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Drivers’ hours and working time records
Records that show driving limits and working time limits are being met.
This is general information for UK goods-vehicle operators. It is not legal advice. Use the official source on this page, and your operator licence conditions, before you rely on it.
What it is
Drivers’ hours rules limit driving, and require breaks and rest. The road transport working time rules are a separate limit on overall working time, including other work that is not driving. Tachograph data is the usual drivers’ hours record. Working time records have to be adequate to show the working time limits are met, including work a driver does for another employer. GOV.UK’s working time annex says these records need to be kept for two years. That is longer than the 12-month drivers’ hours retention.
Who holds it
The employer keeps working time records for mobile workers and must be able to show them to an enforcement officer. Self-employed drivers in scope keep their own. The operator keeps the drivers’ hours records described on the tachograph page.
At a visit
An investigation can ask for both sets. A tachograph file that was deleted after a year does not satisfy the working time retention. A working time spreadsheet that ignores night work or a second employer does not satisfy the duty to keep adequate records.
How long to keep it
GOV.UK’s working time annex for goods vehicles says working time records need to be kept for two years after the period in question. The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 require employers to retain those records for at least two years after the end of the period covered. Drivers’ hours records are a separate duty: the operator licensing guide says keep them for at least 12 months.