Self-employed driver model contributes to haulier’s downfall

Nored Transport Ltd, based in West Pinchbeck near Spalding, held a standard international goods vehicle operator’s licence authorising six vehicles and three trailers. Edgar Prokofjevs was both the company’s director and its nominated transport manager.

The company had already appeared before a Traffic Commissioner in 2020 following a DVSA maintenance investigation involving prohibition notices, fixed penalties and unfulfilled undertakings. Its fleet authorisation was temporarily cut from six vehicles to three, while both the company’s and Mr Prokofjevs’s repute were found to be tarnished.

The latest case began after a Nored vehicle was stopped by the DVSA in April 2025. The driver said he was self-employed and invoiced Nored for his services, but neither he nor his company appeared to hold a separate operator’s licence. He was also unable to produce a valid Driver CPC card, although he showed a photograph of a Latvian licence containing code 95 that could not be verified.

Drivers treated as independent contractors

Nored told investigators that its drivers were engaged either as self-employed individuals or through their own limited companies. The company said the arrangement had been developed following professional advice and was intended to meet the criteria for independent contractor status.

According to Nored, drivers could provide substitutes, decline assignments and work for other companies. They supplied items such as their own phones, personal protective equipment and sat-navs, while being responsible for their own tax and National Insurance contributions. None was initially paid through PAYE.

However, the DVSA investigation identified insufficient management control, including inadequate load-security training and disciplinary procedures. The Traffic Commissioner also noted that drivers had been made responsible for arranging their own Driver CPC training.

The ruling does not determine that the drivers had been incorrectly classified for tax purposes. Its central concern was whether Nored retained enough control to meet its responsibilities as the licensed operator. An operator cannot transfer responsibility for drivers’ hours, roadworthiness and other compliance duties simply by describing drivers as independent contractors. Vehicles operated under its licence remain subject to its management and oversight.

Nored later began changing its employment arrangements. One driver moved onto PAYE in October 2025 and another followed in January 2026. Two other drivers chose to leave rather than become employees.

Repeated drivers’ hours offences

The investigation also uncovered a series of drivers’ hours violations between October 2025 and January 2026. One driver exceeded the 4.5-hour driving limit three times, including once by 56 minutes. Another committed five infringements, including exceeding the limit by one hour and six minutes and taking almost two hours less than the required daily rest. A third exceeded his permitted daily driving time by 57 minutes.

The operator had issued letters, warnings and suspensions in response to some of the offences. Nevertheless, regulators found gaps in driving-licence checks and continuing difficulties in exercising control.

Mr Prokofjevs later told the inquiry that some drivers had refused retraining and left the business. Another driver carrying out international work was also dismissed after the operator found it difficult to control his activities.

Vehicle left without inspection for more than 15 weeks

The company’s maintenance records raised further concerns. One vehicle had remained in service for more than 15 weeks since its previous inspection. Records also referred to brake tests without the corresponding printouts needed to verify the results, while several earlier inspections contained no brake-performance test at all.

An inspection in February 2026 recorded cracked air bags, a cracked windscreen and defective spray suppression, but there was no corresponding driver defect report. The company also failed to provide adequate trailer-maintenance records.

Nored was ordered to submit four months of driver-management and vehicle-maintenance documentation by 18 June 2026. Neither the traffic examiner nor the vehicle examiner received the material by the deadline.

A limited collection of records was eventually sent shortly before the public inquiry, but the Commissioner found it insufficient. The financial evidence provided by the company also failed to demonstrate that it met the required level of financial standing for its authorised fleet.

By the time of the hearing, Nored had scaled back its work and only two of its vehicles were not declared off the road. Mr Prokofjevs told the Commissioner that contract margins had not generated enough profit to retain suitable drivers and that the business was finding it increasingly difficult to secure work.

Transport manager avoids disqualification

The Traffic Commissioner concluded that the company’s record keeping fell far below the required standard and that Mr Prokofjevs had not exercised the “effective and continuous management” expected of a transport manager.

Nored’s operator’s licence was consequently revoked with effect from 9 July 2026.

Mr Prokofjevs was not formally disqualified from relying on his transport manager Certificate of Professional Competence. However, his professional repute was found to be “severely tarnished”, meaning any attempt to act as a transport manager or become involved in a future operator’s licence application will require scrutiny by a Traffic Commissioner.