The working time directive 200388ec is a directive in european union law. An employer may only require or permit an employee to perform night work, if so agreed, and if the employee is compensated by the payment of an allowance, which may be a shift allowance, or by a reduction of working hours. The working time regulations 1998 put a limit on the number of hours that workers can work. The necessity of night work time is to be discussed prior to implementation. The working time regulations 1998 are complex health and safety derived rules which underpin how employers can run their organisations. The working time regulations 1998 relate to employees working at least 7 hours and at least 3 hours between midnight and 5am. Working time regulations a managers guide acca global. The law applies to fulltime, parttime, agency and casual workers from the day they begin work. The working time regulations 1998 are the regulations by which the uk puts into place its obligations under the eus working time directive see working time directive the working time regulations are in place to protect workers from excessive hours. The provisions on night work time can be found in the working environment act section 1011. Shift work and working time regulations protect workers health. They give workers rights to work a maximum weekly working time, to minimum daily, weekly and inwork rest breaks, and to receive minimum paid annual holiday entitlement. The working time regulations are complex health and safety derived rules which underpin how employers can run their organisations.
Examination completion of a health questionnaire with a medical consultation before. It is possible to work a 12 hour night shift as long as the average length of a night shift does. Hours, breaks and holiday entitlements guide crunch. The key aim of the regulations is to ensure standards of health and safety in the workplace. The length of the working day has been an issue of contention for unions for hundreds of years, going back as far as the 1830s. The working time regulations 1998 as amended apply to all accommodation providers that have employees. Safety, health and welfare at work night work and shift work regulations. This oc provides guidance on the working time regulations 1998. The working time regulations 1998 outline requirements in respect of hours of work, rest breaks, night working and annual holiday entitlement.
The working time regulations 1998 came into force on 1st october 1998, and subsequently amended by the working time amendment regulations 2007, which came into force on 1st october 2007. Under the working time regulations 1998, employers are required to ensure that workers are fit for night work and must offer a free health assessment to anyone who is about to start working nights and to all night workers on a regular basis. They affect the number of hours an employee can work per week as well as the rest breaks the. This workforce agreement can be used to outline modifications, exclusions and definitions under the working time regulations 1998. 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. This legislation lays down minimum conditions relating to weekly working time.
They give workers rights to work a maximum weekly working time, to minimum daily, weekly and inwork rest breaks and to receive minimum paid annual holiday entitlement. Working time regulations and the 48 hour week working time regulations 1998. Outlining employers legal duties to assess known and associated risks, this guide seeks to improve the understanding of shift work and its potential health and safety impact. Over a reference period of 17 weeks, workers cannot be required to work more than. The working time regulations create a basic set of rights for the time people work, particularly 28 days paid holidays, a right to 20 minute paid breaks for.
Normal hours of work are generally taken to mean a working day with hours left for recreation and rest. Nightwork is defined as at least three hours of work taking place between the hours of 11pm and 6am. In england, the working time regulations 1998 cover all these provisions. Working time, breaks and holidays national union of journalists. The relevant provisions, the working time regulations 1998. The dberr website has useful guidance on the regulations. Not allowed to work more than eight hours for night shifts in any 24hour period.
The provisions in the latter directive which are implemented relate only to adolescents those. The provisions in the latter directive which are implemented relate only to adolescents those aged. In 1998 working time regulations regulations were introduced to regulate the time that employees could spend at work. Night working things to consider the working time regulations 1998 require employers to offer free health assessments for those workers who are required to regularly work at night. In order to be classed as a workforce agreement, the agreement has to meet certain criteria including the duration of the agreement and who signs this on behalf of the workers. Working hours in the uk are governed by the working time regulations 1998. You must take reasonable steps to ensure that employees do not work more than an average of 48 hours a week excluding lunch breaks. Tougher rules apply if your nightwork involves special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain. Night work and annual leave the following are some of the most commonly asked questions about working time in the police service, particularly in relation to night work and annual leave.
The regulations can be varied either by collective, workforce or individual agreements dependent upon the regulation concerned. Guidance for employers and employees on night and shift work. When adopted in november 1993, the working time directive 93104ec excluded the air, rail, road, sea, inland waterway and lake transport, sea fishing. 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. Summary of the law on working time 5 about this booklet this booklet explains the basic rights to which workers are entitled under the working time regulations 1998.
The working time regulations 1998 impose limits on workers hours of work. The working time regulations came into force on 1 october 1998 to implement the european union directive council direction 93104 ec. 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. Shift work, working time regulations and night workers.
Working time and breaks advice guides royal college of nursing. Working time regulations 1998 amended 2007 legislation. Workers cannot lawfully be required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week. They affect the number of hours an employee can work per week as well as the rest breaks the employee is entitled to including breaks between shifts, annual leave and days off. This policy covers regulations arising from the working time directive of the european union, introduced as a health and safety measure which came into force in the uk on 1 october 1998. Workers cannot be required to work more than 48 hours per working. Taking account of the grey book, sixth edition 2004, section 4, part a, hours of duty and. Not surprisingly, health workers are the focus of this guidance although useful for any employer. It is a law made to implement a directive made by the european union and applies to employment law in the uk. Working time regulations 1998 time employees spend at work. This summary does not attempt to cover all of the provisions of the regulations in detail but outlines the most important provisions. 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.
Time spent oncall elsewhere while you are actually working. Working time regulations slater and gordon lawyers uk. Working time regulations 1998 st richards hospital. The working time regulations 1998, are a health and safety at work measure implementing. The working time regulations 1998 implement the european working time directive into gb law. They also allow for paid annual leave and include employees rights to rest breaks and uninterrupted periods of rest. Health assessment and transfer of night workers to day work. The working time regulations limits the hours that workers can work each week. However, a worker may agree to opt out of this weekly working time limit and work more than an average of 48 hours a week as long as he or she does so voluntarily and in writing. 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 rights for every individual. The working time regulations 1998 apply across the uk.
Rest is a night time activity, work a daytime activity. I, tom kitt, minister for labour, trade and consumer affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 7 3 and 12 3 of the organisation of working time act, 1997 no. In this section, night work means work performed after 18. Employees are entitled to time off work in a variety of situations. The above regulations provide that an employer may not request or permit an employee to work more than 48 hours on average per week, unless the employee has previously agreed in writing that. The provisions in the latter directive which are implemented relate only to. See our article for more information about sleepingtime and night working under the working time regulations. For this purpose, regular means for at least one third of the annual working time. Hours and leave introduction this guide sets out the minimum requirements that working hours and leave arrangements must comply with to meet the working time regulations, along with the bargaining issues for ensuring compliance and seeking improvements, before going on to consider the norms that provide useful benchmarks for negotiations. Working time regulations 1998 hours, opt out, rest. The working time regulations 1998 and the working time amendment regulations 2007 came into force on 1 october 1998 and 1 october 2007 respectively, and implement the provisions of the ec working time directive 93104ec.
This section lists your obligations and outlines which workers are protected. Guidance launched late 2012 on shift work by the royal college of nursing describes how it can negatively affects the overall health of workers. Library books, journals and databases subject guides. Holiday and holiday pay working time employment law. The working time directive regulations require employers to identify those employees who work long hours or shift patterns. Working time regulations advice guide for employers. They set the maximum weekly working time, patterns of work and holidays, plus the daily and weekly rest periods.
The working time regulations 1998 implement the european. Night workers who deal with special hazards or whose work involves mental or physical strain cannot work longer than 8 hours in any 24hour period. Constructive guidance for employers, safety representatives, trade union officials, employees, regulators and any relevant organisational stakeholders. In contrast, in ireland the organisation of working time act, 1997 stipulates maximum hours of work, minimum breaks and days off while the original safety, health and welfare at work night work and shift.
The working time regulations came into force on the 1st october 1998. Working time regulations according to the norwegian labour act. Working time and breaks advice guides royal college of. The working time regulations 1999 the 1999 regulations came into force on 17 december 1999 and extend to great britain only.
Guidance on working time and working time regulations. Under these regulations, a night worker is someone whose daily working time includes at least three hours of night time i. The working time regulations 1998 introduced a new statutory framework, which would in future influence the contractual relationship. The working time regulations 1998 the working time regulations will come into force on 1 october 1998 and will be mirrored by separate regulations in northern ireland. Browse and purchase our range of textbooks, toolkits and ebooks. Health effects of shift work and extended hours of work. Summary of the law on working time thompsons solicitors. For length of night work, the standard reference is 26 weeks. A different proportion of annual working time can be specified within a collective agreement. They revise the working time regulations 1998 the 1998 regulations which came into force on 1 october 1998 in two important areas unmeasured working time and recordkeeping requirements. The working time regulations 1998 limit working hours to an average of 48 per week and require you to give workers minimum rest breaks and rest periods. Shift and night worker medicals heathrow medical services uk.
Time spent oncall at the workplace including time sleeping when youre either working or asleep while oncall at the workplace, where sleeping is allowed. Working hours placed between 9 pm and 6 am is defined as night work time, and is prohibited unless the nature of the work makes it necessary to conduct work between these hours. These regulations implement council directive 93104ec concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time o. 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. Night worker assessment occupational health services.
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