Operator with “Self Employed Drivers” Curtailed by Margin at Traffic Commissioner’s Public Inquiry

This Operator, represented by barrister Harry Bowyer at Public Inquiry, had been using self employed drivers. When he discovered that this was frowned upon he employed the same drivers through an agency. He had been told by his accountant – who ran the agency! – that this was okay. He emailed the Office of the Traffic Commissioner to confirm this and thought that the response said that he could (English not his first language!). The Traffic Commissioner accepted that the operator had acted in good faith and had not used the agency as a cynical “workaround” of the prohibition on self employed drivers but as Transport Manager and Operator he should have known better faster. The operator was curtailed by his margin and undertook to do a 2 day transport manager course and submit an audit 6 months after the Public inquiry