EU work time directive for mobile workers in aviation

[rotordk]

Any comments regarding European operations and the EU work time directive for mobile workers in aviation?
Curious to see the definitions regarding scheduling ( as in the Jaeger courtcase ) and that impact on schedules and rosters in Europe ( thinking SAR, HEMS and standby counting 100% ).
Especially looking forward to Flying Lawyer's comments....

[Thomas coupling]

Most if not all UK operators seem to have complied. Not much of a negative feedback from anyone.
The max 2000hrs duty time / year seems fair and achievable.

[rotordk]

What kind of roster system do you have, TC ? 200 work days with 10 hours available or ?

[Genghis the Engineer]

I confess that I've not seen it, can anybody point me to a copy online somewhere?

G

[rotordk]

http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/s...4/20040756.htm

Notice it doesn't say 2000 hours duty time/period, but working time.
Any thoughts ?

[Thomas coupling]

The Directive, concluded by the Social Partners in civil aviation, limits annual working time of airborne personnel to 2000 hours, covers some elements of standby time and restricts flying time to 900 hours. The Directive also requires "appropriate" health and safety protection for all mobile personnel and contains provisions for a monthly and yearly number of rest days. Member States have until 1 December 2003 to implement the Directive.

Link: http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/work_time_r...ectors.htm#air

Rotordk:

That's about it in a nutshell..last fiscal I actually worked a little over this. I perceive it as 'duty time'.

[Martin1234]

The original agreement can be found here:

http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=32000L0079&model=gui chett

[rotordk]

TC...question:
If I had, for example, a fixed annual rostersystem of 12 hours duty with 200 workdays( if I'm not flying, they can make you update the books and clean the CEO's new leased car or call you to change departure times or make you wait due to weather or send you home but call you 10 minutters later to make you return ) would be illegal in relations to the work time directive?

Would a fixed annual roster pushed right to the edge of the 2000 hours make it illegal to do overtime ?

I'm basically trying to establish the grey zones of this directive !

[Martin1234]

Since no one seems to know, I'll have a wild guess;


Since "working time" isn't defined you might want to have a look at how it's defined for road transportation. Directive 2002/15/EC Article 3 defines "working time":

http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=en&type_doc=Directive&an_doc=20 02&nu_doc=15

If you're cleaning your boss' car at your workplace you're ready to take up normal work and this time should count towards the working time. However, if your boss on forehand tells you to continue cleaning the car even if the weather clears up, that time should not count since your work is unrelated to what's covered by the directive. If you're sent home on "stand-by", this time should count towards the maximum 2000 h "as determined by the applicable law". This means that it probably does if you're in Scandinavia.

"Would a fixed annual roster pushed right to the edge of the 2000 hours make it illegal to do overtime ?"

Isn't that the spirit of the regulation? However, there's a possibility for the appropriate authority to grant an operator the right to deviate from the regulation. The request to do so would probably be looked at more favourably if it's countersigned by the employee or its representative.

[Spunk]

Now here is what my lawyer told me...

working time is that time as defined in your working contract, e.g. from 0800 - 1700 = 8.5 hours a day (subtract 30 minutes for lunch break). If your working contract doesn't state any particular working time your working time is regulated by national law (e.g. in Germany it's 40 hours per week). Since pilots are restricted to a max allowable working time of 2000 hours per year you finally end up with 38,46 hours per week (don't know how he calculated it but I think it's based on 24 days of vacation per year (min permissable amount in Germany) and 5/2 schedule per week.
Yes, you are allowed to work overtime but it has to be reasonable, means max 4 hours per week (that's what my lawyer told me) but it still counts towards 2000 hours.

And if your contract says that you are employed as a pilot and if there is no particular description of what else belongs to your duties than it is 1. Preflight 2. Flight 3. postprocessing and nothing else... But than again we all love to wash our boss' car

And don't forget those 96 days off per year (no flight duty, no stand by, no nothing) not to include your annual vacation...
Devide it by 12 month will lead you to an average of 8 days off per month resulting in a max of 5 days of work per week...

... but than again who is the first to sue his employer who makes you work 7 days a week, who calls you up at 0200 in the morning to tell you that you have a flight at 0600, who blames you for the fog in the morning, the freezing rain the other day, who makes you do all kind of illegal flights just cause he is too lazy to ask the authority for the appropriate permission, who never pays you in time... to be continued

[tottigol]

What about 182 days @ 12hrs day

That's the current average load in the USA, with a maximum of 14 per day.
I am European currently working in the Sates and feel that the European system is excessively limitating in some factors.
Also I know for experience, that some Countries in the Union do not apply enough pressure on the oerators to actually enforce those limits.
Is the maximum 13 hrs duty day with a following 8 hrs rest just an Italian requirement or is it a JAA limit?
Cheers.

[Mars]

The JAA does not have legal competence for Flight and Duty Limitations.