Background
With effect from 20 August 2020, the following changes were made to the retained Regulation (EC) 561/2006 (EU drivers’ hours regulation) and retained Regulation (EU) 165/2014 (tachograph rules)
- 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).
- 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:
- 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 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