KEY POINTS:
The maximum working day for drivers has been cut an hour to 13 hours a day.
New land transport rules which took effect on October 1 have imposed a standard 13-hour maximum working day, replacing the previous rules which allowed driving up to 11 hours a day and a total working day, including office work, of 14 hours.
The new rules require a break of at least 10 hours in any 24-hour period, up from nine hours before.
They also retain a rule requiring drivers to take a break of at least half an hour after five and a half hours' working.
Employment lawyer Peter Cullen says there is no longer any law outside the transport industry that regulates shifts or requires any recognition of the eight-hour day or 40-hour week.
"It used to be there in awards and agreements, and if you didn't get agreement on it you could go to the Arbitration Court and the court would impose it. But that's long gone.
"The health and safety legislation would be triggered if there was an extreme situation. It's not safe if everyone's working 22 out of 24 hours."
A pamphlet on fatigue published by the Labour Department in November says employers are obliged by law to "take all practicable steps to prevent harm from workplace hazards, including fatigue".
It says a recent NZ survey found one out of four drivers reported being tired, and in the US fatigue contributes to between 20 and 40 per cent of all commercial vehicle crashes, killing more than 15,000 people every year.
The pamphlet provides guidelines for companies to develop clear policies on shiftwork and fatigue.
* www.osh.govt.nz/order/catalogue/shiftwork-fatigue2007.shtml
