Employers: Know your limits!
The law governing working hours is stated in the Working Time Regulations. These are a health and safety provision aimed at providing workers with adequate rest time so they are able to work in a safe manner.
The regulations address key aspects of rest time:
- Daily rest
- Weekly rest
- Maximum weekly working hours
- Annual leave
Daily rest
There must be at least 11 hours rest between working days. This is key for organisations where there are different shift times and workers may transition from a late shift to an early shift.
Weekly rest
Workers are entitled to at least an uninterrupted 24 hours in a 7 day period or an uninterrupted 48 hours in a 14 day period.
Weekly working hours
European law states the maximum working week should be 48 hours on average over a 17 week period. This includes any work travel time (not commuting time) and on call time in some circumstances. In the UK we have an opt-out for this and workers can waive their right to this maximum. They also have the right to opt back in with a given notice period.
Annual leave
All workers – permanent, fixed term, full time, part time, zero hours and casual have the right to at least 5.6 weeks annual leave. This equates to 28 days for a full time worker, working 5 days per week. Organisations with irregular hours workers should track and calculate leave based on their actual hours worked. Holidays may not be ‘rolled up’ and paid as part of a workers rate of pay but must be actually given as time off – as it is all about rest time.
Time off can be given in line with business needs, so there’s no need to grant leave during peak business times, but an employee should be allowed to take their leave at another time that is more suitable. Holiday planning is essential to ensure all workers can take their statutory entitlement (thus ensuring health and safety of the employee and their colleagues) without impacting business needs.
How much to pay during annual leave has had lots of press attention recently due to some high profile cases – details are here. The key point is that workers must not be disincentivised from taking annual leave by being financially worse off than they would be during their normal working week.
It should be noted that different rules apply to workers under the age of 18 and some other specific roles such as carers. If an employee does not receive such rest time and complains, they are protected from any detrimental treatment as a result. Any work practice deemed a detriment could be regarded as automatically unfair at employment tribunal.
Having stated what the law requires, there is also the big consideration of the psychological contract – the give and take between employer and employee. A considered and reasonable approach to working hours on both sides enables goodwill and a productive, flexible workforce.
