All in good time
June 1st 2008

Managing employees working hours can play a significant role in maintaining a healthy and safe workforce. The Working Time Regulations provide a comprehensive scheme of limits for all workers, and knowing your legal limits and adhering to the regulations' requirements can facilitate productivity. Gillian Dowling, employment consultant at Croner offers some advice on working within these regulations

Working time is defined as any period during which the worker is working at their employer's disposal and carrying out activities or duties and any period where they are receiving relevant training. The regulations apply to all workers whether or not they are referred to as 'employees'.

Weekly working time limit

The working time limit for adult workers is an average of 48 hours per week calculated over a reference period of 17 weeks. However, this may be extended to 52 weeks for objective, technical or organisational reasons. For certain categories of workers, such as hospital workers, security guards and workers who have multiple bases, this may be extended to 26 weeks.

Young workers (aged 15-17 inclusive who have reached compulsory school leaving age) must not work more than 40 hours per week and eight hours per day.

For some workers their regular workday is in fact at night, generally regarded as the period between 11pm and 6am. Working time for a night worker is limited to an average of eight hours in each 24 hour day. Since non-working days are taken into account when calculating the average, the limits for night workers are no more restrictive to employers than those described above. There is however no provision for night workers to opt out of working time, and where special hazards or physical and mental strain are involved, each shift should strictly be no longer than eight hours. Employers must also provide regular free health assessments to all night workers, and health and capacities assessments to workers under 18. Additionally, young workers are not allowed to work between 10pm and 6am, unless it is specified in the contract to work after 10pm, in which case the period is 11pm and 7am.

Take a break

The benefits to safety and productivity of taking a break are well documented and entitlements are provided for within the Working Time Regulations: Adult workers (aged 18 and above) are entitled to a daily rest period of not less than 11 consecutive hours in each 24 hour period, whilst young workers are entitled to a 12 hour rest period.

Employers must also offer a weekly rest period of 24 hours in each seven day week, or 48 hours in each 14 day period. Young workers are entitled to a rest period of two consecutive days in each seven day week. When an adult's daily working time is more than six hours, employees are entitled to a rest break, which may be fixed by a relevant agreement. If no agreement is in place, the break must last a full uninterrupted 20 minutes.

Extent and enforcement of obligations

Employers have a duty to keep records, and the enforcement of this and of the limits imposed by the regulations and special protection lies with health and safety enforcement bodies, including the Health & Safety

Executive and local authorities.

Failure to comply can ultimately lead to criminal sanctions through complaint to an employment tribunal. Workers who are victimised or who suffer detriment for asserting their rights under the regulations can also seek redress.

Avoid legal action and benefit your business Employers should assess their employees' current working hours, and if it appears that a worker is working or is likely to be working in excess of the limits, businesses should consider the following to maintain a happy and productive workforce:

• Putting in place a relevant agreement to fix or extend the reference period to ensure the average limit is not exceeded.
• Reaching opt out agreements with the employees concerned.
• Changing the working patterns or employ more people to cover the hours required.

Ensuring that employees receive a health or capabilities assessment where required will help employers to maintain a healthy workforce, ultimately resulting in increased productivity for the business. Similarly, employers who provide adequate breaks for members of staff will ensure that their workforce is kept happy, well rested and able to complete their duties safely.

Croner recommends that employers who believe that they are affected by any of the Working Time Regulations should seek more detailed advice before being too hasty and taking immediate remedial action. There could be a relevant statutory exclusion or practical method of overcoming the problem than first seems apparent. This will prevent any unnecessary costly action being taken that will require additional rectification later on.

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