‘Grandfather rights’ (or sometimes ‘acquired rights’) is a legal term that is applied in various industries when a new law or standard is introduced, so that people who were qualified before that rule was introduced are allowed to continue working as they were, rather than having to undertake fresh training.
In logistics, the term is most commonly applied in two areas – Category C1 (7.5T) driving entitlement and Driver CPC.
Driver CPC
Drivers who gained their professional LGV licence (Cat C, C1, C+E and C1+E) prior to 10th September 2009 have grandfather rights in relation to Driver CPC and so were not required to undertake a full Driver CPC to be qualified. All drivers gaining their licence after that date, on the other hand, and who wish to drive professionally, have to do the full four-module Initial CPC.
But remember – all professional drivers are obliged to meet the ongoing ‘periodic training’ requirement of 35 hours’ Driver CPC training every five years, to keep their DQC valid.
Category C1
Drivers who hold a car driving licence (Category B) issued before January 1997 automatically have ‘grandfather rights’ to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes. If you gained your car licence after that date, you cannot automatically drive Category C1 vehicles,  so you will require the training to upgrade your licence.