The working time regulations are designed with health and safety in mind, but this can be a challenge for employers when workers have multiple jobs, says phil allen, partner and employment law specialist at weightmans llp. The working time directive the directive was introduced in 1993 as a health and safety measure as a practical contribution towards creating the social dimension of the internal market. They affect the number of hours an employee can work per week as well as. The directive covers numerous issues relating to working time, these include giving workers the right to. Jun 21, 2006 the working time regulations were introduced in order to implement the ec working time directive which lays down minimum conditions relating to weekly working time, rest entitlements and annual leave, and makes special provision for working hours and health assessments in relation to night workers. Books free updates contact hse freedom of information operational. The working time regulations health and safety executive. Under the organisation of working time act 1997, night time is the period between midnight and 7am on the following day. The protections set out in the regulations include. The professions in yorkshire and humberside with the highest prevalence of night time shifts. The eu drivers hours rules affect workers who operate vehicles which are fitted with a tachograph i. I have read the wtd from cover to cover and even asked the hse through dwp for clarification on the 48 hour rule and night workers. Workers in the eu work an average of 40 hours per week the european commission proposed a set of changes in 2004, followed by the european parliament in 2005.
A limit of eight hours average work in a 24 hour period for night workers. The council of the european union, having regard to the treaty establishing the european community, and in particular article 118a thereof, having regard to the proposal from the commission, in cooperation with the. Case c8494 uk v council working time directive 1996. When the working time regulations were formally introduced in 1998 the uk s employment landscape looked very different. A night worker cannot optout of the night work limit, the night work can be calculated over the 17 week reference period, but can be longer in some circumstances. Night shift workers rights uk working at night regulations. Employers should ensure that the normal hours of their night workers do not exceed an average of eight hours over a 17 week period. Then came council directive 93104ec of 23 november 1993 this is the directive that became the uk, and other european nations, working time regulations of 1998. The legislation which emanates from the eu working time directive gives uk workers the presumption of a maximum 48hour working week, a right to rest breaks at work and paid annual holiday. The average is usually calculated over 17 weeks, but it can be over a longer period of up to 52 weeks if the workers and the employer agree for example, by collective agreement. There might be an argument as to when work finishes and volunteering starts as they are still under the same roof. Young workers may not ordinarily work at night between 10pm and 6am or between 11pm and 7am if their contract of employment provides for work after 10pm.
What rightwingers tell you about the working time directive. The european working time directive came into force in the uk in 1998. Workers who normally work at night including those on regular rotating shifts, but excluding those who only occasionally work nights are protected under the working time regulations 1998 wtr nightwork is defined as at least three hours of work taking place between the hours of 11pm and 6am. These regulations implement council directive 93104ec concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time o. Over a reference period of 17 weeks, workers cannot be required to work more than an average of. Nov 06, 2006 the european commission introduced the working time directive in 1993 to work alongside member states employment laws. These are fundamentals of working life for british employees, though the wtr was initially resisted by the conservatives, and successive governments.
She grew up in maine, where she and her two sisters and brother spent a lot of time outdoors, and where banks developed an early love of reading. You can choose to opt out of the working time directive if youre over 18 and dont work in an industry where tiredness kills airline staff, ship and boat workers, delivery drivers, other transport and travel workers, security guards on vehicles carrying highvalue goods, etc. This oc provides guidance on the working time regulations 1998. But the commission hadnt taken a single one of them to court. Additional rules apply to night workers on top of the rules on maximum weekly working hours and rest breaks. According to the european commission, the working time directive is designed to protect workers health and safety by limiting their working hours to meet minimum standards that are applicable throughout the eu. Prior to its implementation in the uk, nearly a third of parttimers had no right to paid holiday compared to 4% of fulltimers. Working time directive manchester recruitment agency. The regulations were amended, with effect from 1 august 2003, to extend working time measures in full to all nonmobile workers in road, sea, inland waterways and lake transport, to all workers in the railway and offshore sectors, and to all workers in aviation who are not covered by the civil aviation working time. Working time directive working and volunteering in the same. Thank you for your query regarding night workers in yorkshire and the humber. This comprehensively undermines the intent of the directive, amicus says.
The working time directive is also a great example of how britain plays by the rules even when it doesnt like them. The rules on working hours hour and limits, rests, health assessments and terms and conditions. Jun 05, 2006 attempts are under way to tighten up the eu working time directive, which governs the hours employees can be asked to work. Young workers should not normally work at night, although certain exceptions allow for this. Kate banks has written many books for children, among them maxs words, and if the moon could talk, winner of the boston globehorn book award, and the night worker, winner of the charlotte zolotow award. There are special rules for young workers aged 16 and 17. Information on night working is collected on the labour force survey, however we do not regularly produce any outputs using this variable. The working time regulations 1998 apply across the uk. While the traditional mechanisms for ensuring a fair days wage for a fair days work is by collective agreement, since 1962 the uk created minimum statutory. Working time and breaks advice guides royal college of nursing. The organisation strives to provide a safe working environment and ensure the safety and wellbeing of all its workers. A night worker is someone who is classed as working for at least three hours daily during nighttime hours as a normal course. If any of your workers do night work even casual, freelance and agency workers there are special regulations you must comply with. Library books, journals and databases subject guides.
Sep 15, 2009 the working time directive was a europeanwide piece of legislation that was passed in 1993 and came into force more than a decade ago, despite attempts by the then conservative government to. Exceptions apply if workers and employers agree a different period for night time. The working time directive 200388ec is a directive in european union law. It gives eu workers the right to at least 4 weeks in paid holidays each year, rest breaks, and rest of at least 11 hours in any 24 hours. Restricted hours for night work reduced to between midnight and 4 am. It is primarily designed to safeguard workers rights. To this end, the directive specifies inter alia minimum daily and weekly rest periods, a maximum weekly working time of 48 hours, the right to paid annual leave of four weeks, various specific provisions on night work and shift work, as well as an elaborate series of derogations and specific procedural mechanisms for modifying and setting the. Working time in the united kingdom is regulated in uk labour law in respect of holidays, daily breaks, night work and the maximum working day under the working time regulations 1998. The growing dangers of working at night the young foundation.
In 2010, 22 eu states breached at least one of the directives provisions, according to a report by the centre for european reform. Court of justice of the european union press release no 9915. The directive is designed to improve health and safety protection for health and safety for mobile workers and thereby improve road safety. The working time regulations 1998 wtr implement the european working time directive and parts of the young workers directive which relates to the working time of adolescent workers i. It is provided to apse member authorities throughout the uk. Understanding the working time directive 1998 and changing. Rest breaks if night work limits do not apply workers must get compensatory rest instead of a normal working week with breaks during the day. Night workers must not work more than an average of 8 hours in a 24hour period.
Briefing 55 december 20 working time regulations for transport services and mobile workers this briefing provides a summary of the main requirements of the working time directive, particularly in relation to transport services and drivers. Apr 29, 2002 in the uk, employees can volunteer to work more than 48 hours a week, and so can work unlimited hours. Nighttime is defined as between midnight and 4am for goods vehicles and 1am and 5am for passenger vehicles. Keeping your employees in the dark about night work in the. Youtube, youtube channel, video marketing, youtuber, igtv, erika vieira, video, instagram hatecast clint taylor.
Three eu directives provide specific rights to equal treatment for parttime, fixedterm and agency workers compared to fulltime and. Working time should not exceed 10 hours in any 24 hour period if any night work is undertaken. Workers where, on account of the specific characteristics of the activity in which they are engaged, the duration of their working time is not measured or predetermined or can be determined by the workers themselves, are excluded from the limits on weekly and night working hours and the minimum daily and weekly rest periods and rest breaks, but not the holiday provisions. Rotational shift workers account for more than a fifth of the nhs workforce. The regulations define night time as the period between 23. Briefing 55 december 20 working time regulations for. Apr 15, 20 the directive creates statutory rights that millions of workers now take for granted, including a limit to the amount of time an employee can be required to work 48 hours per week on average, including overtime, calculated usually over four months, weekly and daily rest periods, rest breaks and a right to four weeks paid annual leave that.
May 24, 2010 working time directive should go the coalition government has been urged to support the repeal of the working time directive, which aims to limit workers hours, because of its negligible. As a rule, a night worker would be someone who works at least three 3 hours during the night time period on a regular basis. The court considers workers in such a situation to be carrying out their activity or duties over the whole duration of those journeys. Dec 18, 2017 if you want to work over 48 hours a week, you already can. Case c8494 uk v council working time directive 1996 facts a directive limiting working weeks to 48 hours in length was adopted on a health and safety of workers legal basis requiring a special legislative procedure to be followed, where the european parliament could not block it. Nov 21, 2011 the working time directive is a european union directive that provides the right for workers in eu member states to have a minimum number of holidays each year, paid breaks and rest of at least 11. Summary of the law on working time thompsons solicitors.
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