Does Fuelling Count as Working Time?
Yes — fuelling the vehicle is other work in connection with the transport operation, so it's working time. Record it as other work, not a break. Here's why.
Yes — fuelling the vehicle counts as working time. Filling up (or topping up AdBlue) is an activity carried out in connection with the transport operation, so under the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 it's work. On the tachograph it goes down as other work — not a break, not rest, and not driving.
Why fuelling is work
GOV.UK's working time rules for drivers treat "any activities carried out in connection with the transport operation" as work. Fuelling the vehicle you're operating is plainly one of those activities, in the same category as loading, checks and paperwork. So the few minutes on the pumps add to your working-time total — your 48-hour average, your 60-hour week and the total that triggers your working-time break.
It can't double as a break
Here's the practical trap. Because fuelling is work, it can't also be a break. If you pull onto a fuel island during what you meant to be your 45-minute break, the fuelling minutes aren't break time — the period is broken by work, and your driving clock keeps counting. Drivers who "grab fuel while I'm stopped for my break" can accidentally invalidate the break. If you want the stop to count as a break, do the fuelling separately and keep the break itself free of all work.
The two-clock effect
Fuelling counts towards working time but not towards the 4.5 hours of driving that triggers your driving break, and it doesn't reset that clock. So a fuel stop mid-shift adds to your working day and can nudge you towards the working-time ceilings — including the night-work cap if you're fuelling before 04:00 — without changing when your next driving break is due. As with all these activities, the point is to record the right mode: other work, not a break.
What to do
Record fuelling as other work, and keep it out of any period you're relying on as a break. It's a small amount of time, but it's genuine working time, and mislabelling it distorts both your working-time total and your break record. The free drivers' hours calculator lets you enter other work separately from driving and breaks so you can see the effect, and the what counts as drivers' working time explains how other work feeds the working-time limits. For operators, clean activity records across a fleet are part of what our per-vehicle plans are built to keep straight.