Working Time / Road Transport Directive:
Impact of RTD

The impact that the Road Transport Directive is likely to have depends entirely on where you sit in the supply chain, and which supply chain you are in. The impact on some elements of the logistics and transport industry will be much more severe than on others.

The directive originally looked as if it was going to transform the UK logistics industry's geography, requiring many companies to open new depots and out-bases. This fear was dispelled by the flexibility given via a derogation allowing employers to extend night-working beyond 10 hours, provided that they had a collective or workforce agreement in place.

It also looked as if it was going to make the driver shortage much worse by reducing the hours that drivers were available, and indeed the headlines eighteen months ago were about landmark pay deals and the UK logistics industry being shaken to it's core.

The headlines since implementation have been of a very different nature with trade associations reporting that the legislation is not as bad as first feared. The flexible interpretation of PoAs is what has led to the change in opinion.

However, whereas the strategic impact has considerably reduced, there is now a huge compliance obligation for both operator and driver - ironically, the tracking of working time is now a more complex task than it would have been had the legislation been more restrictive.