Working time fines
What does a violation of the working time rules cost?
On May 21, 2022, the Police and the Danish Transport Authority took over the control of the working time rules for drivers.
Therefore, it is also the Police and the Danish Transport Authority that issue the fines now.
The police only check the break rules during roadside inspections, while the Danish Transport Authority checks for all 4 rules within working hours: Night work, breaks, and weekly working hours (single and average).
Violation categories of the working time rules:
- Average weekly working time (48 hours)
- Weekly working time, single (60 hours)
- Break after max. 6 hours of work (15 min.)
- Break during a working day of between 6 and 9 hours (30 min.)
- Break during a working day of more than 9 hours (45 min.)
- Maximum working hours for night work (10 hours)
The Danish Road Traffic Authority will check drivers' working hours if they find many or serious driving and rest time violations during a summons.
For this check, they will request additional documents, such as documentation of absence or other forms of time registration.
Calculate fine amount
In the table, you can see what the fine will be if you violate one of the working time rules.
For the 6-hour rule, there is no de minimis threshold, which means that a 14-minute break (instead of 15) or 06.01 hours of work (instead of 06.00 hours) costs 3000 DKK in fines for the driver and 6000 DKK in fines for the company.
For the other 5 working time rules, there is a de minimis threshold, so that sanctions are only imposed at, for example, 56 hours of work per week on average, instead of the permitted 48 hours, and at 11 hours of night work, instead of the permitted 10 hours.
Fine ceiling
As with the driving and rest time rules, there is a fine ceiling of 30,000 DKK for the driver and 60,000 DKK for the company (per driver).
The police check for working time violations 28 days back (they are allowed to check 56 days), while the Danish Road Traffic Authority looks at a specific month, for example, January 1 – January 31.
They typically request data that is a couple of months old, but they are authorized to collect data up to 12 months back.
Fine amount in table:
Below you can see when a violation may result in a fine.
The first graph shows the zero-tolerance regarding the 6-hour rule. Working for 6 hours and 1 minute may incur a fine of DKK 3,000 + double the amount for the company.
Break for a 6 to 9-hour working day:
The graph below illustrates when a penalty may be incurred for the daily break during a workday of between 6 and 9 hours.
A total of 30 minutes must be taken (15 + 15 or 30 minutes continuously).
With a total break time of less than 20 minutes, the driver risks a fine of DKK 1,000 and double the amount for the company.
With a break time of less than 10 minutes, the driver risks a fine of DKK 3,000 and double the amount for the company.
Break during a working day of more than 9 hours
The graph below shows when a penalty may be incurred for the daily break during a working day of more than 9 hours.
A total of 45 minutes must be taken (15 + 15 + 15 or 15 + 30 or 45 minutes continuously).
With a total break time of less than 30 minutes, the driver risks a fine of DKK 1,000 and double the amount for the company.
With a break time of less than 20 minutes, the driver risks a fine of DKK 3,000 and double the amount for the company.
Total working hours in a single week
When looking at a single working week, one can work up to a maximum of 60 hours.
Work is 'Driving' + 'Other work', minus 'Rest'.
Below you can see when you may be affected by a fine.
For more than 64 working hours in a week, the driver risks a fine of DKK 1,000 and double the amount for the company.
For more than 70 working hours in a week, the driver risks a fine of DKK 3,000 and double the amount for the company.
Total average weekly working hours
The average weekly working hours must not exceed 48 hours.
This is calculated over a reference period of 4 months.
(This can be increased to 6 months by collective agreement).
It is calculated by:
Total working hours in the reference period divided by number of weeks in the reference period (17 weeks or 26 weeks).
Here, the result will be the average number of working hours over 4 or 6 months.
The graph shows how many working hours you can have on average before you risk a fine.
With a 56-hour working week, the driver risks a fine of DKK 1,000 and double the amount for the company.
With a 61-hour working week, the driver risks a fine of DKK 3,000 to the driver and double the amount for the company.
Quarter of an hour break before a maximum of 6 hours of work
As mentioned, the 6-hour break rule is the most important to remember. This is because there is zero tolerance and no de minimis limit.
If you only take a 14-minute break, you risk a fine of DKK 3,000 for the driver and double the amount for the company.
See your fine estimate on TachoManagement
If you have a subscription with Tachografservice, you can log in to TachoManagement and see a fine estimate for working time violations based on your driving and rest time data.
Here you can also get an overview of which of the 6 above working time violations you should pay the most attention to.