The Working Time Regulations 1998
On October 1st 1998 people at work in Britain get important new protection against working excessive hours. These flow from two EU Directives - the Working Time Directive agreed in 1993 and the Young Worker Directive agreed in 1994.
Workers in Britain have had to wait six years for these measures because the previous Conservative Government refused to accept that the Working Time directive applied in Britain. The EU introduced it as a health and safety measure subject to qualified majority voting. The Conservatives disagreed, saying it should be subject to unaminous agreement as social legislation, but lost their European Court challenge in November 1996.
The new Government has always supported the Working Time Directive and following consultation have implemented both Directives through these new regulations which come into force on October 1st . One of the first acts of the new Secretary of State was to reject employer pressure to defer implementation until next year.
There are seven new rights in the Working Time directive and three extra for those under 18 in the Young Workers' Directive.
the right to a break where the working day is longer than 6 hours
a guaranteed rest period of 11 hours every working day
a guaranteed rest period of 24 hours once in every seven days
a ceiling of 48 hours on the maximum average working week
a ceiling on night work of an average of 8 hours in every 24
a free health assessment for night workers with a possibility of transfer to day work where available if health is being damaged.
three weeks paid leave a year rising to four weeks in November 1999
and for under 18s
a rest period of 12 consecutive hours each working day
a rest break of 30 minutes when the working day is more than 4.5 hours
prohibition on working between the hours of 10pm and 6am (with some exceptions).
The regulations are extremely complex, and some employees are excluded. Mostly this is due to employer demands for 'flexibility', so their complaints of difficulty ring a little hollow. This briefing gives an overview of how the regulations will work, but should not be used as a guide to how any individual employee or employer may be affected. Proper advice should always be sought.
Britain is the long hours centre of Europe, and it's been getting worse. 2.5 million people get no paid holiday. 4 million work more than 48 hours a week (compared to 2.7 million in 1984.) A quarter of all fathers work more than 50 hours a week and one in eleven more than 60 hours.
The Conservative government successfully argued that many groups should be excluded, although a 1997 EU White Paper has proposed extending protection to everyone at work.
The following are totally excluded:
transport workers (although drivers hours are already regulated and airport workers are covered.) There are good prospects of progress on this issue in 1999.
junior doctors
armed forces, the police and civil protection services where their duties 'inevitably conflict with the regulations'. In the TUC's view the wording of this means that most emergency service employees are covered.
Some groups are partially covered such as domestic staff, and those such as managers whose working time is not predetermined.
There is considerable scope for flexibility - and some for abuse - in the regulations. Where unions are recognised a collective agreement between employer and unions can be used to adjust the regulations. Where there is no union there is a new provision in UK law of a 'workforce agreement'. This allows the employer to trigger elections on constituencies decided by the employer with the ballot conducted by the employer. Any agreement reached can then last for five years.
In small firms employing 20 or fewer there will be no need for elections. Instead the employer must obtain the written consent of a majority of staff.
From October 1st every worker will be entitled to three weeks paid holiday and this will rise to four weeks from November 23 1999 (pro-rata for part timers).
But a worker must be continually employed for 13 weeks by their employer before they are entitled to any leave. Public holidays can also count towards leave entitlement.
Over 18s are entitled to 11 hours consecutive rest every working day and under 18s 12 hours (though this can be split in certain circumstances).
Every week over 18s are entitled to either:
a 24 hour rest period in each seven day period
two 24 hour rest period in each 14 day period
a 48 hour rest period in each 14 day rest period
while the under 18s are entitled to a 48 hour rest period in each 7 day period.
The provisions for shift workers are more complex and some groups of workers such as caretakers, security guards and those involved in jobs where there is a need for continuity of service or production (such as hospitals, agriculture and the media). These rights can be suspended in the wake of accidents and emergencies.
Over 18s are entitled to a minimum 20 minute rest break away from their workstation if they work longer than 6 hours in a day. For under 18s there is a 30 minute break for a working day of more than four and a half hours.
There are exemptions similar to daily and weekly rest break provisions.
Normal hours of night work must not exceed an average of 8 hours in every 24. The regulations set out in detail definitions of night time, night worker and how the average is calculated. Workers involved in heavy physical or mental strain may not work more than 8 hours any night, but some groups, again similar to those exempt from the rest break provisions are not covered. Other exemptions may be agreed between employers and the workforce. Night workers are also entitled to free health assessments.
While the principle is clear - a worker's working time including overtime cannot exceed an average of 48 hours for each 7 day period - in practice this is an exceedingly complex provision, and can be varied by agreement in various ways.
The complications are caused by:
how the average is calculated - in general this is over a 17 week period but it is extended to 26 in some occupations such as seasonal work like agriculture and tourism and the occupations exempt from rest break provision. It can also be varied by agreement.
how rest days are treated.
The area most open to abuse and of great concern to the TUC is the provision for an individual opt-out. This allows an individual employee to sign an agreement saying that they do not wish to protected in this way. We are concerned that unscrupulous employers will put improper pressure on staff to sign. This opt out however will be reviewed in 2003, and the European Commission propose to end the opt out then.
Individual employees do receive protection from dismissal or detriment if they refuse to opt out or withdraw their opt-out.
However the Regulations do not protect workers from discrimination during recruitment. There is nothing to stop employers refusing jobs to those who will not sign an individual opt-out.
Again we stress that this briefing does not reflect all the complexities and opt outs in the Regulations. Some definitions may well need to be tested in the courts before it is entirely clear what they mean.
Deputy General Secretary John Keggie examines the far reaching implications of the Working Time Directive
The European Working Time Directive which became law at the beginning of October 1998 will have a particular effect within the postal industry. The aim of the union’s detailed discussions with the businesses of the Post Office is to advance a range of union objectives including :-
Shorter working hours -significantly less than the present basic week
Real improvements in basic hourly rates
Removing the necessity for our members to work long hours for low pay
Job security - not just two-year commitments but a long-term commitment so all our members in all sectors can look to the future with confidence and with stability for earnings and hours.
To achieve these aims we must be prepared to make some radical changes in the way we approach our working hours and conditions, and the way we do the job presently. For far too long we have sustained and argued a defensive position on the status quo while all around us has been changing. This is why it is now crucial that we link the time and the regulations aspects of the Working Directive to annual conference policy on shorter working hours.
As an interim position the union has achieved a joint statement with Royal Mail and the CMA, and over the next 10 weeks we will deal with the detail in relation to how the Directive will impact on the various operational duties that we perform at present. The union’s involvement in that dialogue is crucial so we don’t end up with a huge number of individual opt-outs combined with no direction and no policy.
So, although it may seem strange that we have been involved in collective understanding on the opt-out, the message must be quite clear to the CWU membership throughout the whole of the industry : this union doesn’t stand for long hours or for long-term opt-outs.
We are at present involved in detailed negotiations with each business on how we wish to gradually move to a more family-friendly system of hours and attendance patterns; this will need a phased approach so, as we move to shorter hours, we also increase earnings to improve and protect our living standards. It will not happen overnight but it must happen within a realistic timescale. The directive can assist in moving forward to our agenda.
The health assessment for night workers is an important aspect of the directive and its implications. We’ve been involved in discussions with the various businesses to make sure that all employees have the opportunity of free health assessment. This should not be seen in any way as ‘threat centred’. The information will be treated on a strictly confidential basis. It is really vital that individuals take up the option of the available health checks.
Workers’ health is affected by excessive and unnatural working hours, particularly where this involves going against the ‘circadian rhythm’ of the natural 24-hour body clock. Evidence suggests that constantly changing shift patterns are especially damaging to health because the body clock never gets a chance to adjust.
A study by the Health and Safety Executive showed that shift workers are more likely to die younger than day workers, and also to have a 40 per cent increased risk of heart disease. Shift workers also suffer disproportionately from stomach disorders like indigestion and ulcers. It is now time for us at all levels to channel our energies into achieving our agenda which up until now has remained out of reach, and no more than an aspiration and a pipe dream in many, many minds.
As deputy general secretary responsible for the postal section of the union I now intend to set my agenda quite clearly before the membership and have the full involvement of activists at all levels of the union. That agenda will be quite different from that of the past. We owe it to our members to seriously consider the options and the direction that we must take for the future.
A joint statement on the working time regulations has been agreed between the CWU, CMA and Royal Mail. Negotiations are taking place with the other Businesses. CWU helplines have been set up to assist branches with enquiries, staffed by NEC members George Robertson and Martin Collins
http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/work_time_regs/index.htm
FOR MORE INFO ON WTD CLICK ON LINK ABOVE TO DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY RESOURCES ON LEGISLATION.
