I’ve always been confused about this so I asked my transport manager about this a few months ago he said because we are tipper drivers this does not apply to us as we don’t go out of 100k from base and we are mobile plant. I thought this was a bit strange and after asking a few people and getting shut up you lazy beep and do your work lol I thought I would ring vosa and ask them. They said tippers are not classed as mobile plant there is no exceptions and it is law that drivers can’t work over 60 hours a week and over 17 weeks have to average 48 hours working and driving /nothing to do with driving hours which every beep keeps going on about I’m talking about wtd working and driving hours\ at the moment I average 55 to 62 hours after breaks deducted every week. What will vosa do if they catch me?
Now what ■■■■■■ me off is my friend works as a labourer on site and works 48 hour week and takes home the same as me! So hgv drivers should be paid the same as what I’m on now and take home that money for 48 hours as that is the law and not feel ■■■■■■ every week doing 60 hours.
Is it better to be on salary then earn what I’m on now for a 48 hour week? I don’t get overtime but on £10 ph on 8 wheeler tipper.
Surely massive company must have to adhere to this like stobies they pay arctics £8.40 that’s like £400 a week before tax how do they make there money.
VOSA won’t do nowt about WTD unless there are a ton of infringements when they do an audit. It’s something more for your company to worry about. That’s what I got told on here when I asked. I think my average at the moment is hovering around 48.7hours. A few early finishes should bring it back down.
Radar19:
VOSA won’t do nowt about WTD unless there are a ton of infringements when they do an audit. It’s something more for your company to worry about. That’s what I got told on here when I asked. I think my average at the moment is hovering around 48.7hours. A few early finishes should bring it back down.
What I’m trying to get at is company’s are not sticking to the rules and putting us on low hourly rate so we work our arse off to get the same money as Jimmy on site. So what your saying is if I get pulled by vosa and I’ve done 70hour week working and driving no poa they will shrug it off. I don’t get it then we might as well not bother with the 6 hour rule then!
All I know is I phoned vosa/dvsa they said there is no opt out its law and then I asked what’s the penalty they replied that’s up to the courts to decide. Maybe not considerd much now but it’s there and it will be made more apparent as Time goes on. Would be nice thought to do a 48 hour week and get paid the same as we are now. Because I know working 60 hour week is bull.
Wtd and drivers working hours are combined working time directive for workers is a directive but drivers working hours are law and it’s down to the driver at the end of the day.
As has been mentioned, using POA gets around the limit. However I work for one of the ‘large companies’ and we are not allowed to use it so our salary is worked out on the strict 48 over 17 rule. Our hourly rate equivalent works out to about £12.50 an hour but obviously if the hours are down then the notional hourly rate gets better . Personally I prefer it because I know what I’m taking home at the end of each month irrelevant of how many hours I actually work.
tallyman:
As has been mentioned, using POA gets around the limit. However I work for one of the ‘large companies’ and we are not allowed to use it so our salary is worked out on the strict 48 over 17 rule. Our hourly rate equivalent works out to about £12.50 an hour but obviously if the hours are down then the notional hourly rate gets better . Personally I prefer it because I know what I’m taking home at the end of each month irrelevant of how many hours I actually work.
It depends a lot on what work you do as well. Ours is mostly double-manned for security reasons, second man counts as POA. If we go to Denmark or Sweden, then it’s 24 hour crossings, so there and back, that’s all POA. We can’t really avoid it.
But then he’d actually have to graft, and earn his £15 an hour or what ever his mate might be earning. Its not like you have to work hard in this job anymore, not many do roping and sheeting these days, and tilt trailer are a distant memory.
Too many want to compare different occupations, and say I want that cash, but don’t think about what might be required of you to earn that, and labouring can be bloody hard work .
Transport has been dumbed down, and what little effort has been made to try and up skill the industry, has been roundly resisted by the Employers and the Drivers, so no wonder we are at the bottom of the food chain
Conor:
Digit369:
I don’t get it then we might as well not bother with the 6 hour rule then!
Given nobody seems to be aware of any company that has actually been done for WTD infringements the whole thing is a waste of time.
That’s because its an anathema to the industry, in which we have a perfectly suitable set of rules/laws to regulate our working lives, that being the EU drivers hours regulations. The WTD as a whole was bought in by the Blair government as a sop to the Unions, and the RTD was the natural, but unnecessary progression through to this industry.
The WTD is a European rule that has such massive holes in it - that it is simple for employers to circumvent it by getting drivers to use POA for starters.
Those socialists who think that voting to remain in the EU will somehow get them a boatload of workers rights rather than surplus people by the boatload - are dreaming.
In France, employers are reluctant to ever give out a full time contract these days - because of the huge amount of “tie ins” that would go with it, against their interests…
Even over in the UK, I’ve known of situations where a guy has punched a manager on his first day, been suspended pending dismissal there and then, but it took another six weeks to get him off the payroll!
Six weeks pay for five minutes work, and a free and most satisfying punch thrown to boot… Nice work for those benefit people who have been told “Take this job or your benefits get stopped” eh?
A yard’s “compliance officer” will of course be counted as one of those jobs that “relies on the UK being in the EU” as well of course. One of Cleggy’s 3-4m he spoke of.
Yes it’s true - if we leave the EU, a lot of air jobs will disappear… Those that currently service our postrations to the EU red tape machine. Alternatively, companies will just re-assign new duties to such staff, so few jobs will actually “be lost” at all - just “change name” and/or “change in duty content” that’s all.
. Personally I prefer it because I know what I’m taking home at the end of each month irrelevant of how many hours I actually work.
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