The European Commission has proposed the closing of a loophole in existing European Union (EU) working time legislation, which allows haulage firms to evade the law by claiming their drivers are "self-employed". Brussels is concerned that an overly loose description of this term in the 2002 EU road transport Working Time Directive prevents many drivers working for one company from claiming legal rights against overwork because they lack a formal employment contract.
A Commission report
said: "The difficulties lie in particular in an unclear distinction between [employed] and self-employed drivers", causing "enforcement problems and the risk of an increasing phenomenon of 'false' self-employed drivers" As a result, it has proposed an amendment to the law. It says drivers should be covered by its terms, even without an employment contract, where they cannot organise their own work, do not depend directly on the profits made from a trip, and are not able "to have relations with several customers."
