The Conservative government voted against it, the only member state to do so, and launched an, ultimately unsuccessful, challenge before the European Court of Justice. The passing of the first directive in 1993 was hugely controversial in British politics at the time. Can be vulnerable to abuse by unscrupulous employees.Īre changes to the Working Time Regulations likely?.They impose an administrative and cost burden on employers.The main criticisms against the Working Time Regulations are that: Criticisms of the Working Time Regulations
If you have contractors working for you it is highly likely that they have the rights set out in the Working Time Regulations. The regulations are clear that they apply to all persons who work for your business and not just formal employees. However, if the worker is of the type that does not, typically, have a habitual place of work and travel is part of their duties eg a travelling salesperson then the time spent travelling may be included in the working time calculation. It does not include the time spent by each worker travelling to or from their normal place of work. Working time is defined as the period when the worker is actually working, at the employer’s disposal and carrying out their duties. Young workers are permitted to work a maximum of 40 hours per week and cannot opt out of this requirement. The 48-hour week does not apply to “young workers” who are defined as being: There is no maximum threshold set in the regulations which means that the fine could, potentially, be unlimited. In addition to a potential claim before an Employment Tribunal failing to keep proper records is a criminal offence which is punishable by a fine. Opt-out agreements are voluntary and a worker may be able to bring a claim before the Employment Tribunal if they suffer a work detriment or are dismissed from their employment as a result of their refusal to agree to opt-out of the 48-hour working time restriction. A night worker is defined as a person who works three hours or more between the hours of 11pm and 6am Įmployers are obliged to keep detailed records of the hours worked and to retain copies of any opt-out agreements. Specific protection of night workers – their hours are not to exceed more than eight hours.Rest periods – the regulations guarantee a minimum period of 20 minutes break for every six hours worked.The calculation of these days may include public holidays Paid Holidays – this provides the right to workers to 28 days paid holiday per year.The working time aspect of EU directive 2003 is the only regulation where parties can waive their rights There is a possibility to opt out of this clause but it must be done in writing. This calculated by taking the average of hours worked over a 17 week period. Weekly working time – this sets a default rule that workers may not work more than 48 hours per week.The regulations cover a wide range and are designed to confer on workers a set of basic rights which will operate as minimum standards regardless of the terms of an individual contract or a collective agreement negotiated through a trade union. What rights do the Working Time Regulations, 1998 give to workers? In this article, we will look at the directives relating to working time and impact Brexit may have on UK employment law. The UK strongly opposes any attempt to tell people that they can no longer work the hours they want." It has been brought forward as such simply to allow majority voting – a ploy to smuggle through part of the Social Chapter by the back door. David Hunt, then-Secretary of Employment, declared at the time " It is a flagrant abuse of Community rules. The first EU directive on working time was passed in 1993 against the strenuous objections of the UK. The basic principle in operation was that member states could not “go below” the rights guaranteed in the Directive. The Working Time Regulations, 1998 implements EU Directive 2003/88/EC. The way the system used to work is that the EU would pass laws (directives) and the UK parliament would then pass its own laws to implement them. EU employment law, through a variety of directives, sets out minimum requirements for workers’ rights which must be adhered to by member states. One of the key issues in the long and complex Brexit negotiation process has been that of workers’ rights.
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