Working time legislation in the road transport sector originates from three EU directives

The first Main Directive came into force in the UK in 1998. It introduced new rights to employees and placed additional burdens on employers, but the transport sector was temporarily excluded from its provisions.

The second Horizontal Directive was introduced in August 2003 and amended the Main Directive by removing the exemption for the transport sector. It applied the full rules of the Main Directive to non-mobile workers, and some of the rules to mobile workers (click on 'Who's who for working time' below to find out who are mobile and non-mobile workers). The extent to which the provisions of the Main Directive apply to mobile workers depends on whether the vehicle operation is covered by tachograph or domestic drivers' hours rules.

The third Road Transport Directive applied from 4 April 2005. It introduced specific rules to mobile workers of operations subject to EU drivers' hours (tachograph) regulations.

Who's who for working time - click here to find out more about which rules apply to which workers, and what the rules are.

Working time solutions - click here to find out more about FTA solutions to help you manage working time.

FTA publications on working time compliance - click here to download compliance publications

For frequently asked questions - click here

Last updated: Tue Sep 25 15:49:02 2007