Guidance

Drivers' hours: recording of other work

Published 2 September 2022

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drivers-hours-recording-of-other-work/drivers-hours-recording-of-other-work

Background

With effect from 20 August 2020, the following changes were made to the retained Regulation (EC) 561/2006 (EU drivers’ hours rules) and retained Regulation (EU) 165/2014 (tachograph rules)[footnote 1].

  1. Article 6(5) of retained Regulation (EC) 561/2006) requires manual records to be kept of all work (including out of scope driving and any other work) and periods of availability, using either the manual inputs on a digital/smart tachograph or by making a manual record on a record sheet (from analogue tachographs) or on printout paper (from digital tachographs).

  2. Article 34(5)(b)(iv) of retained Regulation (EU) 165/2014 requires periods of annual leave and sick leave, as well as breaks and rest to be recorded on the tachograph.

Along with other parts of the regulations in place before August 2020, the changes mean that all drivers (including occasional drivers) must keep a full set of records of their activities for the current day and the previous 28 days. The records must cover their:

  • driving
  • other work
  • periods of availability
  • breaks
  • rest
  • annual leave and sick leave

The detailed guidance on the drivers’ hours and tachograph rules for drivers of goods vehicles and passenger vehicles was updated on 20 August 2020 to cover the above and other changes to the rules. You can view it at:

Drivers’ hours and tachographs: goods vehicles

Drivers’ hours and tachographs: buses and coaches

Scope

This guidance applies to all drivers of vehicles in scope of the EU drivers’ hours rules, including occasional drivers.

Approach for recording periods exceeding 1 week of no in-scope driving

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is responsible for enforcement of both the EU drivers’ hours rules and the tachograph rules. Where a driver fails to record other work and duties or attempts to hide insufficient rest periods DVSA will take enforcement action.

Every day that they drive a vehicle in scope of the EU drivers’ hours rules, all drivers must use a tachograph to record their activities on record sheets or their driver card.

It is the department’s current interpretation of the amended regulations that, while records are required to cover days when no driving of vehicle in scope of EU drivers’ hours rules is done, it is not necessary that an individual record is made for each day.

The DVSA is accepting, until further notice, recording of activities in blocks to cover any fixed week during which no in-scope driving takes place.

For fixed weeks (00:00 hrs Monday to 24:00 hrs Sunday) when no in-scope driving takes place, the DVSA will accept one or more records for the whole week, as opposed to requiring 7 daily records. Records must identify all the weekly rest periods within that fixed week.

When in-scope driving is undertaken, a full record must be kept for that whole week with separate records for each 24-hour period.

Example of how to record hours

A transport manager does not drive for a period of 3 weeks but works in the office. Part way through the 4th week they have to drive a vehicle in-scope of the retained EU drivers’ hours rules.

Rather than expect them to produce a separate record sheet or printout for each day of the 3 weeks in which no in scope driving has taken place, the DVSA would accept a manual record made on a record sheet or printout paper which covers the period where they have not driven.

The records might look something like this:

Week 1

  • Monday to Friday (include dates) 40 hours working in the office
  • Friday to Monday (include dates) rest period of 60 hours from 6pm on Friday to 6am on Monday

Week 2

  • Monday to Friday (include dates) 40 hours working in the office
  • Friday to Monday (include dates) rest period of 60 hours from 6pm on Friday to 6am on Monday

Week 3

  • Monday to Friday (include dates) 45 hours working in warehouse
  • Friday to Monday (include dates) rest period of 50 hours from 6am on Saturday to 8am on Monday

If the driver is then in scope half-way through the 4th week, the DVSA would expect full records for each day in that week back to when the last weekly rest finished.

The records can be used by DVSA as a basis for follow-up enquiries, which may be required where a week’s driving is covered in 1 or 2 entries as opposed to 7 daily entries. Drivers and their operators can in all cases choose to input an entry for each day.

It should be noted that DVSA will always take action for any serious offence of excessive driving or inadequate rest, regardless of any failure to comply with the record keeping requirement. The safety of the driver and other road users will always take precedence. Falsifying records remains a serious offence and will be dealt with by DVSA in the normal way.

For further information on the actions DVSA traffic examiners take to deal with offences on the roadside please refer to the DVSA Enforcement Sanctions Policy.

Means of manually recording other activities

Article 6(5) of the EU drivers’ hours rules requires drivers to manually record data using either:

a) manual inputs on a digital/smart tachograph

b) making a manual record on a record sheet or printout paper

When using option (b), drivers must ensure that there is enough detail to identify the individual driver.

On an analogue record sheet, it must be the driver’s name.

On digital printout paper, it must be the driver’s name, or driver card or driving licence number.

International journeys and attestation forms

Enforcement agencies in other countries may take a different view to that of the UK on how to record activities for the previous 28 days.

It is recommended that any drivers undertaking international journeys to, from, and through the EU keep full daily records for the previous 28 days. This reflects the potential for different interpretations of the rules and the inability of enforcement authorities to check the home premises of UK-based operators.

As an alternative, European Commission officials have confirmed that attestation forms for drivers’ hours records continue to be available and should be accepted in the context of journeys involving EU member states.

The attestation forms must use the template at Form of attestation of activities (europa.eu). This is pending new rules in the EU envisaged to be brought in next year.

The attestation form must be:

  • completed before the start of the journey
  • signed by the operator and by the driver

The driver must carry the original signed copy with them on the journey.

Secondary checks on the information on the forms are likely.

The DVSA will accept attestation forms domestically. Attestation forms will have to cover the relevant periods, including rest, other work, and periods of availability.

One attestation form should cover each activity. For example, in a period where there was no in-scope driving, a driver would need one attestation to cover other work and another for weekly rest.

Review

The approach will remain under active review. It is also possible that rules related to driving within the UK will be changed in the future, in the context of the opportunities available further to the UK’s departure from the EU.

  1. Regulation (EC) 561/2006 and Regulation (EU) 165/2014 (as amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/1054) and retained as UK law by Section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. ↩

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