Class 1 & 2 - HGV / LGV drivers Compliance

Driver Cpc (certificate Of Professional Competence)

Driver CPC is a recently introduced Europe-wide qualification for professional lorry drivers. It is designed to ensure high driving standards and improve road safety. In order to qualify, drivers must pass comprehensive theory and practical tests, and complete an additional 35 hours of training every 5 years. All our drivers hold a valid CPC.

Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations

We comply fully with the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations, which came into force on 4th April 2005. The full text of the RT(WT)R can be found here. The regulations are designed to limit the weekly working time of agency drivers, the amount of work which can be carried out at night, and the length and frequency of breaks and rest periods.

Briefly, the regulations state the following:

Working time must not exceed an average 48 hour week
Drivers cannot work more than 60 hours in any one week (starting from 00:00 on Monday morning)
Drivers cannot work more than 10 hours in any 24 hour period if working at night

‘Working Time’ is defined as the time spent on all road transport activities, including driving, loading and unloading, training and vehicle maintenance. It does not include travel between the driver’s home and workplace, rest breaks, evening classes or day-release courses, and periods of availability (waiting times known about in advance by the driver). ‘Night Time’ for goods vehicle drivers is defined as the period between midnight and 04:00. Any work carried out during this period is subject to the night work limit.

EU driver’s hours rules take precedence over RW(WT)R break and rest periods, meaning the driver must:

Take a break of at least 45 minutes after a maximum of 4.5 hours of driving (accumulated or continuous)
Take 11 hours rest in each 24 hour period
Take 45 hours rest per week

The RW(WT)R stipulates that in addition, the following requirements must be met:

The driver cannot work more than 6 consecutive hours without a break
If working between 6 and 9 hours per day, rest breaks of at least 30 minutes are necessary
When working more than 9 hours per day, a minimum of 45 minutes of breaks must be taken in all
Breaks can be taken in 15 minute slots

This is a very brief summary of the full regulations available here.

Agency Workers Regulations (awr)

AWR came into force in 2011 and was created to give agency drivers / workers the same employment rights as those hired directly to do the same job. There are two specific entitlements associated with AWR – Day 1 Rights and Week 12 Rights.

Day 1 rights

From the first day of employment, our agency drivers have the same rights of access to facilities as permanent workers do, and are also entitled to notification of other employment opportunities.

Week 12 Rights

After 12 weeks’ work, our workers are entitled to the same employment conditions (basic pay, leave entitlements, overtime rates, etc.) as those enjoyed by workers employed directly by the client concerned. More information can be found here. Naturally, MWA fully complies with AWR.