Working time and rest

As a professional driver you have two sets of rules to keep track of at the same time. The driving and rest time rules (kör- och vilotidsreglerna) in EU Regulation 561/2006 limit how long you drive and how much you rest. The Act on working time in certain road transport work (lagen (2005:395) om arbetstid vid visst vägtransportarbete) limits your total working time, which also includes loading, waiting and administration. The tachograph (färdskrivare) is the tool that records both. This chapter shows how the rules fit together.

Four kinds of time

Everything you do during a working day falls into one of four categories in the tachograph:

Activity	Examples
Driving	The time when the vehicle is moving and you are driving
Other work (annat arbete)	Loading, unloading, refuelling, washing, administration, driving that is exempt from the rules
Availability (tillgänglighet)	Time when you are available for work but not working, for example while waiting to load
Break and rest (rast och vila)	Time you can dispose of freely

A break is only time that you can dispose of freely. If during the "break" you are still dealing with the load, it is other work, and the break does not count.

Driving and rest times in brief

Rule	Limit
Daily driving time	9 hours, 10 hours no more than twice a week
Driving time per week	56 hours
Driving time in two consecutive weeks	90 hours
Break	45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving, or 15 + 30 minutes
Regular daily rest	11 hours, or split 3 + 9 hours
Reduced daily rest	at least 9 hours, no more than three times between two weekly rests
Regular weekly rest	45 hours
Reduced weekly rest	at least 24 hours, compensated before the end of the third week following
Latest start of weekly rest	after six 24-hour periods

(Regulation (förordning) (EG) nr 561/2006 Articles 4, 6, 7 and 8.)

A worked example: you have driven 10 hours on Monday and 10 hours on Wednesday. You have then used both extensions that week, and on Friday you may drive no more than 9 hours.

Drivers on occasional passenger services (tillfällig persontrafik) by bus have some special rules, for example that the break may be split into two breaks of at least 15 minutes. These are described in the bus section.

The Road Transport Working Time Act

The Act on working time in certain road transport work (vägarbetstidslagen) applies to you if you carry out transport covered by the driving and rest time rules. Working time (arbetstid) is the whole time from the start of work to its end, including time when you must be ready to work.

The main rules (lag 2005:395 12, 14, 15 och 18 §§):

• No more than 60 hours of work in any single week.
• No more than 48 hours per week on average over a reference period of four months.
• Night work (nattarbete) is work at any time between 01:00 and 05:00. If you work at night, your working time may not exceed 10 hours in that 24-hour period. Departures from this can be made in collective agreements (kollektivavtal).
• You may never work more than 6 hours in a row without a break.
• If you work 6–9 hours, the break must be at least 30 minutes. If you work more than 9 hours, it must be at least 45 minutes. The breaks may be divided into periods of at least 15 minutes.

The employer must keep a record of working time and keep it for at least two years.

The difference between driving time and working time

It is easy to mix up the figures. Think of it like this:

• 56 hours is the maximum driving time per week.
• 60 hours is the maximum working time per week.
• 48 hours is the maximum average working time per week.
• 4.5 hours is the longest driving without a break.
• 6 hours is the longest work without a break.

Both sets of rules apply at the same time, and you must follow whichever rule is strictest in each situation.

The tachograph ties it all together

The tachograph records driving automatically. It is your responsibility to make sure the correct activity is selected when you are not driving. Important rules (Regulation (förordning) (EU) nr 165/2014):

• The driver card (förarkort) is personal, and you may only use your own (Article 27).
• Enter the country where the working day begins and ends.
• Time when you have been away from the vehicle doing other work is entered manually on the driver card (Article 34.3).
• At a check you must be able to show the current day and the previous 56 days.
• A lost or faulty card must be reported within seven days. You may then drive for no more than 15 calendar days using printouts (Article 29).

Exceptions for unforeseen events

If something unexpected happens, for example a major traffic accident or extreme weather, you may depart from the rules as far as necessary to reach a suitable stopping place. This only applies if road safety is not jeopardised. The reasons for the departure must be noted down (Article 12). In exceptional circumstances you may also drive up to one hour longer to reach your home or the employer's operational centre to start a weekly rest, and up to two hours longer to reach it for a regular weekly rest if you take a continuous 30-minute break immediately before. This must not become a habit.

Pay must not encourage cheating

A company may not pay drivers according to distance travelled, delivery time or amount of goods carried if this can encourage behaviour that endangers road safety, for example speeding or skipping breaks (förordning 561/2006 artikel 10.1).

Remember

• Four activities: driving, other work, availability, and break and rest.
• Driving time no more than 9 hours per day, 56 hours per week and 90 hours over two weeks.
• Working time no more than 60 hours per week and on average 48 hours over four months.
• Night work between 01:00 and 05:00 limits working time to 10 hours per 24 hours.
• Breaks under the working time act: never more than 6 hours' work in a row, 30 minutes for 6–9 hours, 45 minutes for more than 9 hours.
• Always follow the strictest rule when both sets of rules apply.
• Pay based on distance driven or amount of goods is prohibited if it threatens road safety.