Guidance for Professional Drivers – NHS Voluntary Work

Guidance for Professional Drivers – NHS Voluntary Work Branches will be aware that the Government recently sought volunteers to assist the NHS during the current Coronavirus crisis.

Following this request, the department received a number of enquiries from representatives seeking clarity on the implications for Professional Driver members should they wish to volunteer to drive for the NHS. The department immediately sought clarification from Royal Mail in relation to Professional Driver Grades who wish to volunteer and any necessary processes which our members would need to follow in these circumstances. The business indicated at that time that they had not formulated a position but committed to do so to enable our members to perform their Royal Mail duties and provide the opportunity to support the NHS where desired, while remaining legally compliant with driver regulations. Discussions have focused on enabling a situation where Royal Mail Professional Drivers can volunteer to offer their services by driving a NHS owned/hired vehicle to transport medical supplies, organs, blood, equipment or personnel only. It is imperative however that the performance of voluntary work does not adversely affect the availability of driving resource in Royal Mail, ensures that the that the risk of driver fatigue is not increased and that compliance with Drivers Hours and Working Time regulations is maintained and recorded. A guidance document has now been compiled which is attached for the information of Branches (Annex A). The guidance document contains links which are only accessible via the RM intranet site and as such the corresponding documents are also attached for your ease of reference (Appendices 1 to 4). It should be noted that while all of these documents have been produced by Royal Mail, the department has been able to review and influence the final versions. The department believes that the attached process is robust, will provide welcome clarification and enable those members who wish to support the NHS to do so. Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org