Working Time Directive.

A Practical Guide for HGV Drivers

If you drive an HGV professionally, understanding your drivers' hours is only half the story. You also need to understand the Road Transport Working Time Directive (WTD).

The two sets of rules work alongside each other, but they measure different things.

Drivers' hours rules primarily control how long you can drive and the breaks and rest periods you must take.

Working Time rules control how long you actually work – and driving is only one part of your working day.

This distinction is extremely important. You could be completely legal on your driving time but still commit a Working Time infringement.

What is working time?

Working time is not simply the time you spend behind the wheel.

It includes time when you are at your workstation, at your employer's disposal and carrying out your duties.

For an HGV driver this can include:

• Driving

• Loading and unloading

• Assisting with loading or unloading

• Daily vehicle walkaround checks

• Cleaning and washing the vehicle where this forms part of your work

• Maintenance and minor repairs

• Completing paperwork connected with the job

• Administrative work associated with your transport duties

• Waiting periods where you cannot freely dispose of your time and the duration was not known in advance

• Other work carried out for your employer

• Work for another employer

  
  

So, for example, if you start at 06:00 and spend 30 minutes checking and preparing your lorry before you begin driving, your working time started at 06:00, not when the wheels started turning.

What does NOT count as working time?

Certain periods are excluded from Working Time.

These include:

Breaks – when you are doing no work and using the time to recuperate.

Daily and weekly rest periods.

Periods of Availability (POA) – provided the period genuinely meets the conditions required to qualify as POA.

This last one is important because POA should not simply be used as a convenient way of reducing someone's recorded working hours.

What is Period of Availability?

A Period of Availability, usually called POA, is a period where you are not required to remain at your workstation but must remain available to answer a call to start or resume driving or other work.

Crucially, you must know about the period and its reasonably foreseeable duration in advance.

Examples can include certain periods waiting at a border, waiting due to a traffic prohibition, or accompanying a vehicle on a ferry or train.

POA is not working time, but it is also not automatically a break or rest.

Simply waiting somewhere does not automatically make the period POA.

The 6-hour rule

One of the most important Working Time rules for a driver is:

You must not work for more than six consecutive hours without a break.

This is completely separate from the familiar tachograph rule requiring a 45-minute driving break after no more than 4½ hours of driving.

You therefore need to watch two clocks:

Driving clock: maximum 4½ hours driving before the required driving break.

Working Time clock: maximum 6 hours work without the appropriate break.

Whichever requires a break first must be dealt with first.

How much WTD break do you need?

The amount depends on your total working time for the day.

If your total working time is 6 hours or less

There is no WTD break requirement under these particular rules.

If you work more than 6 hours but no more than 9 hours

You need a total of at least:

30 minutes of break.

If you work more than 9 hours

You need a total of at least:

45 minutes of break.

The breaks can be divided into periods of at least:

15 minutes.

But remember the six-hour rule – you cannot simply work ten hours continuously and take your 45 minutes at the end.

The break must actually interrupt the working period.

Can your driving break also count as your WTD break?

Yes.

You don't necessarily need separate breaks for Drivers' Hours and Working Time.

A qualifying break can satisfy both sets of rules where it meets the requirements of both.

For example, if you have accumulated 4½ hours of driving and take a qualifying 45-minute driving break, that period can also count towards your Working Time break requirements.

The important thing is to monitor both driving time and working time, rather than assuming that complying with one automatically means you have complied with the other.

Maximum weekly working time

The absolute maximum Working Time in a single week is:

60 hours.

A week runs from:

00:00 Monday to 24:00 Sunday.

You cannot average your way out of this limit.

For example, you cannot work 65 hours this week and then work only 30 next week and argue that the average is acceptable.

65 hours in one week would exceed the 60-hour maximum.

The 48-hour average

This is the part of WTD that often causes the most confusion.

Although you can work up to 60 hours in an individual week, your working time must average no more than:

48 hours per week over the applicable reference period.

That means 48 hours is an average – not normally an absolute weekly maximum.

You can therefore work:

Week 1 – 55 hoursWeek 2 – 50 hoursWeek 3 – 45 hoursWeek 4 – 42 hours

provided that your average over the applicable reference period ultimately remains within 48 hours.

This is why both the driver and operator need to know which reference period applies.

What is a reference period?

A reference period is simply the block of weeks over which your average Working Time is calculated.

This is where Irish WTD rules become slightly more complicated, because there is more than one permitted method.

Depending on the arrangements applying in the workplace, the reference period can involve:

• successive 17-week periods;

• a rolling 17-week calculation;

• successive 26-week periods where the necessary agreement exists; or

• the statutory fixed calendar periods.

  
  

You should therefore know which system your employer is using.

The three statutory fixed reference periods

Where another permitted arrangement has not been put in place, the Irish Regulations provide for successive reference periods based around three parts of the year:

1 January → 1 May

1 May → 1 September

1 September → 1 January

More precisely, each period starts at midnight at the beginning of the Monday falling on, or first Monday after, the relevant starting date and ends at midnight at the beginning of the Monday falling on, or first Monday after, the relevant ending date.

These are effectively three separate averaging periods.

This is important because the average is considered within the applicable reference period – you don't simply take your total hours for the whole year and divide by 52.

The 17-week option

Irish legislation also permits a 17 consecutive week reference period in certain circumstances.

For an employed mobile worker, where the relevant collective/employment agreement provisions do not apply, an employer can give the worker written notice that a 17-week arrangement will apply.

In that situation, the legislation refers to any period of 17 consecutive weeks in the course of the worker's employment.

This is particularly significant because it allows the average to be assessed on a rolling basis rather than simply relying on the three fixed calendar blocks.

What does a rolling 17-week average mean?

Imagine you are looking at your working time today.

Under a rolling system, you examine the relevant consecutive 17-week period and calculate your average.

As another week passes, the calculation moves forward: the oldest week drops out and the newest week enters the calculation.

This means you cannot simply reach the end of a fixed reference period and assume everything has “reset”.

Your hours need to remain compliant as the calculation moves through the year.

What about 26 weeks?

A reference period can be extended to:

26 consecutive weeks

but this is an important point:

An employer cannot simply decide informally to use 26 weeks because it is more convenient.

For an employed mobile worker, the Irish Regulations provide for successive 26-week reference periods where a collective agreement provides for that arrangement.

RSA guidance also provides a model workforce agreement for establishing fixed 26-week reference periods.

So if someone tells you:

“We work our WTD over 26 weeks.”

there should be a proper basis for that arrangement.

Drivers and operators should know what agreement is in place, what the applicable reference periods are and when each period begins and ends.

Why does 26 weeks matter?

A longer reference period gives an operation more flexibility to balance busy and quiet periods.

For example, a driver might work several relatively heavy weeks during a busy period and then considerably shorter weeks later.

That does not change the 60-hour maximum for an individual week.

It simply gives a longer period over which the 48-hour average can be balanced.

So even under a 26-week arrangement:

Maximum individual week = 60 working hours.

Maximum average = 48 working hours per week across the reference period.

How do you calculate your average?

At its simplest:

Total relevant working hours ÷ number of weeks = average weekly working time.

For example, if over a 17-week reference period your relevant total came to:

816 hours

then:

816 ÷ 17 = 48 hours average.

You are exactly at the limit.

If the total were:

850 hours

then:

850 ÷ 17 = 50 hours average.

That would exceed the 48-hour average.

For a straightforward 26-week period:

48 × 26 = 1,248 hours

as the equivalent 48-hour average across 26 weeks, subject to the statutory calculation rules described below.

Annual leave and sick leave do NOT simply bring your average down

This is another really important point.

You cannot artificially reduce a driver's average by putting zero hours into the calculation for statutory annual leave, sick leave or certain other statutory leave.

The legislation has special rules for these excluded hours.

For the purposes of calculating the average, a whole excluded week is treated as:

48 hours.

A whole excluded day is treated as:

8 hours.

Excluded hours include relevant statutory annual leave, sick leave and specified maternity, adoptive, parental and carer's leave.

So imagine you normally work around 50 hours but take a week of statutory annual leave.

You cannot simply enter:

0 hours

for that week and use it to drag your WTD average down.

For averaging purposes, the legislation protects that period by applying the relevant excluded-hours calculation.

What if you work for more than one employer?

This is very important for drivers doing occasional or weekend work elsewhere.

Working Time is about the worker, not just the hours recorded with one particular transport company.

A mobile worker must inform their employer, in writing, of Working Time performed for another employer.

Your employer can also ask you for information about work carried out elsewhere.

You cannot legally work close to your limits for Employer A and then treat work for Employer B as if a completely new WTD clock has started.

The relevant working hours have to be considered together.

What about self-employed drivers?

The Road Transport Working Time rules also apply to self-employed drivers who fall within their scope.

Being self-employed does not mean you can simply disregard the 48-hour average, 60-hour weekly maximum, break requirements or other applicable WTD provisions.

The Irish Regulations also allow self-employed drivers to operate reference periods of successive 17 weeks, successive 26 weeks, or otherwise the statutory fixed calendar periods.

Night work

There are additional rules for night workers.

For goods transport, night time is defined in Ireland as:

00:00 to 04:00.

If you perform any work during that night-time period, the night-work provisions can apply.

The general rule is that where night work is performed, working time must not exceed:

10 hours in each 24-hour period.

This limit can be altered through the appropriate collective or workforce agreement, but that does not remove the other Working Time or drivers' hours obligations.

This is particularly important for HGV drivers starting very early in the morning.

Starting at 03:30, for example, can bring you within the night-work provisions even though most of your shift subsequently takes place during daylight hours.

Working Time is NOT your “spread”

This deserves particular emphasis.

If you start work at 05:00 and finish at 18:00, the period between those times is:

13 hours.

But that does not necessarily mean you have accumulated 13 hours of Working Time.

Suppose within that period you had:

9 hours working time1 hour qualifying break3 hours genuine POA

Your spread/elapsed time is 13 hours.

Your Working Time is 9 hours.

Break and qualifying POA are excluded from the Working Time calculation.

This is why “I was out for 13 hours” and “I worked 13 hours” do not necessarily mean the same thing.

And Working Time is NOT driving time

Consider another example:

Vehicle checks – 30 minutesDriving – 3 hoursLoading – 1 hourDriving – 1 hourOther work – 1 hour

You have accumulated:

4 hours driving

but:

6½ hours working time.

You may still be below your 4½-hour driving limit, but the Working Time break requirements have already become relevant.

This is one of the easiest ways for a new driver to misunderstand WTD.

Who is responsible?

Both drivers and employers have responsibilities.

The employer must organise and monitor work so that the Working Time limits are complied with.

Employers must keep appropriate records of Working Time and make them available for inspection when required.

Drivers also have responsibilities, including accurately recording activities and providing their employer with information about relevant work undertaken for another employer.

The fact that a driver was instructed to work does not make an infringement disappear.

Equally, compliance is not something an operator can simply leave entirely to the driver.

Good WTD compliance requires both sides to understand the system being used.

The numbers every HGV driver should know

6 hours – maximum work without the required interruption/break.

30 minutes – total WTD break required where total working time is more than 6 but no more than 9 hours.

45 minutes – total WTD break required where total working time exceeds 9 hours.

15 minutes – minimum individual portion when WTD breaks are split.

60 hours – absolute maximum Working Time in any individual Monday-to-Sunday week.

48 hours – maximum average weekly Working Time over the applicable reference period.

17 weeks – a common reference-period arrangement.

26 weeks – possible where the appropriate arrangement/agreement is in place.

00:00–04:00 – statutory night-time period for goods transport in Ireland.

10 hours in 24 – general Working Time limit where night work is performed, subject to permitted agreement arrangements.

The easiest way to think about WTD

Don't think of Working Time Directive as another version of your tachograph driving limits.

Think of yourself as having different clocks running at the same time.

Clock 1 – Driving

How much driving have I accumulated?

Clock 2 – Working Time

How long have I actually been working, including driving and other work?

Clock 3 – Breaks

Have I had the breaks required by both sets of rules at the correct time?

Clock 4 – Average Working Time

Am I remaining within the 48-hour average for the reference period my employer actually uses?

A driver who understands all four is far less likely to accidentally infringe.

Finally – ask your employer one very useful question

If you're starting a new HGV job, ask:

“What reference period do you use for Working Time averaging?”

Do they use the statutory fixed periods?

Do they use a rolling 17-week period?

Do they operate successive 26-week reference periods under an appropriate agreement?

If it is 26 weeks, what agreement establishes it and when does the current reference period begin and end?

You should know.

Because saying “I never worked more than 60 hours in a week” does not by itself demonstrate WTD compliance.

Sixty hours is the absolute weekly ceiling.

48 hours is the average.

And the reference period determines how that average is calculated.