Configuring labor law compliance

Timefold’s Field Service Routing model provides a rich set of features that can be combined to express a wide variety of labor law and transportation rules for driving time, rest periods, and overtime.

This guide explains how to use these features to configure routing plans that adhere to common labor law patterns, without Timefold itself prescribing or enforcing any specific jurisdiction’s legal requirements.

This guide is for informational purposes only. Labor laws vary by country, state, and even locality. Timefold does not provide legal advice or guarantee compliance. You are responsible for verifying that your configuration and optimization results meet applicable regulations.

1. Common legal compliance patterns

Although transport laws differ by jurisdiction, most frameworks share a set of recurring concepts.

Legal concept Example regulation Configuration recommendation

Daily driving limit

9 hours (extendable to 10 hours twice per week)

Control the daily driving limit by not extending the vehicle shift beyond the maximum.

Overtime

Limit additional hours beyond regular shift length

See Shift hours and overtime.

Break requirements

30-minute break after 8 hours driving

See Defining breaks.

Weekly driving limit

56 hours driving per week

See Compliance across vehicle shifts.

Bi-weekly driving limit (rolling window)

90 hours driving in any 14-day period

See Compliance across vehicle shifts.

Daily rest requirement

Minimum 11 hours rest per 24-hour period

See Compliance across vehicle shifts.

Weekly rest requirement

Minimum 45 consecutive hours rest per 7-day period

See Compliance across vehicle shifts.

Maximum duty time

14-hour duty window including on-duty tasks

See Compliance across vehicle shifts.

Maximum continuous driving time

4.5 hours driving must be include a 45-minute required break

See Maximum travel time per vehicle shift.

2. Modeling concepts

2.1. Maximum travel time per vehicle shift

You can limit the total travel time allowed within a single vehicle shift using the maxTravelTime on a shift.

This includes:

  • Travel time from the starting point (e.g. depot) to the first visit

  • Travel time between visits

  • Travel time to and from break locations

  • Travel time returning to the endpoint

If you set this limit and a visit requires a longer travel time, the visit will be left unassigned. Visits could then be assigned manually.

If your use case requires auto-inserting breaks, please contact Timefold.

See Route optimization for more details.

2.2. Defining breaks

The Field Service Routing model includes built-in functionality to define breaks and help you comply with rest and meal-break regulations.

  • Floating breaks: Require a minimum break time and a time window in which it needs to happen.

  • Fixed breaks: Specify breaks that must happen at specific times and/or locations.

See Lunch breaks and personal appointments for more details.

2.3. Shift hours and overtime

The model supports explicit shift and overtime limits for each vehicle shift. This allows you to define normal shift durations and model overtime.

The model does not automatically enforce cumulative overtime limits across multiple shifts, weeks, or months.

If labor laws restrict total overtime, manage this via:

See Shift hours and overtime for more details.

3. Compliance across vehicle shifts

The Field Service Routing model fills the given technician shifts with the visits that need to be completed. During optimization, the model determines which visits are assigned to each shift and in what route sequence, while ensuring compliance with travel-time and break constraints within each shift.

The model does not control compliance across multiple vehicle shifts. You can maintain compliance through long-term tracking and input management:

  • Keep cumulative records of hours worked, driving time, and rest taken externally (HR, fleet, or telematics systems).

  • Adjust vehicle shift and driving limits before each planning run.

The Field Service Routing output includes useful metrics per vehicle shift:

  • totalTravelTime: total driving time

  • overtime: hours worked that exceed standard shift length

4. Relationship with Employee Shift Scheduling

The Field Service Routing model does not decide who works which shifts. That responsibility belongs to the Employee Shift Scheduling model. For more details, see Configuring labor law compliance in Employee Shift Scheduling.

Together they form a complete workforce planning solution:

  • Employee Shift Scheduling defines legal and balanced working hours per employee.

  • Field Service Routing ensures each vehicle shift complies with travel and break requirements.

5. Regional differences

5.1. Typical European Union transportation rules

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 defines common EU rules for driving and rest times.

Rule Limit

Maximum continuous driving before break

4.5 hours, then at least 45 minutes break (may be split 15 + 30)

Daily driving limit

9 hours (10 hours allowed on at most two days per week)

Weekly driving limit

56 hours

Driving limit in any 2 consecutive weeks

90 hours (rolling 14-day window)

Daily rest (standard)

At least 11 hours in each 24-hour period (with reductions/derogations)

Weekly rest (standard)

At least 45 consecutive hours per 7-day period

5.2. Typical United States transportation rules

In the United States, the FMCSA Hours of Service Rules sets a maximum amount of time drivers are permitted to be on duty including driving time, and specifies number and length of rest periods, to help ensure that drivers stay awake and alert.

Rule Limit

Maximum driving time

11 hours driving after 10 consecutive off-duty hours

Duty window

14 consecutive hours on duty (cannot be extended by breaks)

Mandatory break

30-minute break after 8 cumulative driving hours (non-driving time qualifies)

Weekly on-duty limit

60 hours in 7 days (or 70 in 8 days) depending on carrier schedule

Sleeper-berth/off-duty provisions

Split options; see FMCSA regulations.

6. Limitations and best practices

  • Do not rely on defaults for compliance. Always verify your setup.

  • Keep cumulative working and driving time records externally.

  • Test changes using small datasets before deploying across all locations.

  • Keep documentation of your configurations for audit or compliance purposes. Use our platform’s categorization features to keep track.

  • Review regularly. Labor laws and collective agreements evolve.

  • Combine Field Service Routing with Employee Shift Scheduling to define compliant shifts and total working-time limits.