Guide to the Working Time Regulations 1998

Summary

Workers' Entitlements

• Maximum average weekly working time: 48 hours over a 17 week period.
• Maximum average night work: 8 hours in each 24 hour period, averaged over 17 weeks.
• Night workers: right to a free health assessment before night work starts and periodically afterwards; transfer to day work if they suffer health problems.
• Daily rest: 11 consecutive hours in each 24 hour period (adolescents: 12 hours)
• Weekly rest: 24 hours in each 7 day period (adolescents: 48 hours)
• Daily rest break at work: minimum of 20 minutes if working day is longer than 6 hours. (Adolescents: 30 minutes if they work more than 4½ hours.)
• Annual paid leave: 3 weeks (rising to 4 weeks in November 1999).
• Protection against dismissal/adverse treatment if workers insist on their rights.

Action Required by Employers

• Agreements with individuals to disapply the weekly working limit.
• Agreements with Trade Unions/employee representatives/individuals to vary the Regulations.
• Review of whether the employer can rely upon any of the derogations.
• Obligation to keep records of working time, breaks and leave for at least 2 years.

Record-Keeping Requirements

All Workers (except those outside the Regulations)

• working time per day (including night working)
• whether they are night workers (if so, whether they are doing hazardous work)
• frequency of health assessments and results

• rest periods/breaks
• holidays
• sick leave
• maternity leave

How?

• Where workers work regular hours, they can be asked to notify you only if they work in excess of their regular hours.
• Otherwise, workers will have to keep full records and disclose them to you.

Workers Who Have Signed Agreements to Disapply the 48 Hour Limit

• A list of all workers who have signed agreements.
• Copies of the agreements.
• A record of their average working time per week since the agreement started.

Duration

• Records must be kept for at least two years.

Compliance Checklist

• Do any workers work in any of the excluded sectors? (Transport, sea fishing, work at sea, doctors in training, activities of the armed forces/police/other civil protection services which conflict with the provisions of the Regulations.) If so, the Regulations do not apply.
• Do any of the Regulation 20 derogations apply? (Managing executives/other persons with autonomous decision-taking powers, family workers and workers officiating at religious ceremonies.) If so, only annual paid leave applies.
• Do any of the Regulation 21 derogations apply? (Covers many categories of work such as security/surveillance activities, where continuity of service or production is required and where there is a foreseeable surge of activity.) If so, only weekly working time and annual paid leave apply.
• Do any workers work more than 48 hours per week? If so, are they willing to do so? In which case, an individual written agreement is necessary.
• Do all workers have at least 11 hours rest per day?
• Do all workers have at least on day off per week?
• Do any workers work at night? If so, health assessments will be necessary before they commence such work and regularly thereafter. Are they subject to any special risks or hazards? If so, an absolute limit of 8 hours work in 24 hours applies.
• Do all workers have more than three weeks' paid holiday per year (pro rata for part-timers)?
• Do you keep records of all workers' working time, breaks and leave?
• Are workforce agreements (which must be in the prescribed form) in place to vary the Regulations?
• Have your contracts of employment been reviewed recently to ascertain what changes need to be made as a result of the new Regulations?

Agreements with Employee Representatives

Working Time

• What constitutes working time at a particular place of work

Night Time

• What is night time? (A seven hour period, including the hours 12 to 5am. Default option: 11pm to 6am.)
• Who is a night worker? (Default option: anyone working at least 3 hours during the period from 11pm to 6am.)
• Does the work involve special hazards?
• 17 week averaging period - is this successive or rolling?

Averaging Period for Weekly Hours

• Agree start date, or continuous rolling period.
• Can substitute period of up to 52 weeks by workforce agreement for objective/technical reasons.

Weekly Rest Period

• Default option: 24 hours in 7 days. Employer can opt for 2 x 24 hours in 14 days or 1 x 48 hours in 14 days.
• Can agree when the period starts. (Default option: midnight on Sunday/Monday.)

Daily Rest Break

• Can agree duration (ie something other than 20 minutes in six plus hours).
• Is the break paid or unpaid?
• Is notice required?

Annual Leave

• Agree date on which leave year will start. (Default option: commencement of the Regulations or when the worker starts work, whichever is the later.)
• Conditions of taking leave.
• Where the worker leaves employment, the sum due if he has not taken all of his leave entitlement.
• If he has taken too much leave, conditions relating to repayment or extra work to be done by the worker.
• Can include a provision stating that leave cannot be taken until it has been accrued.
• Can vary or exclude notice provisions regarding holiday.
• Can state whether the 3 week period includes Bank Holidays.

Can Modify or Exclude:

• the limit on night work
• daily rest
• weekly rest
• daily rest break

Guidelines to Line Managers:

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