View the "Working Time Regulations 1998" 32kb 32kb

Summary of the Main Provisions

• A limit on the average weekly working time to 48 hours (although individuals can choose to work longer)
• A limit on night worker 's average normal daily working time to 8 hours
• A requirement to offer health assessments to night workers
• Minimum daily and weekly rest periods
• Rest breaks at work
• Paid annual leave

Application

The regulations apply to employees and trainees on work experience but not to the self-employed.

Adolescent workers have some rights which are different to adult workers, relating to health assessments for night work; minimum daily and weekly rest periods and rest breaks. An adolescent worker is a worker who is above the minimum school leaving age but under 18.

Enforcement

The following are enforced either by the local authority or the Health and Safety Executive

• Weekly working time limit
• Night work limit
• Health assessments for night workers
• The following are enforced either by Employment tribunals.
• Daily rest for adult workers
• Weekly rest for adult workers
• Daily rest for adolescents
• Weekly rest for adolescents
• In work breaks for workers
• In work breaks for adolescents
• Paid annual leave

Excluded Sectors

Other than the provisions relating solely to adolescent workers, the regs do NOT apply to employees in the following sectors: -

• Air transport
• Rail
• Road transport
• Sea transport
• Inland waterway and lake transport
• Sea fishing
• Other work at sea (essentially offshore work in the oil and gas industries)

Weekly Working Time Limit

An employer must take 'All reasonable steps to ensure that workers do not work more than an average of 48 hours/week over 17 weeks.

Reference period can be extended to 26 weeks where: -

• place of work and residence are distant
• security and surveillance
• continuity of service required, includes hospitals, residential institutions, prisons, docks, airports, press, radio, tv, film production, postal and telecommunications, civil protection; gas, water and electricity provision, transmission and distribution; refuse collection and incineration; industries where work cannot be interrupted; research and development and agriculture.
• foreseeable surge of activity
• Unforeseeable circumstances

Exclusions: - workers who have control over the hours they work and whose time is not measured by their employers e.g. managing executives, vicars, family workers etc

Agreements: - an individual worker can agree to work longer than the 48 hour average week - must be in writing - employer must keep records and make available to inspectors - notice of end of agreements must be specified (up to 3 months) or 7 days will apply.

Night Work

Limit - normal hours should not exceed average of 8 hours for each 24 hours over 17 weeks. This limit DOES NOT APPLY where: - (See a. to e. above)

Exclusions: - workers who have control over the hours they work and whose time is not measured by their employers e.g. managing executives, vicars, family workers etc.

Agreements: - the night work limits may be modified or excluded by individual or workforce agreements.

Compensatory Rest: - applies where the limit does not apply or is modified - an equivalent period of rest should be given. The regs allow for exceptional circumstances where compensatory rest is not possible.

Health Assessments for night workers

Employers must offer free health assessments to night workers. This can be in the form of a simple health questionnaire compiled with help from 'a suitably qualified health care practitioner'.

Medical conditions, which may be made worse by night work, include: -

Diabetes; certain heart and circulatory disorders, stomach or intestinal disorders e.g. ulcers; sleep disorders; some chronic chest disorders; conditions requiring regular medication.

Adolescents are entitled to health and capacities assessments - physique, maturity and experience are taken into account.

The following provisions are 'enforced' by Industrial Tribunal.

Rest Periods

Entitlement - 11 hours consecutive rest between each working day and 24 hours consecutive rest in each 7 day period. The latter can be extended over 2 weeks i.e. 48 hours every 2 weeks.

This entitlement does not apply to adult workers as in a. to e. above, or to shiftworkers changing shifts. The entitlement to rest may also be modified or excluded by a collective or workforce agreement.

Where the entitlement does not apply in any of the cases, workers are entitled to either equivalent periods of compensatory rest or other appropriate protection, however, the latter is in exceptional circumstances and is not something that could be used on a routine basis.

Adolescent workers are entitled to 12 hours consecutive rest in each 24 hours (except where periods of work are split up over the day or are of short duration). An adolescent's entitlement may be modified or excluded in: -

• unforeseeable circumstances;
• temporary circumstances;
• no adult worker available to do the adolescent's work

Compensatory rest must be given in the following 3 weeks.

In Work Rest Breaks

Entitlement - an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes when daily working time is over 6 hours. It should be a break in working time (not at start or end of work time) and should not overlap with worker's daily rest period. The regs do not comment on whether the break should be paid or not.

Entitlement does not apply as in a. to e. above but the worker must be given compensatory rest or other appropriate protection (as before). Adolescents are allowed 30 minutes break where daily working time is more than 4.5 hours.

Exemptions and compensatory rest as in rest periods, above.

Paid Annual Leave - adults and adolescent workers.

Entitlement - 3 weeks paid leave rising to 4 weeks after 23 November 1999.

Worker must have been continuously employed for 13 weeks. Entitlement relates to a leave year, start date to be by agreement between employer and workers. A weeks leave is the equivalent to the time a worker would work in a week. Where a worker works irregular hours, he is entitled to be away from the place of work for a week.

Public Holidays - there is no statutory entitlement to bank and public holidays.

Where a worker is paid for these days they count towards the annual leave entitlement.

Notice - an employer can tell a worker when to take leave but must give notice of twice the leave period i.e. 2 weeks notice for one week's leave. A worker should similarly give twice the leave period in notice when asking for leave but the employer has the right to refuse it.

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