| September 2022 |.
Employees are considered to be employed in transportation when they:
As an employer, you should keep in mind that your staff should not spend more than 9 hours a day behind the wheel. You can extend the daily driving time to a maximum of 10 hours, but no more than twice a week. Your drivers can drive a maximum of 56 hours per week and a maximum of 90 hours per two weeks. If necessary, you can extend the work week to a maximum of 60 hours. You can do this only if your employees work an average of no more than 48 hours per week over a 4-month period.
An example
You hire a driver to transport goods to another EU country. In one week, he drives 56 hours and does 4 hours of maintenance on the truck; so in total he works 60 hours. To comply with the EU rule of an average working week of 48 hours, the driver must work less than 48 hours in the following weeks - within a predetermined period of 4 months.
Your employees should not work more than 6 hours in a row without a break. If they work between 6 and 9 hours, they should get at least a half-hour break. If they work longer than 9 hours, they are entitled to at least 45 minutes of break time. You must ensure that drivers take at least 45 minutes of uninterrupted break after 4.5 hours of driving, unless they take their rest period then. This break may also be taken in two parts: a first break of at least 15 minutes and a second of at least 30 minutes.
Night work is work performed at night. Under EU rules, night work refers to a period of at least 4 hours between midnight and 7 am. But these times vary from country to country. If your employees work between midnight and 7 a.m. within a specific window of at least 4 hours, they are considered night workers. If your employees work at night, they may not work more than 10 hours in any 24-hour period.
Daily rest periods
You must guarantee your workers a normal daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours. You can reduce the rest period to 9 hours a maximum of three times between two weekly rest periods. The driver can divide the normal daily rest period into two parts: the first part must be at least 3 hours and the second part at least 9 hours, so that the sum of the two parts is at least 12 hours.
Weekly rest period
Drivers taking an uninterrupted rest period of 45 hours or more must rest in a suitable, gender-appropriate accommodation with proper sleeping and sanitation facilities - not in their vehicle. As an employer, you must pay the cost of this accommodation. Your employees must get at least 45 hours of uninterrupted rest per week, but every second week you may shorten this rest period to 24 hours. If you shorten the weekly rest period, you must agree with your workers on a rest period to compensate for it.
When drawing up the work schedule, you must ensure that the employee gets 45 consecutive hours of rest after 6 days of driving and a minimum of 24 hours of rest every two weeks. Your employees may take a reduced rest period once every two weeks only if it is compensated with one equivalent rest period before the end of the third week following it. This compensation must be taken consecutively to another rest period of at least 9 hours.
Special rules for drivers transporting goods
There are special rules for drivers in international freight transport:
Special rules for drivers transporting passengers
If on occasion your coach drivers also drive and carry passengers for at least 24 hours in another EU country or outside the EU, they are allowed to postpone their weekly rest period. Calculated from the end of the previous weekly rest period, they are allowed to wait 12 days before taking their rest period. This rule is also known as the "12-day rule" and only applies when the vehicle is equipped with a digital or smart tachograph.
Your drivers can take their reduced weekly rest periods as follows:
Your employees may take a reduced rest period once every two weeks only if it is compensated with one equivalent rest period before the end of the third week that follows. This compensation must be taken consecutively to another rest period of at least 9 hours.
If it is a single manned ride, the driver must take a break every 3 hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
An example
You have a travel agency in Slovenia and want to organize a 10-day bus trip to Portugal, with stops in a number of other EU countries. The trip lasts from April 11 to 21. The bus driver has 48 hours of rest on the weekend of April 9 and 10 and starts the trip on April 11. According to the rules, she may take her next weekly rest after the trip is over. But her rest period cannot begin more than 12 days after April 11, which means no later than April 23.
As an employer, you must organize the driver's work and free time in such a way that the driver is not at work for more than 4 consecutive weeks. According to EU rules, the driver's place of return is either the driver's official place of residence or the employer's place of operation. The driver may choose the place of return. If the driver does not make a choice, the employer can make that decision.
A tachograph is a device that records the following:
As an employer, you must ensure that your drivers are trained to use the tachograph correctly. You must keep the tachograph records for at least one year. Upon request, copies can be provided to the driver or to local authorities.
Do you still have questions after reading this blog on driving and rest periods, or would you like to learn more about what works for your specific business situation? Then contact us directly by phone 03 289 55 35 or click here for more information.
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