Drivers' hours · 3 min read · Updated
Working time rules for drivers (RTWTR) explained
The Road Transport Working Time Regulations are separate from drivers' hours: a 48-hour average week, a 60-hour weekly ceiling, a 10-hour night-work limit and breaks after six hours. A driver can be legal on driving time yet still breach working time, so operators must watch both.
The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 - the "RTWTR" or Working Time Directive for mobile workers - are separate from the drivers' hours rules and often overlooked. A driver can be perfectly legal on driving time and still breach working time, so operators need to watch both.
What counts as working time
Working time is not just driving. It includes other work - loading, unloading, cleaning, paperwork, helping passengers, maintenance. What it does not include are breaks, rest, and periods of availability (POA) - genuine waiting time where the driver knows in advance roughly how long it will last (for example, a known wait at a delivery or on a ferry).
The limits
- 48-hour average week - averaged over a reference period (commonly 17 or 18 weeks, up to 26 by agreement). This is the headline limit.
- 60-hour ceiling - working time must not exceed 60 hours in any single week.
- Night work - where any work touches the night period, working time is limited to 10 hours per night unless there is a workforce agreement allowing more.
- Breaks - a driver must not work more than 6 hours without a break; at least 30 minutes' break where working 6-9 hours, and at least 45 minutes where working over 9 hours.
Why it trips operators up
The 48-hour average is easy to breach quietly over a busy quarter, and night-work limits catch operators running trunking and early starts. Because POA reduces recorded working time, classifying waiting correctly matters - get it wrong in either direction and the picture is off.
Records and enforcement
Operators must keep working-time records for two years and monitor the averages, not just wait for a problem. DVSA checks working time alongside drivers' hours, and persistent breaches feed into the operator's compliance picture and can surface at a public inquiry.
How OperatorCompliance helps
OperatorCompliance analyses tachograph data against the working-time rules as well as the drivers' hours rules, flags where a driver is heading towards the 48-hour average or a night-work breach, and keeps the two-year record - so working time is managed on the same screen as everything else, not in a forgotten spreadsheet. See how it works or start a free 14-day trial.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current Road Transport Working Time rules on GOV.UK.
Frequently asked questions
How is working time different from drivers' hours?
The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 are separate from the drivers' hours rules and cover total working time, not just driving. A driver can be perfectly legal on driving time and still breach working time, for example through long non-driving work, so operators must watch both sets of limits rather than assuming one covers the other.
What are the working time limits for drivers?
A 48-hour average working week over the reference period, commonly 17 or 18 weeks and up to 26 by agreement, with an absolute ceiling of 60 hours in any single week. Where any work touches the night period, working time is limited to 10 hours per night unless a workforce agreement allows more. Breaks are also required.
What counts as working time, and what is a period of availability?
Working time includes driving and other work such as loading, unloading, cleaning, paperwork, helping passengers and maintenance. It does not include breaks, rest, or periods of availability, genuine waiting time the driver knows about in advance, such as a known wait at a delivery or on a ferry. Classifying waiting correctly matters, because it changes the totals.
How long must working time records be kept?
Operators must keep working-time records for two years and monitor the averages rather than waiting for a problem. DVSA checks working time alongside drivers' hours, and persistent breaches feed into the operator's compliance picture and can surface at a public inquiry, so the 48-hour average is worth tracking through a busy quarter.
Sources
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