Guide
Working time rules for mobile workers: the operator's obligations
Updated
Drivers' hours cap the driving; the working time rules cap total labour. Operators carry the duty to monitor both, and the second one is the audit finding waiting to happen.
The limits you are monitoring
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Weekly average | 48 hours' working time, averaged over the 17-week reference period (26 with a workforce agreement) |
| Absolute weekly cap | 60 hours in any single week, regardless of the average |
| Night work | 10 hours' working time in any 24-hour period where night work is performed, extendable only by collective or workforce agreement |
| Breaks | No more than 6 hours' work without a break; 30 minutes total when working 6 to 9 hours, 45 minutes beyond 9 |
POA is the hinge of the whole regime
Working time excludes breaks, rest and periods of availability: waiting whose duration the driver knows about in advance, such as a booked slot at an RDC or accompanying a ferry. Misrecorded POA cuts both ways: waiting wrongly logged as other work inflates averages towards a breach, while work wrongly logged as POA is the classic falsification finding. Brief drivers on the definition and audit mode usage in downloads (gov.uk/drivers-hours).
The record-keeping duty
- Working time records must be kept for at least 2 years after the end of the period they cover, and the employer must provide a mobile worker with a copy of the record of hours worked on request (Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005, regulation 11).
- There is no individual opt-out from the 48-hour average for mobile workers, unlike the general working time regime.
- Self-employed drivers on in-scope vehicles have been covered since 2012; subcontracting the driving does not subcontract the exposure if you set the schedule.
- Reference-period averaging is where breaches hide: a quiet fortnight masks two 60-hour weeks. Track the running average per driver, not the weekly totals alone.
This guide states the rules as at the visible updated date. The figures are statutory and stable, but confirm them at gov.uk/drivers-hours before building policy on them.