Working hours/conditions

[neatbik]

How many of you are unimpressed with your employers attitude to your working hours, breaks and conditions?
Am i the only one working 10 hour days with a boss who think its unreasonable for me to have breaks? Considering i am driving all day long i would have thought it be especially important that i have sufficient breaks in order to carry out my job safely......
Everyone else at the company gets 2 x 15 min breaks (paid), plus 30 mins for lunch (unpaid). The real pisser is im on less money than everyone else too......
As far as i know i am entitled to a 20 min break if i work for 6 hours or more (i might be wrong there though) which i do take, but why should i have to do it on the sly!?
Sorry for the rant, it was either post on here or go into work tomorrow and sit my boss on his ass.....

[Jaloopa]

Legally you are entitled to a 15 minute unpaid break after 5 hours.

AFAIK you are required to take a 45 minute break every 6 hours if you are driving constantly.
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mattsprattuk wrote: but at least the lifan could do like 104mph in 3rd gear

[AC]

what do you drive? I know something about the driving laws for larger vehicles but small white van drivers/taxi drivers arent tied to the same regulations.

Basic EU driving law is a 45min break for every 4hr30 driving undertaken. There are some variations to this depending on the catergory of licence and vehicle being driven.

I could get more detailed info on driving laws if you want to let me know what you drive.

[plugger147]

I got pissed off with stupid company politics (Stupid requests, lack of staff in my department, treatment of manual staff compared to the overstaffed office, site managers affair with secretary) and quit in december. Still out of work (mainly due to a health issue) but releaved I'm out. May even go back to school.
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Tristan the wrote: just whipped off my trousers to find a big bruise on my arse, caused by matt rear ending me...

[Icey]

Just quickly dug up these links for you, hope it helps.

https://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/freight/road/workingtime/rdtransportworkingtimeguidance?page=7#a1033

https://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029451
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Mutley - 1988 Austin Mini City - Blog
Suetonius - 1966 Series Land Rover - Blog
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[stinkwheel]

I read the contract before I accept a job. If I don't like what it says, I either negotiate a change or don't take the job.

As such, if I am dissatisfied by my rates of pay or working hours, I have no one to blame but myself.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[neatbik]

Cheers guys, i drive a 3.5 ton car transporter, so the hgv rules dont apply. As regards contracts, i wasnt given one, and still havent been given given one after 9 months....

[virus]

punch him in the tits


joking aside, id be having a word, and if that fails id seek someone higher to speak to. if your legally entitled to something and he isn't giving it then you have all rights to complain.


Cheers
John
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own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[WildGoose]

Too much misinformation here, sorry.

The EU drivers hours don't apply to you, but the Working Time Directive does.

You are a 'mobile worker' under the Working Time Directive, therefore;

-You cannot work more than 6 hours without a break.
-If you work more than 6 hours but less than 9 you are entitled to breaks totalling 30 minutes. If you work more than 9 hours you are entitled to breaks totalling 45 minutes.
-A break must be a minimum of 15 minutes.
-Breaks cannot be taken at the very start or very end of your shift, they must 'interupt' your working time.

Article 7 Paragraph 5

[neatbik]

Cheers mate, very helpful
John, i'd love to punch him in the tits but if i dont work the kids dont eat and the bills dont get paid. Unfortunatley its a small company and he's the boss. He's so confrontational its impossible to have a civil chat with him, ive tried and i had to walk away before i did something silly
Im looking for another job and filling in application forms, hopefully something will come up trumps soon

[Phoenix]

I had a similar job driving Sprinters, when I took the job I was told the hours were 7am to 3pm. After a few weeks the hours were averaging 7am to 6/7pm with no break at all, just wasn't time for one.

Now I could take my break but I then wouldn't get back until 8pm so chose not to. All the drivers made it clear it was a joke, yet it continued for about 5months with idle promises. We weren't given contracts either.

Eventually we got a pay rise, non negotiable and hours changed from 7-5 and they took on a couple more drivers to ease the workload. This meant we still couldn't have a break unless we wanted to work past 5pm due to workload and all the past and current overtime wasn't paid to any drivers. They paid me a £300 payoff for the overtime i'd done previously (less than 1/3 of what I was owed) because I got angry and started writing letters to the MD.

The other problem was due to the nature of the job (motorcycle accidents) work dropped off a bit during winter, so their excuse for us working out of hours in summer was we'd get the time back in winter...didn't work like that as we all knew it wouldn't. Contracts arrived 2years after i started there and they were an absolute piss take, every single statement was followed by a counter statement basically negating the first one and absolving the company of any and every responsibility to do anything, they weren't signed, handed back and rewritten, arrived 2months later in much better shape and were signed.

The job was a joke and I treated it like that, 2.5years later and I'd got my Class 1 and went elsewhere. HGV driving has strict regulation, drivers get more respect (generally) and if something's not right you just say no, quote the law if there's always VOSA if things kick off. Get yourself a new job, plenty of 3.5t jobs about. And depending on if you got your licence before 1997 try going for a 7.5t job, then you come under Drivers Hours regulations / Tachograph to keep your days legal.

[neatbik]

Cheers alex, you've pretty much summed up my current job
If you dont mind me asking how much did it cost for you to go for HGV? And how do you find the work/pay/availability of work?
I passed my test after 1997 so i cant drive 7.5t
Cheers

[Phoenix]

Average cost of taking Class 2 (rigid) and then Class 1 (artic) is £2K, this includes a couple of retests which you need to factor in as you may well need them and they're not cheap at £250-300 a go. It's expensive and if you happen to fail the test you need to commit to it and retake asap really or it's an expensive thing to let slide. You can like many just take your Class 2 first and get some work doing that before moving onto artic to keep costs down.

The biggest problem for everyone is finding work after you pass, everyone wants 2years experience, but of course you can't get it if no on will give you a job, usual catch-22 situation. But places will give you a start you just have to put real effort into finding one and moving up from there, plus like me you have a few years on 3.5t behind you which does help, many new HGV drivers have come straight out of another totally different career.

It's hard to pay out near on a grand for a licence when your not guaranteed work but if you find the right job the money will pay you back and give you better future prospects. My job at the moment is good and certainly don't regret going for HGV, but other find it harder getting work. Visit trucknet UK forums if you want to join up and ask the masses, very helpful place.

[neatbik]

Cheers Alex, some very useful info there mate

[colin1]

There are agencies that can get you temporary driving work and as you job has been driving for ages, if you moved up to 7.5t or class II or class I, that would go in your favour.

I know there is at least one agency in worcester for driving, probably more.

With 7.5T you may well have to load and unload the vehicle, and possibly with II.

You can get yourself started by learning tacho rules off the net.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[WildGoose]

He said he hasnt got a category C1, so to get himself started he would need to do a driving test, one way or the other.
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[superslick]

i work in a 3 franchise car dealership in the understaffed parts department.

I get no breaks morning or afternoon, and am supposed to have half an hour for my lunch but this is usually 15 minutes due being interrupted halfway through my break and having to deal with fucking customers or mechanics wanting parts.

so between 8:30am and 5pm i get 10-20 mins off.

which is disgraceful for a 17 year old
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aprillia rs125 gp-1 2004

[Kwaks]

If you are out driving whats to stop you just pulling over for your breaks?

As for the rest of you learn to say no
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