Comply with the Working Time Directives
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Working long hours without breaks harms health and risks accidents through tiredness. The European Working Time Directive was enacted in the UK as the Working Time Regulations 1998, and states that: 1. Average working time (including overtime) must not exceed 48 hours a week 2. Night workers must not on average exceed eight hours for each 24-hour period 3. There must be uninterrupted rest periods of 11 hours in each 24-hour period 4. There must be a 20-minute break for employees working six hours a day or more 5. There are uninterrupted 24-hour rest periods in each seven-day period, or 48 hours in each 14-day period 6. All workers are entitled to four weeks paid annual leave (including bank holidays). There will be no qualifying period, with workers accruing holiday from day one Separate rules apply to workers aged between 15 and 18. Can these rules be modified? Yes. You cannot contract out of the regulations as a whole, but certain aspects can be modified via workforce agreements or with a recognised trade union. A workforce agreement is a written agreement between an employer and employees and must be signed by a majority of the staff or by elected employee representatives. To a limited degree, the rules of the working time directive may be modified by individual agreements between employer and employee - for example, through clauses in the employment contract. Individual agreements can opt out of the maximum 48-hour working week (averaged over 17 weeks). Those who refuse to opt out, or later choose to opt out, are still protected against being subjected to detrimental treatment. Certain industries have partial or total exemption from the regulations - for example, the transport sectors. The regulations do not apply to staff where the work and its duration is not measured or pre-determined, or can be decided by the staff themselves. Where there is a need for continuous service, such as hospitals, or where there is a foreseeable surge of activity - such as in tourism - night work provisions, rest and break periods do not apply. Instead, employees must be allowed to take an equivalent period as compensatory rest. Doctors in training are not covered by the regulations. Keeping records An employer must keep up-to-date records for at least two years to show the maximum weekly and night working requirements have been complied with. Working at night The working time directive states that a night worker's average hours must not exceed eight hours within each 24-hour period. They are legally entitled to regular free health checks. If the work is hazardous or strenuous, they must not work more than eight hours in any 24-hour period.
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