The EU Mobility Package is a set of laws designed to create a consistent standard for driver safety and care, increased sustainability, and fairer competition between member states. But as the UK is no longer in the European Union there is no guarantee that the laws will need to be the same.
Whilst Britain has adopted large parts of it some have not and there are some significant differences in the timeframe.
To make things more confusing there have been times where the UK entirely changed the law for short periods when the rules on cabotage were relaxed.
Understandably this has led to a lot of confusion amongst hauliers about how much of the mobility package applies to the UK right now. Here is what you need to know.
What is the EU mobility package?
There three initiatives in the package which focus on different areas:
Mobility Package 01: Works on improving drivers’ working conditions and safety in areas such as cabotage, driver Rest times and worker posting.
Mobility Package 02: Is the Clean mobility package which focuses on reducing vehicle emissions and better integration between combined modes of transport.
Mobility Package 03: Deals with safe, clean, and connected mobility.
There are multiple phases for implementation of the mobility package, the first of which was back in 2020 and regular updates scheduled through to 2026.
Why is the UK adopting parts of the mobility package?
Our Associate Director, European Accelerate, Jamie Reid, said:
The UK is seeking to stabilize the market and its place in it by adopting parts of the mobility package in the same way the rest of Europe is doing.
It will protect British business from being undercut in the same way that it protects European logistics companies. It will help to facilitate and stabilize trade whilst making the market fairer for everyone.
This will mean that more businesses are able to compete in a fair market which is for the good of the consumer.
Current UK mobility rules on driver posting.
All workers from EU states have the right to the same working conditions as workers from the country to which they are posted. For freight drivers posting simply means that they are driving in a foreign country on a temporary basis.
This also means that when drivers from one EU state enter another with a higher minimum wage that driver will need to be paid proportionately more for the duration of their trip.
UK Freight companies will need to abide by these rules by posting information about their drivers and journeys in advance using the EU wide online system if they are driving in Europe.
However, the UK government has not adopted this rule for European drivers entering the country. This is to encourage road transport into the UK to address the ongoing shortages which have been affecting the national supply chains.
Current UK rules on cabotage
European hauliers can perform two cabotage trips within the UK after their first delivery although this must be within 7 days.
Cabotage, in this context, refers to freight deliveries which are conducted entirely in one country but are performed by a foreign transporter.
They cannot enter the country “unladen” or without a consignment and so cannot be coming to the UK specifically to carry out freight operations without the justification of delivering goods from abroad.
After 3 domestic trips the truck must stay outside the UK for a “cooling off” period of at least 4 days before they can return.
UK hauliers can only perform one cabotage trip after their first delivery within EU states rather than two although there is still the 7-day limit.
UK hauliers can make two trips between two separate EU states before they must return to the UK if this follows a delivery from the UK. This is called cross trade rather than cabotage as there is a border crossing.
The end of the cabotage grace period
Up until April 2023, EU hauliers could enter the country unladen and still conduct cabotage work.
There was a time where European haulage companies could carry out unlimited cabotage operations within a 14 day period but this ended in May 2022.
The grace period was put in place to tackle the severe driver shortage in the UK after Brexit although this has not been renewed. There may now be vehicle checks from the DVSA and a breach would result in fines or impounding vehicles.
New tachograph technology making it all possible
The level of monitoring that would be needed to make legislation like this possible could only happen with an advancement in the hardware fitted to freight vehicles.
Next generation tachographs need to be fitted to vehicles so that the vehicle and driver location can be checked. Drivers need to enter the country they started the journey in and which one it ended in.
This data can then be used to monitor whether cabotage rules are being followed and to calculate the drivers’ wages under the new posting rules.
By December 2024 all international vehicles which weigh 3.5 tons or more need to be fitted with version 2 tachographs.
By August 2025, all vehicles which have a version 1 tachograph will need to replace it with a version 2.
By July 2026 version 2’s will need to be installed on every vehicle over 2.5 tons.
Vehicles and drivers returning home.
Any heavy or light goods vehicle operating outside their country of registration will need to return there at least once every 8 weeks. This law was brought in primarily to combat illegal cabotage.
Drivers will need to return home for a period of at least 45 hours every 4 weeks.
If you are having trouble navigating the complex new UK and EU laws for freight, then please contact one of our expert European Operations teams.
Our reliable and helpful staff have extensive in-depth knowledge of the ever-changing rules around international transport so you can be sure that you are working with a trusted partner when you collaborate with us!
