Been told must take a 30 minute break when working time exceeds 6 hours, I usually take a 15, I have been shown this to back up what they say… legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005 … ion/7/made bullet point number 2 …worker is ‘‘entitled’’ to a 30 minute when working time exceeds 6 hours but does not exceed 9 hours, i have seen evidence elswhere in the past that says i only need have a 15 after 6 hours, lets say i just do an 8 hour shift and only drive 4 hours. Which information is correct?
If you do an 8 hour shift then you need breaks totalling 30 minutes but by the 6 hour mark you can just take a 15 minute break. You must take another 15 though before you finish your shift even though legally you could work another 6 hours then take another 15 and then crack on.
Thems is the rules.
Ok thanks, i only took a 15 today but worked 6 and half hours, but i believe it does’nt matter because of covid… The relevant provisions of the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 will not apply, to the extent that they conflict with the requirements of responding to the emergency. Drivers will, however, remain subject to all other requirements of the Working Time Regulations in an emergency event…taken from… gov.uk/government/publicati … elaxations.
I know its only WTD and dvsa arent realy arsed about it, i just like knowing 
, I think i am going to need to go over 10 hours driving as well tommorow because i have a nearly 500 mile round trip to look forward to, but i see the relaxed rules allow me to do 11 
It’s going to be far simpler for you if you just follow the basic rules of WTD and avoid all the infringements rather than rely on what you “believe”.
Basics… If your shift is going to be between 6 and 9 hours then you need total of 30 mins break. If your shift is over 9 hours, you need 45 minutes break. You can’t work over 6 hours without taking a break. Therefore before 6 hours is up, take a 15 minute break or longer. Your working time breaks can be broken up in to 15-minute breaks. I don’t think there are any Working Time relaxations in effect currently. There are some driving & rest relaxations. In any case, the page you have linked from gov.uk suggests that any departure from rules should be with operator agreement and the driver is to note on his print out why the non-compliance is necessary, and it must be an emergency situation.
The gov.uk site is clear as mud, but if you venture far enough through the mire, you eventually find the current relaxations here: gov.uk/government/publicati … ds-by-road
But those don’t have any effect on your WTD.
WTD taken from gov website ‘‘The relevant provisions of the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 will not apply, to the extent that they conflict with the requirements of responding to the emergency’’ Now that says to me that the WTD rules may interfere with my important delivery, but obviously I have to adhere to the other relaxations as published elsewhere, the most upto date that i can find were published on .gov on 20th march.
There’s 2 parts to the wtd breaks.
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The 6 hour rule
you can’t work more than 6 hours at any point without a 15 min break, a break of 15 or more allows you to work upto another 6 hours before needing another 15 min break. This works the same as driving 4.5 hours and a 45. (Only driving and other work count as working time) -
The total break
This is dependent on the amount of working time in the shift, only driving and other work count as working time for the wtd.
0-6 hours of working time = 0 break required
Over 6 but not over 9 = 30 mins of break/s
Over 9 = 45 mins of break/s required.
A shift can only be have 1 of the 3 apply, so ignore the other 2
Breaks can be taken anywhere in the shift to count towards the total required, except the very beginning or end of the shift, so each break must have at least 1 min of work either side of it and they must be at least 15 mins long to count.
So anyone who drives over 4.5 hours in a shift will have a 45 for that and tick the total break box for any shift, so all they’ll need to worry about is the 6 hour rule.
This is the extreme example of what is legal
Work 6
Break 15
Work 6
Break 15
Work 2:14
Break 15
Work 1 min
shullbit:
WTD taken from gov website ‘‘The relevant provisions of the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 will not apply, to the extent that they conflict with the requirements of responding to the emergency’’ Now that says to me that the WTD rules may interfere with my important delivery, but obviously I have to adhere to the other relaxations as published elsewhere, the most upto date that i can find were published on .gov on 20th march.
Not a get out of jail free card. The main thing that referred to was the 60hr limit on a working week given we could do 7x15hr days under the relaxation, not how much break you needed to take during a shift.
And I doubt that what you’re delivering is important enough to deviate from the rules any more if they ever were to begin with. Food is no longer a shortage, it’s literally down to PPE, some chemicals and medical supplies.
Instead of trying to find ways around the rules and to excuse your own incompetence learn them.
Conor:
shullbit:
WTD taken from gov website ‘‘The relevant provisions of the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 will not apply, to the extent that they conflict with the requirements of responding to the emergency’’ Now that says to me that the WTD rules may interfere with my important delivery, but obviously I have to adhere to the other relaxations as published elsewhere, the most upto date that i can find were published on .gov on 20th march.Not a get out of jail free card. The main thing that referred to was the 60hr limit on a working week given we could do 7x15hr days under the relaxation, not how much break you needed to take during a shift.
And I doubt that what you’re delivering is important enough to deviate from the rules any more if they ever were to begin with. Food is no longer a shortage, it’s literally down to PPE, some chemicals and medical supplies.
Instead of trying to find ways around the rules and to excuse your own incompetence learn them.
I am just following the government guidlines, they are there to help me, and you and everybody else, the information is in black and white, so i dont think they are going to take a big stick to me if i do a 10 and half hour drive when it clearly says on the government website that i can, at least until the 31st of May.
The department’s advice about emergency situations is if your journey is necessary to enable someone to:
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provide goods or services to protect public health, and/or
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meet their or others’ basic needs for day to day living, and/or
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provide medical treatment
I meet 2 of the above criteria, and the guidance is still valid and will more than likely be extended when the second wave comes