How the drivers’ hours rules apply when driving a goods vehicle under a mix of the EU/ AETR and Great Britain rules (Mixed Rules Operations).
General Principals
Many drivers spend some of their time driving under one set of rules and some under another set, perhaps even on the same day.
When working partly under EU/ AETR rules and partly under GB domestic rules during a day or a week, the following points must be considered (the EU rules take precedence over the GB domestic rules):
Driving limits
The GB domestic limit (a maximum of 10 hours of driving a day) must always be obeyed. However, at any time when actually driving under the EU/ AETR rules all the rules on EU/ AETR driving limits must be obeyed.
Duty limits
GB domestic limit (no more than 11 hours on duty in a 24-hour period) must always be obeyed. But when any EU/ AETR driving is carried out, the limit of 13 or 15 hours maximum of duty (determined by the amount of EU/ AETR daily rest needed) must always be obeyed. EU/ AETR breaks must be taken within these duty periods.
Rest periods and breaks
All drivers who drive in scope of the EU/AETR drivers’ hours rules need to comply with the sector specific working time rules, which have the same rest requirements as the EU drivers’ hours’ rules. Therefore, a driver who drives vehicles in scope of the GB rules on some days/weeks must always comply with EU rest requirements unless they are classed as an occasional mobile worker.
Definition of an occasional mobile worker under the Working time Rules 2005 Regulations
A mobile worker would be exempt from the 2005 Regulations if:
Drivers who are occasional mobile workers only need to comply with EU/ AETR daily rest requirements on days when they drive under EU/ AETR rules. An EU/ AETR weekly rest period must also be taken. So where a driver who is an occasional mobile worker works under EU/ AETR rules in one week and under GB domestic rules the next week (or vice versa), they must take either an EU/ AETR regular or a reduced weekly rest in the week in which the EU/ AETR regulated driving takes place.
If a reduced weekly rest is taken, compensation will be required by the end of the third week following the week in which the reduced weekly rest is taken.
As it is not permitted to work more than 6 x 24-hour periods (including any non-EU/ AETR regulated work) between weekly rest periods, drivers who are occasional mobile workers must take an EU compliant weekly rest period prior to undertaking any EU/ AETR regulated work where any previous non-EU/ AETR regulated work means the 6 x 24-hour periods would be exceeded.
Records
Working under EU/ AETR rules (whether an occasional mobile worker or not) means EU/ AETR record keeping rules will always apply in addition to the GB domestic record keeping rules.
On any day where both EU/ AETR and GB domestic driving take place then records must be kept in accordance with both GB domestic and EU/ AETR requirements, recording activities in accordance with the general principles set out at the start of this section.
EU/ AETR rules require that for each day that work is undertaken, even if that work is not in scope of the EU/ AETR rules (for example secondary employment). All non-EU/AETR work must be recorded as ‘other work’ on a tachograph chart, printout or a manual entry using the manual input facility of a digital tachograph. EU/AETR rules also require records are kept for rest days and for annual or sick leave.
‘Other work’ means all activities which are defined as working time in Article 3(a) of Directive 2002/15/EC except ‘driving’, including any work for the same or another employer, within or outside of the transport sector.
If requested, drivers must be able to produce their EU/ AETR records, including the driver card if held, for the current day and the previous 28 calendar days, as well as any GB domestic records.
Source – DVSA
