“Is it legal for a removal man or driver to sleep in the back of a truck with no proper sleeping bunk?”

The Mover magazine team was tweeted a question that we didn’t know the answer to, so we set about finding out.  The question was, “Is it legal for a removal man or driver to sleep in the back of a truck with no proper sleeping bunk?”

According to Thames Valley Police, as long as the vehicle is not moving then it’s fine.  If the vehicle is moving and the sleeping person is sitting in the passenger seat with their seatbelt correctly fastened that’s fine too, however it would be illegal if someone was lying in the back seat of a moving vehicle for instance, as they wouldn’t be correctly belted up.

With regard to the Health & Safety side of things, Jill Townsend, HR expert at Ibex HR Ltd, added that the following also has to be taken into consideration:

• The employer has to take into account his duty of care in this situation;
• According to EU rules and regulation 561 the driver should have access to a bunk in which to sleep overnight;
• There is no such ruling for the porter (removal man);
• The vehicle should be parked where it is not causing any obstruction;
• The vehicle should not be parked in an area which is designated as not allowing overnight parking.

So, if it’s your business, it looks as though it is OK for you to sleep in the back of your truck at night.  In addition, following the recent shake-up in the Health & Safety rules, you are not obliged to adhere to H&S rules yourself; they do, however, apply to anyone working for you.

Top tips for camping in vans:

• Make sure the tailgate can be opened from the inside.  Vancraft reliably informs us that most trucks can be opened from the outside only;
• Make sure the handbrake is on good and tight;
• Don’t drink too much the evening before as the en-suite facilities are not too clever.