Driver working hours management: what Brazilian law says

Drivers' working hours management must be done accurately. But how?

Although a driver's working day is like any other provided for workers with a formal employment contract, there are specific issues for this type of professional.

In Brazil, the driver law (in Portuguese), or Law 13.103, sets out in detail what you need to know about your employees' working hours management.

What does the driver law say?

Law 13.103 concerns all matters of rights, duties and responsibilities of the professional driver and of the hiring company toward them.

See the details:

Working and rest hours

To begin with, the professional driver's daily working day is 8h.

However, that is where the similarities with the working day of other roles end.

For freight transport drivers, there is a mandatory 30-minute break every 6h of driving.

For passenger transport, time behind the wheel must not exceed 4h. In this case, there is also a 30-minute rest stop.

In addition, this mandatory stop may or may not be used as a meal break — which can last up to 1h.

In general, between 2 working days, the driver must rest for a minimum period of 11 consecutive hours.

Time at the employer's disposal vs. waiting time

Waiting time refers to the time in which the driver has to wait for some procedure, in addition to their regularly counted working hours. For example, while the vehicle is being loaded and unloaded or during a cargo inspection.

Even so, this period has its own treatment and should not automatically be confused with overtime. That is why it is worth separating in the records what is time in which the driver is at the employer's disposal and what is waiting for loading, unloading or inspection.

Time at the employer's disposal, on the other hand, consists of working hours counted in the daily working day, but during which the driver is not driving the vehicle. Except during mandatory rest hours, even if the driver has no trip planned for the day, they must fulfill their hours at the company.

Duties of the professional driver

Although working hours management is a right of the driver, this control is the responsibility of everyone involved.

Besides that, the driver has other duties toward their employer, such as obeying traffic laws and avoiding fines, taking toxicology tests when required and participating in training and programs offered by the company.

How to do good working hours management?

Traditionally, it is done through forms, spreadsheets and the driver logbook. These methods appear in Law 13.103 alongside the timesheet or external work record and the unalterable instantaneous speed and time recorder. However, there are already some technologies developed specifically for this function.

In fact, electronic methods can make control more reliable, as long as they are used in accordance with the applicable rules. Some examples include digital tools for control, monitoring and route planning.

Telemetry, as an industry technology, can record data about the vehicle and support analyses of on-road behavior, driving style and compliance with previously agreed stops. For working hours management, the main point is that the chosen method makes it clear when the record was made and by whom.

In addition, there are dedicated apps for drivers that score them on performance, creating a ranking from best to worst.

Working hours management responsibilities

The driver law itself determines that control must come from the company. But it is important to remember the driver's responsibility in this matter. For example, accurately recording the logbook information until the vehicle is returned to the company.

Any method used for this management must be known and filled in, as needed, by both the driver and the manager.

Now that you know what drivers' working hours management is and how to do it, check out even more content to improve your fleet management on our YouTube channel (videos in Portuguese):