What is working time regulation in the UK?
Before we talk about working time regulation, we must talk about the European Working Time Directive. It is critical to cover this directive as, since the 1st of October 1998, it is enshrined in the United Kingdom law within the Working Time Regulations, which means all employees and employers in the UK need to follow it. The objective of this law is to protect the health and safety of employees. It covers many domains such as holidays, sick pay, night shifts and working hours. Both employers and employees have to follow the UK Working Time Regulations. Employers are legally responsible and must comply with them and employees are entitled to the benefits and the protection that they deliver.
Weekly working hours in the United Kingdom
The Working Time Regulations provide information on the number of hours that employees can work for on a weekly basis. However, there are some exceptions to these rules. We shed some light below on the core rule itself and the exceptions. We also provide guidance on the option to opt out.
The core regulation on weekly working hours in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, workers should not work more than an average of 48 hours a week. This average should be calculated over 17 weeks. As stated in the section above, this law is referred to as “the working time directive” or the “working time regulations”. The rule for employees under 18 years old is slightly stricter and they should not work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.
Exceptions to the rule
There are exceptions to the rule, depending on the type of job. Exceptions apply for:
- jobs where 24-hour staffing is necessary;
- jobs in the armed forces, the police and emergency services;
- the security and surveillance industry;
- domestic servants for private households;
- jobs as a seafarer, sea-fisherman or workers on vessels on inland waterways;
- jobs where working time is not measured and where the individual is in control of their hours, for example, managing executives.
Opting out of the Working Time Regulations
There is also an option to opt out of the Working Time Regulations. Those who wish to do so need to complete an EWTD Opt Out Form. When passing this to their employers, they confirm their willingness to work more than 48 hours per week.
What classifies as working hours and how are they calculated?
The rule in terms of number of weekly hours is clear. However, it is essential to understand what classifies as working hours and what doesn’t. We make this and the calculation of weekly working hours the focus of this section.
Based on the Working Time Regulations, what classifies as working hours?
To be able to calculate the number of hours accurately, it is essential to define what working hours are. They are defined as the hours when the employee is “at the employer’s disposal”. Below are some examples of what working hours include:
- Training that relates to the job
- Travel time as part of the role
- Time working from home
- Working lunches
- Paid overtime
- Unpaid overtime requested by the employer and agreed to by the employee
These are just examples and by no means an exhaustive list.
Based on the Working Time Regulations, what does not count as working hours?
Knowing what counts as working hours is good, but so is having an understanding of what doesn’t. Here are some examples of hours that are not to be counted as working time.
- Breaks that do not consist of a work activity, for example lunch breaks
- Unpaid overtime that is not requested by the employer and therefore that the employee is doing voluntarily
- Commute to and from work
- Time when the employee is “on call”, that is to say on standby and expected to be available to work if and when called to do so
Note that there are different rules for people who have no fixed work location.
How to calculate the average weekly working hours
The weekly working hours calculation is simple: the total number of hours worked over a period of 17 weeks should be divided by 17. This gives an average of weekly hours for that period. This period of 17 weeks may be extended by mutual agreement. There is a maximum extension of 52 weeks.
Keeping a record of working hours
It is crucial to keep a record of hours worked, particularly if an employee has not agreed to work more than 48 hours a week. The records can serve as proof that employers are respecting the legal average weekly limit.
In the event that the employee has opted out and agreed to work more than 48 hours, the employer should keep this agreement on record for a period of two years.
In some cases, an employee may hold more than one job, in which case, the employer should ensure that the total number of hours between all jobs does not exceed the limit.
Working Time Regulations and breaks
When looking into Working Time Regulations, breaks come up and need to be addressed. How are they accounted for? How many breaks are allowed? How long should they be? And how do the Working Time Regulations govern them? We answer all these questions and tell you all you need to know about breaks in the section below.
What the law says about rest breaks
When it comes to breaks, the law states that all employees must have breaks to be able to rest during the working day. When employees work 6 hours per day, they should have a break of a minimum of 20 minutes. Additional breaks or longer breaks can be given at the employer’s discretion. They often contribute to the employee’s wellbeing.
Note that employee wellbeing has a direct corelation with employee engagement. Check our article on how to develop employee engagement and motivation in the workplace for more information.
What about gaps in between shifts?
The working time directive stipulates that rest time between shifts, or between working days, should be a minimum of 11 hours.
Weekly days off and weekly rest
There is no specific law when it comes to how many days off an employee should have. However, there is some guidance on the number of hours away from work. The guidance says:
- employees have the right to a break of 24 hours uninterrupted in a week;
- employees have the right to a break of 48 hours uninterrupted every fortnight.
Work that presents health and safety risks
For health and safety reasons, it is necessary that the employer gives the employee enough breaks. This ensures risks are minimised, especially if the work conducted is monotonous, such as work on production lines.
Compensatory rest times
Employees who are not entitled to rest breaks might be eligible for what is called compensatory rest. These are the same length of time as breaks that have been missed by workers. Below are some examples of when compensatory rest might be applicable:
- Workers whose home location is far from their work, for example oil rig workers
- Employees who have to work in different locations that are not too far from each other
- Employees working in security and surveillance
- Employees working in industries that have peaks of workload, for example retail, tourism or agriculture
- Employees needing to work due to a special event; this mostly applies to prevent the risk of accidents
- Jobs that need round-the-clock workers with no interruption, for example hospitals
- Employees working shifts who cannot take a daily or weekly rest break between shifts
The above list is not exhaustive and there are many more occasions when the compensatory rest time applies.
What about young workers?
Young workers are above school leaving age and under 18 years old. They are entitled to more rest breaks due to their age. As such, they should have a 30-minute rest break every four and a half hours. They should also have a daily rest of 12 hours. To this rule, some exceptions apply, as per below:
- There is no employee over 18 who can deliver the work
- The work must be done immediately and is temporary
Young workers are also entitled to compensatory rest if they are not entitled to daily rest. It should be taken within three weeks of the missed rest.
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Employers should have a clear understanding of the Working Time Regulations in the United Kingdom and ensure they comply to it.
