EU citizens and their family members (including children and non-EU citizens) need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021 to continue to live, work and study in the UK beyond that date.
From 1 July 2021 a person will be considered unlawfully resident and therefore unable to work. That person will face restrictions on rights and entitlements in the UK and will fall within the UK government’s ‘hostile environment’ immigration policies until such time that they obtain pre-settled status or settled status.
TRAIN, TRAIN AGAIN
Can we allow our drivers to repeat Driver CPC modules?
DVSA guidance refers to “unnecessary repetition”. Logistics UK has emphasised to DVSA that repetition of content can be appropriate where remedial training is identified as necessary, and DVSA has recognised this. For example, if a driver has issues with their drivers’ hours and has repeat infringements, repeating a CPC module on drivers’ hours to avoid these infringements may be viewed as beneficial, even though it would be repetitive training.
In the event DVSA felt the repeated training was “unnecessary”, they may not validate the periodic training for that module or even revoke the Driver’s Qualification Card.
CHANGE OF MANAGEMENT
Our transport manager has decided to leave the business, and we will need to replace him. What is the procedure regarding informing the Office of the Traffic Commissioner?
The Traffic Commissioner would need to be informed of the change of transport manager (TM) within 28 days. This should be done by letter/email informing the Traffic Commissioner that the existing TM is leaving and the procedure that you have in place regarding a replacement. The new TM would have to complete a TM1 and send this in with a copy of their CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence). If there is no immediate replacement, then the Traffic Commissioner has the discretion to consider a period of grace of up to six months to allow the operator to replace the TM.
REPORTING ABSENCE
If a driver is off work due to work-related stress should the business (as a duty of care) or the driver report this to the DVLA? Is this a requirement?
Work-related stress could lead to anxiety. According to the gov.uk guidance on anxiety and driving, the driver must tell DVLA if they experience anxiety and it affects their ability to drive safely. Although it is the driver’s obligation to notify DVLA using the M1V form, as the employer, you may wish to seek assurances that the driver has sent the form to DVLA via recorded delivery. If the driver does not believe the work-related stress will affect their ability to drive safely, there is no requirement to notify DVLA.
ELECTRIC AVENUE
I understand you can drive a 3,500kg – 4,250kg electric vehicle on a category B licence. Are there any further requirements?
This concession came into force on 29 April 2019.
Providing the vehicle is not driven outside of Great Britain, a category B licence holder looking to drive an alternatively fuelled vehicle with a MAM exceeding 3,500kg but not exceeding 4,250kg, is required to complete five hours of training. The training must be delivered by an instructor on the National Register of LCV Instructors or the National Vocational Driving Instructors’ Register. The vehicle can only be used for transportation of goods and cannot tow a trailer.
TAKING A PENALTY
After picking up a third-party trailer to make a delivery within Central London, I received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for the trailer. Not having any signage within the Direct Vision Standard (DVS) area, can I dispute this as it’s not my trailer?
As the user of the trailer you are responsible for ensuring it meets the standards when entering the Direct Vision Standard area in London, therefore the PCN will need to be paid. Consider discussing drawing up in a contract with the owner of the trailer, that they will supply compliant trailers under the Direct Vision Standard scheme.
TRAINING TRUCK
Do we need to put a training vehicle onto our operator licence? This vehicle will not be used at any time to make deliveries or collections.
Driver training is viewed as being exempt from operator licensing, provided no load is carried.
There are EU Regulations (2000/56 EC) that relate to driver training, which may necessitate some vehicles needing to carry a load to make their weight up to a minimum of 10,000kgs when presented for a driving test. However, such additional weight is likely to be a certified load, permanently fixed to the vehicle, and it is considered that compliance with these regulations will not bring vehicles into scope of goods vehicle operator licensing when they are solely used for driver training.
SETTLING OLD PENALTIES
We have received a PCN for a vehicle driving in a bus lane that dates back two months. Is this still valid? I thought they only had 28 days to issue a PCN.
Under the Bus Lane Contraventions (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2005, if the local authority has made a request to the Secretary of State within 14 days of the detection date for the supply of relevant particulars, the authority shall continue to be entitled to serve a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for a further six months.
