18 hr shift and im a bit too long in the tooth to be doing silly hrs like that
I’ve been in this situation before and although your boss has a good point, he’s not really playing the game.
You aren’t being paid to be on call.
I remember one time, I was parked up in Scotland but had a double decker on struggling to get a back load back down, I waited 6 hours still in the same spot from being parked up the night before and then just wrote the day off and had another night there.
What’s more frustrating is the office staff basically ruining your Friday just because they have “forgot” about you in their incompetence.
So all in all, I think I would have rared up as well.
Dipper_Dave:
I would have come back (unless tired) and made sure they paid me from 7.30 till 1.30, had a coffee with the boss explain that Mr ■■■■ up had his best shoes on Today and that he owes me one.
I was salaried this is the problem its costs them nothing more so that’s why they do it if I was on a hourly rate I would never see a 15 hr day ? but Im the only one to blame I excepted the rate when I started so it is my fault but I wont have the ■■■■ taken out of me for any amount of money ?
If you had put your tacho on other work at 7.30 when you made the call then your boss is buggered anyway.
At 7.30 I would still be on rest and probably still in me jammies. Your boss should have informed you there was problems and ‘off the record’ give some advance warning of what may be ‘requested’ later on, but said go back to bed for 3 hours we will pay you for it.
Unfortunately we don’t live in this wonderland I dream up from time to time so annoying as it is to be forgotten about for 3 hours your boss has some apologising to do and what ever you deceided to do should have been made clear that the choice was yours, probably earn more parking up and running in Saturday anyway.
Its all down to how good your boss is at his job, sounds like you might be well rid although to jack for this seems extreme is there some other issues and this was just the last straw.
4aaaa4dd:
I was salaried this is the problem its costs them nothing more so that’s why they do it if I was on a hourly rate I would never see a 15 hr day ? but Im the only one to blame I excepted the rate when I started so it is my fault but I wont have the ■■■■ taken out of me for any amount of money ?
Sorry didn’t realise this, I envoke my right to disagree with my earlier posts. 
I think you were in the right, as if you’re told to ring in at 0730 then you’re just doing what you’re told. My own view is that it’s a bit naughty to mess you around on a Friday like they have done, especially if you were parked up at 1530 the previous day and they knew that.
All immaterial now if you’ve jacked… nothing personal but that might have been a little over-reaction unless it was one of ‘those’ jobs…?
As others have said - it depends on what relationship you have with the company as to what I would have done in that situation
I wish they would make it all pay hourly for employee drivers by law - bonuses for fuel mpg and or not causing any damage only
Dipper_Dave:
If you had put your tacho on other work at 7.30 when you made the call then your boss is buggered anyway.At 7.30 I would still be on rest and probably still in me jammies. Your boss should have informed you there was problems and ‘off the record’ give some advance warning of what may be ‘requested’ later on, but said go back to bed for 3 hours we will pay you for it.
Unfortunately we don’t live in this wonderland I dream up from time to time so annoying as it is to be forgotten about for 3 hours your boss has some apologising to do and what ever you deceided to do should have been made clear that the choice was yours, probably earn more parking up and running in Saturday anyway.
Its all down to how good your boss is at his job, sounds like you might be well rid although to jack for this seems extreme is there some other issues and this was just the last straw.
yes dave same thing last week but let it go …
Sounds like much ado about nothing. You rang up for work. We’re parked up for kin ages then expected to work til the next day. He wouldn’t of been able to catch all the ■■■■■ I’d of thrown at him
Olog Hai:
I think you were in the right, as if you’re told to ring in at 0730 then you’re just doing what you’re told. My own view is that it’s a bit naughty to mess you around on a Friday like they have done, especially if you were parked up at 1530 the previous day and they knew that.All immaterial now if you’ve jacked… nothing personal but that might have been a little over-reaction unless it was one of ‘those’ jobs…?
second Friday in a row this as happened and to be honest I have another job to go to after xmas and it was just a fill in job but this didn’t mean I didn’t give it 100% its just some times I feel I have to talk with my feet if I feel im being had as a fool I wont stand there crying like a girl ill go else where its when they realise they cant treat drivers like muck that they will change their ways even if it is me that loses out.
No chuffing way. You are salaried or day rated, there’s no way I’d be sitting in a truck ready for work at 07:30 & then ploughing on till 01:30 in the morning for a set wage. Now if he’d have said, I’ll bung you an extra 30-50 quid as we couldn’t organise a ■■■■ up in a brewery then I may consider it.
A set wage for a set day, simples.
You should have just banged in 18 hrs on your time sheet that would’ve fixed the bossman !!