EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 3.8.2009 
SEC(2009) 1099 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying the  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
 
on the implementation in 2005-2006 of Direc tive 2002/15/EC on the organisation of the 
working time of persons performing mobile road transport activiti es (1st report from 
the Commission on the implementation of th e working time rules relating to road 
transport) 
  
{COM(2009) 415} 
 
EN 2   EN TABLE OF CONTENTS 
1. Directive 2002/15/EC in General................................................................................. 3 
1.1. Background ................................................................................................................ .. 3 
1.2. Main Provisions ........................................................................................................... 3 
1.3. Relationship to other legal acts .................................................................................... 5 1.3.1. Relationship to Directive 2003/88/EC ......................................................................... 5 1.3.2. Relationship to Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 ............................................................ 5 1.4. Transposition in the Member States............................................................................. 6 1.5. Monitoring and Enforcement in the Member States.................................................. 11 1.6. Transmission of Data by the Member States ............................................................. 14 1.7. Interpretation of Directive 2002/15/EC by the Court of Justice and National Courts15 
2. Definitions................................................................................................................. . 15 
2.1. The Scope of Directive 2002/15/EC .......................................................................... 15 2.2. Working Time ............................................................................................................ 16  
2.2.1. Provisions of the Directive......................................................................................... 16 2.2.2. Application in the Member States.............................................................................. 17 2.3. Breaks.................................................................................................................... ..... 18 
2.3.1. Provisions of the Directive......................................................................................... 18 2.3.2. Application in the Member States.............................................................................. 18 2.4. Night Work................................................................................................................ . 18 
2.4.1. Provisions of the Directive......................................................................................... 18 2.4.2. Application in the Member States.............................................................................. 19 2.5. Conclusions............................................................................................................... . 19 
3. General Issues ............................................................................................................ 19  
3.1. Member States' Evaluations and Prospects................................................................ 19 3.2. Social Partners' Evaluations ....................................................................................... 21 3.3. Conclusions............................................................................................................... .2 3
 
EN 3   EN COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying the  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
 
on the implementation in 2005-2006 of Direc tive 2002/15/EC on the organisation of the 
working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities (1st report from the 
Commission on the implementation of the work ing time rules relating to road transport) 
1. D IRECTIVE 2002/15/EC1 IN GENERAL  
1.1. Background 
On 15 July 1997 the Commission adopted a White Paper on sectors and activities excluded 
from the Working Time Directive2, in which it proposed seve ral approaches designed to 
protect the health and safety of workers in th e sectors excluded from the basic Directive. 
Following consultations with the social pa rtners, the Commission concluded, in its 
Communication of 31 March 19983 that nothing justified tr eating mobile workers and non-
mobile workers in a different way and that ther efore the basic principl es of the working time 
Directive should apply to all workers. 
On 15 October 2008 the Commission published adopted a proposal to amend Directive 
2002/15/EC on the organisation of working time  of mobile workers in road transport4. 
1.2. Main Provisions 
Directive 2002/15/EC on the orga nisation of mobile workers in  road transport lays down 
minimum standards to protect the health and safety of road transport workers, avoid 
distortions to competition within the Community and improve road safety. 
Directive 2003/88/EC5 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time 
(hereinafter: Basic Working Time Directive) provides for the replacement of its general 
provisions with more specific requirements. This is the case in the field of road transport.  
                                                 
1 Directive 2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 on the 
organisation of working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities, OJ L 80, 23.3.2002, p. 35  
2 COM(97) 334 final - not published in the Official Journal 
3 SEC(1998) 537 final - not published in the Official Journal 
4 COM (2008) 650 final of 15 October 2008 Oct, Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament 
and the Council amending Directive 2002/15/ECon the organisation of the working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities 
5 Directive 2003/88/EC of 4 November 2003 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working 
time, OJ  L 299 , 18.11.2003 p. 9  
 
EN 4   EN The Directive on the organisation of mobile workers in road transport supplements the 
provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 561/20066 on driving times and rest  periods that are of 
direct influence on road safety, and competitio n, as they specify the maximum driving time 
allowed. 
The provisions of Directive 2002/15/EC on the organisation of mobile  workers in road 
transport take precedence over the relevant prov isions of the Basic Working Time Directive 
because it contains more specific provisions as regards workers. 
The Directive establishes: 
• that the average weekly working time may not  exceed 48 hours. It can be extended to 60 
hours by the competent bodies only if an average of 48 hours per week is not exceeded 
within a period of  four months; 
• an obligation to take a br eak after six hours of work; 
• that daily working time may not exceed ten hours for night workers; 
• that records are kept of the workers' working time.  
• Member States must take the measures necessary to ensure that the employer posts or 
displays in a place accessible to all work ers a copy of this Directive and of the 
corresponding domestic law. The employer is required to record the working time of 
mobile workers and to keep these records for at least one year.  
According to 8 of the Directive, Member Stat es may derogate from these provisions on 
condition that social partners were consulted. Th ese derogations should not lead to a reference 
period of calculation of the average maximum weekly working time of 48 hours, which 
exceeds six months. Article 10 enables them to put in place provisions, which are more 
favourable to workers. 
It is for the Member States to decide upon the penalties for infringements. These penalties 
must be effective, commensurate with the in fringement and constitute a sufficient deterrent. 
Following Article 13 (1) of Di rective 2002/15/EC on the organi sation of mobile workers in 
road transport Member States must report to  the Commission on the implementation of this 
Directive every two years indi cating among others the viewpoint s of the social partners. 
Paragraph (2) of the said provision obliges  the Commission to produce a report every two 
years on the implementation of this Directive by  Member States, which is then forwarded to 
the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee. 
                                                 
6 Regulation (EC) 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the 
harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to  road transport and amending Council Regulations 
(EEC) No 3821/85 and (EC) No 2135/98 and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85, OJ L 
102 11.4.2006, p. 1 
 
EN 5   EN 1.3. Relationship to other legal acts 
1.3.1. Relationship to Directive 2003/88/EC Directive 2002/15/EC on the orga nisation of mobile workers in  road transport is a lex 
specialis to the Basic Working Time Directive. 
The Basic Working Time Directive was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council 
under Article 137(2) TEC, which provides for Co mmunity measures to improve the working 
environment by protecting worker's health and safety. 
The Directive's main purpose is to lay down mi nimum safety and health requirements for the 
organisation of working time and establishes common minimum requirements for all Member 
States, which include  
• daily and weekly rest breaks for workers 
• a rest break during working time 
• limits to weekly working time for workers 
• paid annual leave for workers 
• extra protection for night workers 
The Basic Working Time Directive constitutes a rule of Community social law of particular 
importance, from which every worker must benefit. 
In its Article 14, the Basic Working Time Direc tive states that it shall not apply, where more 
specific requirements are laid down in other Community instruments.  
In Directive 2002/15/EC on the organisation of m obile workers in road transport, there are 
several references to the Basic Working Time Directive.  
Recital 2 recalls Article 14 of the Basic Worki ng Time Directive and underlines the sectoral 
character of Directive 2002/15/EC  on the organisation of mobile workers in road transport. 
Recital 7 says that workers ex cluded from the scope of this  Directive should nevertheless 
benefit from the protection of the Basic Working Time Directive. 
1.3.2. Relationship to Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 
As has been said before, the Directive supp lements the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 
561/2006 on driving times and rest periods. 
According to Article 4 (maximum weekly working time) of the Directive, the fourth and fifth 
subparagraphs of Article 6(1) of Regulati on (EC) No. 561/2006 on driving times and rest 
periods or – where applicable – the respect ive provisions of the European Agreement 
concerning the work of Crews of Vehicles enga ged in International Road Transport of 1st 
July 1970 (AETR Agreement) take precedence over the Directive as far as drivers concerned 
do not exceed an average working time of  48 hours a week over four months. 
 
EN 6   EN Article 5 (breaks) of the Directive says that this provision will not prejudice the relevant 
provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 on driving times and rest periods or the AETR 
Agreement.  
Article 6 clarifies that apprentices and trainees  shall be covered by the same provisions on rest 
time as other mobile workers in pursuance of  Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 on driving times 
and rest periods or the AETR Agreement. 
A last reference to the Regulation is made by Article 13 of the Directive. There it is ensured 
that Member States hand in their report c oncerning Directive 2002/15/EC on the organisation 
of mobile workers in road transport by the same date as the one for Regulation (EC) No. 
561/2006 on driving times and rest periods and that the reporti ng period is also the same. 
1.4. Transposition in th e Member States 
The table below provides an overview of the na tional legal instruments that are transposing 
and implementing the Directive. Moreover, it provides an info rmation whether the views of 
the two sides of the industry have been take n into account in the elaboration of the 
implementing measures and/or the national report s, as prescribed by Article 13 (1) of the 
Directive.  
Member State Transposition 
Measure Date of 
Publication Entry into 
Force Date of 
Notification Involvement of 
Stakeholders 
Austria7  Federal Law, by 
which the 
Working Time Law and the 
Law on rest 
periods are being amended 
 3.8.2006 
 
  11.4.2007 
 
  1.9.2006 
 
  No information 
submitted 
Belgium Law of 16 March 
1971 on Labour 
Complementing 
Royal Decrees 
Collective 
agreements   5.9.2005 
15.10.2005 No information 
submitted  
Cyprus Organisation of 
the Working Time of Persons 
performing 
Mobile Road 
Transport 
Activities Law of 2005 (Law 
47(I)/2005) 6.5.2005  20.5.2005 No information 
submitted  
                                                 
7 The information was taken from the official notification of transposition by the Member State. Because 
of the non-submission of the report, the Member State is not being further taken into account. 
 
EN 7   EN Czech 
Republic Government 
Regulation 
589/2006 establishing a 
derogation 
relating to the working time 
and the rest 
periods of transport 
workers 27.12.2006 1.1.2007 3.1.2007 Trade unions and 
employers 
associations 
Denmark Act No 395 of 
1 June 2005 (on working time for 
mobile workers 
within the road transport sector) 1.6.2005 1.7.2005 13.7.2005 Trade Unions 
Employers' organisations 
Organisations of 
regions and communities 
Estonia Traffic Act and 
Working and 
Rest Time Act  24.4.2005 20.4.2005 Employers: 
Union of 
Estonian 
Automobile 
Enterprises  
Employees: 
Estonian Transport and 
Road Workers' 
Union 
Finland Working Hours 
Act (605/1996) 
Collective 
agreements   15.3.2005 No information 
submitted 
France Decree 83/40  
Decree 
2003/1242 (as 
modified by Decree 
2006/408) 
Ordinance 2004-
1197 
Decree 
2005/306 
Decree 2007/13   1.4.2005 Trade unions and 
employers 
associations 
Germany Workingtime 
Law (BGBl. Part I, p. 1170, 1171) 
Law of Proof of 
Substantial   1.9.2006 Employers: 
BdBV, ASL, ANV, BdO, BDE, 
BGL, AMÖ, VDV, 
DSLV, VSPV, BDI, BDA, VKA 
 
EN 8   EN Conditions 
Applicable to the 
Employment Relationship 
(BGBl. Part I, p. 
1542) Employees: 
Berufskraftfahrer-
Union Rheinland-Pfalz e.V, Ver.di, 
DGB 
Greece Presidential 
Decree 
167/2006 
(Government Gazette I 179,) 22.8.2006  8.9.2006 Conducted by 
Occupational 
Health and 
Safety Council 
 
Hungary Art. 18/A-J of 
Act I of 1988 
 Act LXXV of 
1996   27.4.2005 Committee for 
the Dialogue in 
the public Transport 
Service 
Providers' Sector, 
Association of 
Hungary's Road 
Freighters, 
International Trade 
Association of 
Private Entrepreneurs, 
National Alliance 
of Transportation Entrepreneurs, 
Alliance of 
Mobile Road Transport 
Enterprises, 
Hungarian Chamber of 
Commerce and 
Trade 
Ireland European 
Communities 
(Organisiation of 
Working Time of 
Persons 
Performing Mobile Road 
Transport 
Activities) Regulations 
2005 (S.I. No. 
2/2005) 10.1.2006 2.1.2006 23.1.2006 None 
Italy8 Law No 77/2007 
transposing 21.7.2007 22.7.2007 13.7.2007 No information 
                                                 
8 Transposition of Directive in 2007. The informa tion was taken from the official notification of 
transposition by the Member State. Because of the non-submission of the report, the Member State is 
not being further taken into account. 
 
EN 9   EN Directives 
2004/39, 
2002/98, 2002/15, 
2004/25 
Transposition of 
Directive 
2002/15 on the 
organisation of the working time 
of mobile 
workers in road transport  
 
 17.12.2007  
 
   
 
 9.1.2008 submitted 
Latvia Road Traffic 
Law of 1 
October 1997, Cabinet 
Regulation No 
474 of 3
rd of July 
2007 20.7.2007 21.7.2007 6.9.2007 No Information 
submitted 
Lithuania Art. 148 of the 
Lithuanian Labour Code, 
Governent 
Resolution No 587 of 14 May 
2003 (Official 
Gazette 2003, No 48-2120), 
Government 
Resolution No 543 of 17 May 
2005 (Official 
Gazette 2005, No 64-2291) 21.5.2006 
26.6.2002 21.5.2005 
1.1.2003 25.5.2005 
7.3.2005 None 
Luxembourg8 Law of 21 
December 2007 
on the transposition of 
Directive 
2002/15/EC on 
the organisation 
of the working time of mobile 
workers in road 
transport and amendments to 
the Labour Code 31.12.2007 22.3.2008 8.1.2008 No information 
submitted 
Malta Motor Vehicles 
(Carriage of Goods) 
Regulations and 
Motor Vehicles (Carriage of 
Persons 9.6.2006 
16.6.2006  21.7.2006 Association of 
Tractor and Trailer Operators 
(ATTO) 
 
EN 10   EN Regulations) 
Netherlands Decree on 
Working Time in 
Transport (Bulletin of Acts 
and Decrees of 
11
th of 
December 2006)  11.1.2007 12.1.2007 15.1.2007 Trade unions and 
employers 
associations 
Poland Drivers' Working 
Time Act of 16 
April 2004 
Labour Code of 
26 June 1974 30.4.2004 
16.2.1998 1.5.2004 15.3.2005 
31.8.2004 No information 
submitted 
Portugal Decree Law No 
237/2007 of 17 June 2007, 
Order No 
983/2007 19.6.2007  2.7.2007 No information 
submitted 
Slovakia Act No. 
121/2004 
Act No. 125 
2006 
Act No. 
125/2006 
Act No. 
462/2007   17.3.2004 
14.8.2008 Slovak Trade 
Union 
Confederation 
Federation of 
Employers' 
Associations of the Slovak 
Republic in the 
area of transport 
Slovenia Act on Working 
Time and Compulsory 
Rest Periods of 
Persons Performing 
Mobile Road 
Transport Activities and on 
Recording 
Equipment in Road Transport 
(OJ RS, No. 
76/2005) 
Consolidated 
Text: OJ RS, No. 64/2007   24.4.2007 Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry of 
Slovenia 
 
Trade Union 
Spain Royal Decree 
902/2007 of 6 
July 2007 18.7.2007 7.8.2007 19.7.2007 Meetings with 
employer's 
organisations and trade unions 
 
EN 11   EN Sweden Act 2005/395 on 
Working Time 
for certain Road Transport 
Activities (Road 
Transport Working Time 
Act) 13.6.2005  6.9.2005 Cooperation of 
Work 
Environment Authority (AV) 
with National 
Police Board, Road 
Administration, 
Road Transport Employers' 
Association and 
Transport Workers' 
Association  
United 
Kingdom In GB: Road 
Transport (Working Time) 
Regulations 
2005 (SI 2005/639) of 4 
April 2005. 
In NI: Road 
Transport 
(Working Time) Regulations 
(Northern 
Ireland) 2005 (SR 2005/241) 
of 16 June 2005 4.4.2005 
16.6.2005  18.3.2005 
20.5.2005 3.6.2005 
 Cooperation with 
trade associations and 
trade unions 
One of the biggest problems concerning the application of Directive 2002/15/EC on the 
organisation of the working time of mobile wo rkers in road transport was its non-uniform 
implementation into national legislation. 
By the time of expiry of the transposition period (23 March 2005) only very few Member 
States had notified a complete transposition. Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, 
Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Sweden 
only notified their national transposition measur es after the launch of an infringement 
procedure by the Commission.  
The Member States which indicated that they consulted the two sides of the industry, have 
precised the main elements of concern rais ed during the consultation process. Some 
employers' organisations feared possible negati ve effects of limiting the working hours by 
law, such as loss of income and increasing st ress for drivers. Employees' organisations in 
some Member States criticised th e national transpos ition legislation.  
1.5. Monitoring and Enforcement in the Member States 
The table below describes which bodies are being indicated by the Member States as 
responsible for the enforcement of the nationa l legislation transposing the Directive.  
Furthermore, it shows which methods are being applied in the Member States in order to 
ensure compliance with the pr ovisions of the Directive.  
 
EN 12   EN Member State Bodies Responsible for 
Implementation and 
Monitoring  Monitoring 
Methods/Enforcement 
Austria9    
Belgium Labour Inspectorates No information submitted 
Cyprus Minster of Labour and 
Social Security, Department of Labour 
Relations Diversification of inspections to 
several units; 
checks at premises; 
List of vehicle owners; 
Vehicle owner information 
campaign 
Czech Republic State Labour Inspection 
Office [ Státní  úřad inspekce  
práce ] and area labour 
inspectorates. No information submitted 
Denmark National Police and Social 
Partners No information submitted 
Estonia Labour Inspectorate 
National Police Roadside checks and checks at 
premises 
Finland Occupational Safety 
Inspectorates No information submitted 
France Labour Inspectors for 
Transport No information submitted 
Germany Supreme authorities for 
labour protection in the 
"Länder" 
 Bundesamt für 
Güterverkehr Information campaigns; 
Roadside checks and checks at 
premises; 
 
Greece Ministry for Employment 
and Social Protection Checks at premises; 
Audit to distinguish mobile 
workers from self-employed 
drivers 
                                                 
9 Member State did not supply data 
 
EN 13   EN Hungary National Labour Safety and 
Labour Affairs Chief 
Inspectorate (regional inspectorates) No information submitted 
Ireland Department of Transport; 
from Sep 06: Road safety 
Authority No information submitted 
Italy10   
Latvia Minister for Transport 
(Road Transport 
Inspectorate) Roadside checks and checks at 
premises 
Lithuania No information submitted No information submitted 
Luxembourg10   
Malta No information submitted No information submitted 
Netherlands Transport, Public Works 
and Water Management Inspectorate 
Labour Inspectorate No information submitted 
Poland Road Transport 
Inspectorate 
Police 
Customs Officers 
Border Guards No information submitted 
Portugal11   
Slovakia National Labour 
Inspectorate 
Labour Inspectorates 
Slovak Police Force Roadside checks and checks at 
premises; 
Slovenia Minister of Transport; 
Labour Inspectorate of the 
Republic of Slovenia No information submitted 
Spain Ministry of Labour and 
Ministry of Development; 
 No information submitted 
                                                 
10 Transposition of Directive in 2007; ther efore Member State did not supply data 
11 Report does not cover the correct reporting period and is therefore not taken into consideration 
 
EN 14   EN Sweden Work Environment 
Authority (AV) and national 
police Supervision of the road 
transport working time act by 
checks at premises 
United Kingdom In GB: Department for 
Transport (DfT), Vehicle and Operator Service 
Agency (VOSA) 
In NI: Department of the 
Environment (DOE), Driver 
Vehicle Agency (DVA) Checks at premises; checks 
are usually carried out following complaints (approach will be 
reviewed in 2009). 
 
All Member States that submitted their reports, have indicated bodies responsible for 
enforcing national legislation implementing the Directive.  
Only very few Member States submitted information on how they carry out controls. This is 
regrettable, as this information would have be en very useful in order to better assess the 
effectiveness of measures taken by the Member States. 
Only Greece, Latvia, Slovenia and the Un ited Kingdom have submitted information 
concerning the establishment of systems to check the effectiveness of enforcement. 
The United Kingdom  commissions surveys and other supporting information to assess the 
effectiveness and impact of working time legi slation. Figures from th e Labour Force Survey 
(LFS) show that there has been a decrease in th e total working hours of drivers since the entry 
into force of the Directive in 2005. It remains to be seen, whether this is  a direct result of the 
Directive or whether it will become a continuing trend. 
The audit by the Labour Inspection Corps in Greece  is designed to distinguish false self-
employed drivers from self-employed ones in orde r to more effectively detect the first ones. 
In Latvia  inspection reports contain reco mmendations for the operator. 
Slovenia has set up a recording system and a record of measures being ta ken in administrative 
and administrative offence procedures.  
1.6. Transmission of Data by the Member States 
The lack of punctuality of ma ny Member States in submitti ng their national reports was a 
major problem in writing this report. 
By 30 September 2007, when all national contributi ons should have been submitted to the 
Commission according to Article 13 of the Di rective, only Finland and the United Kingdom 
had submitted their reports. Cyprus, Sweden a nd Spain delivered their reports with a delay 
after a reminder, while the Commission had to  launch infringement procedures against a 
majority of the Member States. The procedure ag ainst Austria was still open at the time of the 
writing of this report.  
It is obvious, that this failure of most Member States to comply with their obligations to send 
a national report to the Commission is owed to the fact that some of them only notified the 
 
EN 15   EN implementation of the Directive at the end of or  even after the expiry of the current reporting 
period. Only two Member States managed to tran spose the Directive into  national legislation 
by 23 March 2005, as it is prescribed by its Arti cle 14. In the cases of Luxembourg, Spain and 
Portugal, the Court of Justic e had to pass a judgement for not implementing the necessary 
measures within the time prescr ibed (C-364/06, C-392/06 and C-410/06). 
1.7. Interpretation of Directive 2002/15/EC by  the Court of Justice and National 
Courts  
The ECJ did not pass any judgement relating to  Directive 2002/15/EC on  the organisation of 
working time of mobile workers in ro ad transport during the reporting period. 
As far as national cases are concerned, onl y Sweden (9 cases submitted to the public 
prosecutor), the Slovak Republic (several admi nistrative procedures) and Slovenia (several 
administrative procedures leading to fines ag ainst undertakings for no t keeping records of 
working time) reported their cases. The fina l outcomes of these proceedings were not 
reported. 
2. D EFINITIONS  
2.1. The Scope of Directive 2002/15/EC 
According to its Article 2 (1), Directive 2002/ 15/EC applies to mobile workers employed by 
undertakings established in a Member State, part icipating in road transport activities covered 
by Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 on driving times a nd rest periods or the AETR Agreement. 
Article 3(d) defines a mobile worker as follows: "mobile worker’ shall mean any worker forming pa rt of the travelling sta ff, including trainees 
and apprentices, who is in the service of an undertaking which operates transport services for 
passengers or goods by road for hire or reward or on its own account;" 
Employed drivers, who can not be subsumed unde r these two Articles, are therefore out of the 
scope of Directive 2002/15/EC.  
Self-employed drivers are not subject ed to any of the two Directives. 
According to the second and th ird sub-paragraph of Article 2(1) of Dir ective 2002/15/EC the 
Commission should send a report to the Eu ropean Parliament and the Council by 23
 of March 
2007. This report should analyse the consequences  of the exclusion of self-employed drivers 
from the scope of the Directive. It should furthermore be accompanied by a proposal to amend Directive 2002/15/EC on the organisation of mobile workers in road  transport, either 
setting out the modalities for the inclusion of self-employed drivers or not to include them within the scope. 
The issue of the scope of the Directive and the question, whether self-employed drivers 
should be included into the directive wa s only addressed by Denmark, France, Ireland, 
Finland and the United Kingdom.  
Denmark  wants self-employed drivers to remain out  of the scope of Directive 2002/15/EC on 
the organisation of working time for mobile workers in road transport and is also sceptical 
 
EN 16   EN about the inclusion of false se lf-employed drivers. As far as self-employed drivers are 
concerned, it is being supported by Finland. 
The United Kingdom  welcomed the carrying out of an im pact assessment on the inclusion of 
self-employed drivers. 
France  favours the inclusion of all self-employed driv ers in the scope of the Directive as from 
23 March 2009. 
Ireland  reported that the combat against false self-employed drivers will be a major task for 
the future. 
2.2. Working Time 
2.2.1. Provisions of the Directive Article 3(a) defines working time as the time from the beginning to the end of work, during 
which the mobile worker is at his workstation, at the disposal of the employer and exercising 
his functions or activities. On the one hand, this  includes time devoted to all road transport 
activities, such as the following: 
• driving 
• loading and unloading 
• assisting passengers boarding and disembarking from the vehicle 
• cleaning and technical maintenance 
• all other work intended to ensure the safety of  the vehicle, its car go and passengers or to 
fulfil the legal or regulatory ob ligations directly linked to th e specific transport operation 
under way 
On the other hand "working time" also includ es the times during which a mobile worker 
cannot dispose freely of his time and is required to  be at his workstation, ready to take up his 
normal work, with certain tasks associated wi th being on duty, in part icular during periods 
awaiting loading or unloading where their foreseeab le duration is not known in advance, that 
is to say either before departure or just befo re the actual start of th e period in question, or 
under the general conditions negotia ted between the social partne rs and/or under the terms of 
the legislation of the Member States. 
The average weekly working time may not ex ceed 48 hours. The maximum weekly working 
time may be extended to 60 hours only if, over four  months, an average of 48 hours a week is 
not exceeded.  
Working time for different employers is the sum of the working hours.  Upon written request 
by an employer for an account of time worked for another employer, the mobile worker shall 
provide such information in writing. 
 
EN 17   EN 2.2.2. Application in the Member States 
The Directive foresees breaks and rest periods on the one side and wo rking time on the other, 
but also an intermediate category, the "periods of availability". 
These are periods  
• other than those relating to break times and re st times during which the mobile worker is 
not required to remain at his workstation, but mu st be available to answer any calls to start 
or resume driving or to carry out other work. In  particular such periods  of availability shall 
include periods during which the mobile wo rker is accompanyi ng a vehicle being 
transported by ferryboat or by tr ain as well as periods of waiting at frontiers and those due 
to traffic prohibitions. These periods and their foreseeable duration shall be known in 
advance by the mobile worker, that is to say either before departure or just before the 
actual start of the period in  question, or under the general conditions negotiated between 
the social partners and/or under the terms of  the legislation of the Member States or, 
• for mobile workers driving in a team, the time  spent sitting next to the driver or on the 
couchette while the vehicle is in motion. 
• Article 3 (a) of the Directive specifically notes that periods of availability are excluded 
from working time. 
In Hungary  working time consists of driving, loading and unloading, the time spent on 
assistance to boarding and disembarkment of  passengers, the time spent on cleaning and 
maintenance of the vehicle and finally police, customs and border controls.  
Times of availability are regulated more or  less word by word as in the Directive. 
Under French law, working time is defined as the time during which the employee is at the 
disposal of the employer and can not freely pursue his personal affairs. 
The provisions concerning times of ava ilability correspond to  the Directive. 
In Belgium , all times at which the employee is at the disposal of the employer, are counted as 
working time. That is to say that times during which a driver can not dispose freely of his time 
or has to be available on a co ntinuous basis in order to be ready to star t working, are counted 
as working times.  
Times of availability, of which the driver can dispose freely and during which he is not meant 
to wait for unpredictable call to work, are not counted as working time. 
In Finland  the concept of working hours is being defined in principle as the time being spent 
on work in compliance with an employment contract  or the time an employee is required to be 
at the employer's disposal, at work or any other place determined by the employer. 
"Stand-by time" means an employees contract ual obligation to remain at home or be 
otherwise available to be called to work when necessary and is not incl uded in working hours. 
Spanish  law defines working time as periods, dur ing which a mobile worker cannot dispose 
freely of his time and is required to be at his workstation rea dy to undertake his normal work 
and perform tasks associated with being on dut y. Periods of awaiting loading or unloading, 
 
EN 18   EN where their foreseeable duration is not known in  advance ("attendance time"), are included in 
working time. 
Germany defines working time only as the period between the beginning and the end of 
work, excluding breaks. German jurisprudenc e recognises three types of time on duty: 
readiness for work, on-call service and stand-by. A ll of these periods are to be considered as 
working time. 
In Malta , working time is considered to be the time  from the beginning to the end of work, 
during which the mobile worker is at his work station, at the disposal  of the employer and 
exercising his functions or activities. Concerning periods of availability, the same definition is used as in Article 3(b) of the Directive. 
Under Slovenian law, working time means is defined as the time during which a worker is 
available to the employer and fulfilling his work ing obligations. Times of availability are not 
especially mentioned.  
Lithuania's  report unveils, that the provi sions of the Directive have been transposed almost 
in a word by word manner. 
Member States not mentioned did not supply enough content on this chapter. 
2.3. Breaks 
2.3.1. Provisions of the Directive 
Article 5 of the Directive reads as follows: 
"Breaks 1. Member States shall take the measures necessa ry to ensure that, without prejudice to the 
level of protection provided by Regulation ( EEC) No 3820/85 or, failing that, by the AETR 
Agreement, persons performing mobile road tran sport activities, without prejudice to Article 
2(1), in no circumstances work for more than  six consecutive hours without a break. Working 
time shall be interrupted by a break of at least 30 minutes, if working hours total between six 
and nine hours, and of at least 45 minutes, if working hours total more than nine hours. 
2. Breaks may be subdivided into periods of at least 15 minutes each." 
2.3.2. Application in the Member States 
This provision appears in genera l to have been satis factorily transposed. In accordance with 
Article 5, Member States generally set out mi nimum provisions for the length and timing of a 
rest break during the working day,  in default of a different or more detailed provision under a 
collective agreement or between employers and workers' representatives.  
2.4. Night Work 
2.4.1. Provisions of the Directive Article 3(i) of Directive 2002/15/EC on the orga nisation of working time of mobile workers 
in road transport defines night work as "any work performed during night time". Night time is 
 
EN 19   EN defined by paragraph (h) of the same Article as "a period of at least four hours, as defined by 
national law, between 00.00 hours and 07.00 hours". 
Following Article 7(1), Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, if 
night work is performed, the daily working time does not exceed ten hours in each 24 hours 
period and that compensation for night work is  given in accordance with  national legislative 
measures, collective agreements, agreements between the two sides of industry and/or 
national practice, on condition that such compen sation is not liable to endanger road safety. 
The Commission's proposal to amend Directiv e 2002/15/EC on the organisation of working 
time of mobile workers in road transport, whic h has been published foll owing Articles 2 (1). 7 
(2) and (3) on 15 October 2008, intends to ame nd among others the provisions concerning 
night time. In the said proposal night work is defined as "work during a period of work which 
includes at least two hours work performed during night time". 
2.4.2. Application in the Member States 
According to the reports, the majority of th e Member States transposed the provisions on 
night work in a satisfactory manner. Conclusions 
All Member States have in the meantime transposed the Directive and from the information 
available it appears that most of them have done so in a correct manner. 
However, in terms of night time provisions, there are some Member States, which in the 
opinion of the Commission did not transpose th e provisions on night wo rk correctly and are 
therefore subjected to infringement procedures12 . 
Furthermore, the Commission has sent a Reas oned Opinion to the Netherlands for their 
transposition the provisions on maximum weekly working time . 
3. G ENERAL ISSUES  
3.1. Member States' Evaluations and Prospects 
As far as the scope of the Directive is concerned, Denmark  supports the exclusion of self 
employed drivers. As a general rule, working-ti me rules are not adopted  for the self-employed 
and major problems are foreseen by the Danish aut horities in enforcing such rules, which they 
consider as being unnecessarily bureaucratic. 
As far as the future inclusion of false self-e mployed drivers is concerned, Denmark is very 
sceptic, as it considers them to be already covered by the Directive. 
Concerning enforcement, it is essential fo r Denmark that the controls required by the 
Directive can continue to be conducted by the two sides of industry. This is linked to the 
Danish implementation of the labour-market Dir ective, where the two sides have been given 
as much freedom as possible to implement the rules by agreement and they are responsible for 
enforcing them. 
                                                 
12 Letters of Formal Notice have been sent notably to Spain and Germany. 
 
EN 20   EN For the  United Kingdom the government is currently focusi ng on the effectiveness of its 
implementation of the Directive and anticipates that no change is needed to the Directive 
itself. As far as the inclusion of self-employe d drivers is concerned, the carrying out of an 
impact assessment is welcomed. 
As regards the prospects for the future, Finland considers it necessary to keep self-employed 
drivers out of the scope of the Directive, as driving times are already regulated by Regulations 
(EC) No. 561/2006 on driving times a nd rest periods and (EEC) No. 3821/8513. Furthermore, 
entrepreneurship should not be hindered too much. 
National legislation in France  does not provide for any definiti on for salaried or independent 
workers. It is therefore up to national courts to decide, whether a mobile worker is self 
employed or not. In order to fish out false se lf-employed drivers, national courts apply the 
instruments designed to combat clandestine empl oyment. In order to cl arify the situation, the 
French authorities therefore favour  the inclusion of al l self-employed driver s in the scope of 
Directive 2002/15/EC. 
The Irish  report reveals that the combat against fa lse self-employed drivers will be a major 
task for the future. Self-employed drivers and small companies dominate the domestic road transport sector. Many drivers seem to be under pressure by employers to  become false self-
employed. The investigation of those driv ers has proved to be very demanding.  
The Netherlands  expect low compliance with the provisi ons of the Directiv e, due to the high 
economic pressure on the transport sector. 
Germany  regards Directive 2002/15/EC as an impor tant component for the building of a 
more social Europe. Together with Regulat ion (EC) No. 561/2006 on driving times and rest 
periods, the provisions of the Dir ective contribute to increasing s ecurity and health of mobile 
workers.  
Nevertheless it is reported, Directive 2002/15/ EC is expected to be  of minor importance 
compared to Regulation (EC) 561/2006 on driving times and rest periods, which is why the 
obligation to submit a biannual repo rt on it is put in to question. Alterna tively, the reporting 
period should be adjusted to the one of th e Basic Working Time Directive (five years). 
Greece  is of the opinion that Directive 2002/15/E C has reinforced the legal framework for 
mobile workers, further contributing towards tack ling issues such as the definition of working 
time and limits for weekly working time. The Directive is seen as a very good set of agreements to be concluded in a favourable way. 
Estonia reported that the transposition of Dire ctive 2002/15/EC in road transport had not 
given rise to any new so cial problems and that there has b een progress in the social dialogue 
between employers and workers. 
In Slovakia, awareness of the existence of the Directiv e and the respective national legislation 
proved to be very low. Inspections revealed insufficient compliance on the part of employers 
with their obligation to provide information to transport employees of the relevant generally 
                                                
 
13 Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 September 1985 on recording equipment in road transport, 
OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 8 
 
EN 21   EN binding legal provisions, employer's internal ru les and agreements between social partners 
having impact on working times and rest periods. 
Linked to that is the problem of a lack of awareness on the part of drivers of their own 
obligations. 
Nevertheless, the Slovak authorities reported an  improvement of the situation and expect a 
contribution of working time legislation to road safety. 
In general, most Member States have expresse d the view that it is to early to determine 
whether directive 2002/15/EC has had an effect on the actual wo rking time of mobile workers 
or not. 
– Member States not mentioned did not supply enough content for this  chapter. At this 
point it has to be commemorated that an outlook on issues concerning the Directive 
is a mandatory point according to the re porting format of Regulation (EC) 561/2006 
on driving times and rest periods. 
3.2. Social Partners' Evaluations 
In France , trade unions appealed against French Decree 2007/13 on working time in road 
transport enterprises as far as the calculation period of the maximum weekly working time is 
concerned, claiming that the tr ansposition was in contradicti on to Article 10 of Directive 
2002/15/EC, which allows for provisions more fa vourable to health and safety of persons 
performing mobile road transport activi ties to be passed by Member States.  
On the contrary, employers' associations exp licitly welcomed the Decree 2007/13 in that 
respect. 
As far as the United Kingdom is concerned, employers' associations conceded that the 
Directive had not had such a negative impact  on industry operating pr actices as they had 
feared. However, they attributed  this to the fact that the Un ited Kingdom had adopted most of 
the flexibilities provided by the Directive. Furthermore, they identified as a benefit that consultation and communication between em ployers and mobile workers improved. 
Trade unions were unhappy with the inclusion of periods of availability  in the Directive, 
which would undermine the protection provided. 
Slovak  social partners agreed with  the national report in general.  Some of the shortcomings 
detected could be removed on the basis of am endments to the legal provisions by defining 
more precisely certain problematic  issues, such as stand-by duty. 
Training of employees is seen as a major issue as  well. Finally, they consider it necessary that 
employers draw up a timetable, which allows em ployees to observe the required rest periods. 
Employers' organisations reported to provide  information on the Directive and national 
implementation measures to their members. They  nevertheless complain that approach of the 
Slovak authorities was discriminating, as only 3% of the undertakings controlled were non-
nationals. 
In Spain , the discussion between the so cial partners on the transposition of the Directive into 
national law was very problematic and at first it was not possible to reach a consensus on the 
 
EN 22   EN draft of a royal decree. This actually lead to a serious delay of Spain's transposition of the 
Directive, which is why the Commission ha d to open an infringement procedure. 
Spanish employer organisations were very negative  about the Directive, especially because of 
the following points: exclusion of self-employed drivers, difficulties in interpreting the 
Directive, co-existence of Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 on driving times and rest periods, 
and definition of rest periods. Additionally, th ere were some negative remarks on the national 
implementation measures. 
Trade unions generally welcomed the Directiv e. Nevertheless they feared that the new 
proposal to amend the Basic Working Time Dir ective could contravene  Directive 2002/15/EC 
on the organisation of working time of mobile wo rkers in road transpor t and would represent 
a step backward in terms of maximum weekly working time. Additionally they would favour 
the inclusion of self-emp loyed drivers, especially with regard to economically dependent self-
employed drivers. 
In the German report, stakeholders mainly comm ented on the national implementation 
measures. Employers claimed that the implementation measures have led to a significant reduction of legally possible working hours, wh ich is contested by the German government. 
In Malta , employers' organisations were particular ly negative about the maximum weekly 
working time of 48 hours, as actual working hour s had reduced, while drivers in Malta are 
being paid on a daily basis. Furthermore, they  doubt the positive effects on health and safety, 
arguing that less working hours could mean more stress in the remaining ones. 
Slovenian  employers welcomed that Directive 2002/15/EC on the organisation of working 
time of mobile workers in road transport allows  for greater flexibility in the organisation of 
the work of drivers in comparison to similar provisions for other wo rkers in the country. 
The trade unions were not satisfied with Sl ovenia's implementation measures in terms of 
working time and violations of working time le gislation. Small and medium sized enterprises 
are said to be a matter of partic ular concern, as they usually do not  pay salaries to drivers, but 
only remunerate them per kilometre driven. This  again causes that drivers themselves do not 
comply with the rules. 
Estonian  social partners welcomed the Directive – even if some  difficulties for employers 
were expected as regards training logistic s for workers and various employers – as a 
contribution to better social protection and ro ad safety, as well as to uniform competition 
conditions. The latter is expected  because Estonian legislation includes self-employed drivers. 
In Sweden , employers indicated that they had no sp ecial problems with the Directive, apart 
from the limitation to 10 hours of wor k, if night work is performed.  
Employees' organisations expressed that the Dir ective was a step to th e right direction, but 
that the transposition in Sweden was unsa tisfactorily, without specifying their point. 
The report by the Netherlands explains that the social part ners expect basically negative 
impacts of the Directive: a loss in income becau se of reduced working hours, more investment 
by employers needed and finally drivers leav ing the sector because of the decreasing 
attractivity and competitiveness of the sector. 
 
EN 23   EN Social partners in the Member States did not very often refer to the question of the scope of 
the Directive. Nevertheless, from the comments received the conclusion can be drawn that an 
inclusion of false-self empl oyed drivers would be favoured. 
The reports of the remaining Member States did not contain signifi cant substance on this 
chapter.  
3.3. Conclusions 
Among the Member States that submitted their reports, substantiated data on the actual effects 
of the Directive were almost not available. This  might be owed to the fact that it only came 
into force on the 23 March 2005 and most Member States only transposed it even later. 
In many cases, the conclusions drawn by Member States on the effects of the Directive were 
reduced to expressions of expectation. Whereas some Member States, like Greece, expect it to 
make a valuable contribution, others, such as Germany, indicated that its importance could be 
minor in comparison to Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 on driving times and rest periods. 
Some Member States made reference to the question of whether or not to include self-
employed or at least false-self employed driver s into the scope of the Directive. Only one 
Member State wanted the current Directive to re main unchanged, with the effect that all self-
employed drivers are included into its scope as from 23 March 2009.  
Social partners, even though they were not negative in most case s, have drawn the attention to 
elements of concern.  
In some Member States employers expressed thei r concern that the Directive might lead to a 
reduction of the working hours permitted, which could cause a loss of income.  
Some employees' organisations indicated that they were unhappy with the national 
transposition legislation, as they claimed th at Member States did not make use of the 
possibilities offered by the Directive. 
In Spain, the serious disagreement between the two sides of the industry lead to a 
considerable delay of Spain's efforts to transpose the Directive into national law. 
Social partners in the Member States did not very often refer to the question of the scope of 
the Directive. Nevertheless, from the comments received the conclusion can be drawn that an 
inclusion of false-self employed drivers would be favoured with a view to fair competition in 
the road transport sector.