About the RHA

In a fast running business you need information straight away - as an RHA Member you can get immediate advice in solving industry problems from interpreting legislation to checking out health and safety issues both from the Members Area of this Web site and from your Regional Helpdesk.

But that's just the beginning. We can introduce you to more specialist help through Industry Sector groups or one of our training courses, and there's also a range of leaflets and publications available on the Web site. We keep you informed about industry matters through this Web site, Roadway, the monthly Members' magazine and regular briefings on topical issues.

The RHA continually negotiates on behalf of Members. Not just in the high profile discussions that go on with the government over the national issues, but every day of the week, every week of the year with everyone from local planning committees and regional transport groups to the European Commission.

Their discussions take in everything from Fuel and VED rates to the Working Time Directive and changes in EC regulations on the transport of goods. There is no administrative or legislative area that concerns the industry that is not carefully scrutinised and actively pursued on behalf of Members.

The RHA Regions And What They Can Do For You

As most of you will know the Road Haulage Association is divided into four Regions:

• Midlands and Western region, with its office base in Bristol.
• Northern, whose base is Cleckheaton.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland, covered from its base in Edinburgh.
• Southern and Eastern, with an office in Peterborough.

The Regional Directors are responsible for looking after the members in their respective regions, as well as implementing Regional policy as drawn up by each of the Regional Councils. Remember, it is the members who make the policies and the RHA staff are there to deliver the policies. So, what do you get from your Region?

Regional Councils

These are made up of delegates elected by their fellow members to represent the Region and to formulate policy within the Region. National policy is formulated by the Board of Directors - but that's another story. So - if you are interested in having a say in what the RHA does - get onto your Regional Council. The councils meet every 2 months and are an important building block in the overall RHA structure.

Area Managers

Area Managers represent the RHA out on the ground. They are the people who visit members and attend meetings on a vast range of subjects on your behalf. Names and contact details for Area Managers are available on the Web site or they can be found on the inside back cover of every edition of the Roadway magazine.

The Area Managers also deliver:

Regional Compliance Services

• Contracts of Employment. The law states that every employee must be given a written set of terms and conditions within 8 weeks of starting work. If you do not do this then you are breaking the law and will find yourself at a severe disadvantage if taken to an Employment Tribunal. For a standard fee, your Area Manager will work with you to produce tailored contracts of employment.
• Systems and Procedures Audit. Arguably, the most important item in your operation is your 'O' licence: lose this and you are out of business! Do you do everything that you should in order to comply with the conditions and undertakings of your 'O' licence? If VOSA arrived today to check your operation, would you pass with flying colours? For a standard fee, your Area Manager will carry out an in-depth audit of your operation and produce a detailed report together with recommendations and solutions covering any areas that need attention.
• Health & Safety Risk Assessments. All operators have a duty of care to their employees to ensure they are safe at work. By law, every operator must carry out a Risk Assessment and have a Health & Safety Policy. Have you done a full risk assessment on your operation? The problem arises when one of your employees is injured - at that stage the Health & Safety Executive will get involved and start asking a lot of questions. With no Health & Safety Policy or Risk Assessment in place, you are in deep trouble. The RHA offers a full package to ensure you are complying with the law.

Help Desks

Each Region has one or more Help Desk Operatives. These are the people to ring when you have a query or a problem. They have a wide range of knowledge and can answer most queries on the spot and even if they can't, they usually know someone who can.

Most of the time this involves giving speedy answers to immediate problems, so that you can get on with running your business. On average, they deal with some 50 queries per day and they range from the easy ones like confirming a member's interpretation of the drivers' hours regulations to the more intricate ones like deciding if a lorry permanently fitted with grandstand seating is subject to the 'O' licensing regulations. Many queries are from owner drivers on their mobile phones who have a problem on the road and it is the Help Desk's task to get them off and running again.

Here are some of the types of query that they get involved with on a daily basis:

• A member has a Yugoslavian artic in his yard with no driver. The Yugoslavian operator says the driver has walked off and can our member put one of his drivers on the lorry to run to Ancona, Italy, drop off the trailer and bring another one back to the UK. This raises all sorts of issues such as the employability of the UK driver, insurance, checking for illegal immigrants, how and where does he buy fuel and, last but not least, will he get paid by the Yugoslavian operator!!
• A member is summonsed for overloading at 40.8 tonnes on a 38 tonne lorry. The consigner stated that the load weighed 22 tonnes when in fact it weighed 25 tonnes. Fortunately, this is covered by LawPlan but the member still needs to supply all the supporting papers for his case. (Afternote - he got an absolute discharge).
• A member thought he could not complete a job without breaking the drivers' hours regulations. After discussing the possibility of taking a split daily rest, we agreed that he could finish the job and stay legal.

Remember - your Help Desk is only on the end of the phone.

Regional Administrative Staff

Behind the scenes, your Regional administrative staff:

• Maintain the membership database and make sure your details are correct.
• Deal with LawPlan claims.
• Organise hauliers' briefings, Sub-Region meetings and a host of other meetings.
• Provide the secretarial back-up.
• Liaise with the RHA's Business Partners.
• Take orders for the Hauliers' Shop and other services.
• Ensure the smooth running of a vast range of services to members.

LawPlan

The RHA's legal protection insurance, LawPlan, is widely used and details can be obtained from your Regional Office. LawPlan is a tremendous service and anyone running trucks ought to have it. There are two particular points that you must remember when arranging your LawPlan policy:

• You must pay the LawPlan premium on time. Late payment means a break in the cover provided and Murphy's Law means that you will be summonsed in that break and not be covered.
• Your premium is based on the number of vehicles you run at the time of payment and you are asked to ensure that you declare the correct number of vehicles. Again, any under-declaration will invalidate the cover provided.

If you pay on time and declare the correct number of vehicles, you will have a most valuable product that will serve you well.

All the services mentioned above are available to every member of the RHA.

Remember, the Road Haulage Association motto...delivering for members

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