Yes, employees are responsible for managing their fatigue, but employers are also responsible for observing and managing it. There are formal ways to handle this.

If you feel or recognise that your drivers are displaying signs of fatigue, implementing a fatigue management policy is one of the best ways to help them. This policy aims to ensure that drivers are fit to drive and that employers do not put them at risk. A fatigue policy should be developed for all workers, from drivers to managers. It should include information about maximum shift length and average weekly hours, work-related travel, procedures for reporting fatigue risks, and for managing fatigued drivers.

Any worker can report fatigue-related issues to management, and these reports should be investigated.

The Land Transport Act 1998 (NZ) and the Land Transport Rule: Work Time and Logbooks 2007 (NZ) contain several fatigue management conditions and requirements that drivers and employers must be familiar with. On the right is a guide to the basic requirements of New Zealand’s legislation. Drivers and employers must familiarise themselves with and abide by the Work Time rules, including rules on rest breaks. Similarly, while there may be slightly different rules for drivers of packaged goods, all drivers must observe and abide by the logbook rules, and management should review the entries regularly.

For further information, please contact the New Zealand Transport Agency or read further on the NZTA website, nzta.govt.nz.

Basic requirements for drivers in New Zealand

In any cumulative workday, as a driver (whether providing passenger transportation services or delivery services) you:

• May not exceed 13 hours of work time; and must have at least 10 hours of continuous rest time.
• If, as a driver, you are providing delivery services, you must take a rest break after five and a half hours of continuous work time.
• You (whether providing passenger transportation services or delivery services) may not exceed 70 hours of work during a cumulative work period.

The words highlighted in bold and italics above are defined further below:

Cumulative workday means a period: during which work occurs; and that does not exceed 24 hours and begins after a continuous period of rest time of at least 10 hours.

Rest time means all time that is not work time; and is at least 30 minutes in duration, and is not spent in a moving vehicle associated with work.

Rest break means a period of rest time taken within a cumulative workday.

Cumulative work period means a set of cumulative workdays between a continuous period of rest time of at least 24 hours.

If drivers do not follow these rules, they can be fined up to $2000 and disqualified from driving.

Your fatigue management policy will need to be reviewed and updated regularly, read and signed off by all drivers to show that they have read and understood any new updates and authorised by the officer of the company.