Working Time Regulations

Most employers encourage their employees to achieve a sensible work / life balance and the Working Time Regulations set out your obligations in the following areas:

• The Maximum Hours which can be Worked each Week
• Weekly and Daily Rest Periods
• Rest Breaks - during the working day
• Night Working
• Paid Annual Leave / Holiday Entitlements
• Young Workers - under age 18

Each of these areas are quite complex and they all interact with each other to provide a comprehensive range of employee protection or 'benefits'. There are exemptions from some elements of the Regulations, for some employers - please contact us for further advice.

The following gives an overview of each area - please contact us for detailed information.

Holidays
All employees have an entitlement to a minimum of 4.8 weeks' paid holiday, including Bank and Public Holidays, per annum.  This equates to 24 days for a typical full-time employee; entitlement is pro-rata for part-time employees.  This minimum entitlement increases to 5.6 weeks (or 28 days for a typical full-time employee) including Bank and Public Holidays with effect from April 2009.

Most employers will provide at least 4 weeks' holiday plus the Bank & Public Holidays (so, 28 days for a typical full-time employee), but this is your choice and what you offer will probably depend on the size of your organisation, and what your competitors offer.

48-Hour Working Week
Unless individual employees 'opt-out' of the 48 hour limit in the regulations, the adult working week is limited to a maximum of 48 hours in each 7 days, averaged over a 17-week reference period. (See Opting-In or Opting-Out below)

Young Workers (under the age of 18), may not be employed for more than eight hours a day, or for more than 40 hours a week (including overtime hours), and the averaging of hours is not permitted under the regulations. Employees who are under the age of 18 cannot Opt-Out of the Maximum Working Week.

'Opting-Out' is usually chosen by senior employees, workers based from home, or other people who do not have strict regular hours or working patterns. Opting In or Out is a process which will normally be undertaken as part of a new employee's Contract of Employment.

Rest Periods
The 'Rest Periods' part of the regulations sets out the breaks that most workers are entitled to during a working week.

Employers must generally provide workers with a minimum 24 hour Rest Period (48 hours if under age 18) in a 7-day period, and a minimum of 11 hours (12 hours if under age 18) in any 24 hours. Where shift patterns make these arrangements impractical, alternative periods of rest can be provided.

Rest Breaks
The 'Rest Breaks' part of the regulations sets out the breaks that most workers are entitled to during a working day.

Employers must generally provide workers with a minimum of a 20 minute Rest Break (30 minutes if under age 18) where their working hours exceed 6 hours per day.

Night Working
Special regulations apply to people engaged in Night Working. Night Workers are entitled to free initial and follow-up health assessments (or, if under the age of 18, free initial and follow-up health and capacities assessments).

Opting-In or Opting-Out of the Maximum Working Week
The Regulations require that on average (most workers) should not be required to work more than 48 hours each week, unless they agree to do so in writing (they ‘Opt-Out’). You should note that the 48 hours a week is an average number of hours. That average is calculated over a 17-week reference period. In other words, even if they have not agreed in writing to work more than 48 hours per week, there may be some weeks when they do work longer than 48 hours and others when they don’t. This is permitted, provided the average over the 17 weeks does not exceed 48 hours. The 48 hours does not include lunch breaks and meal breaks, holidays or any period of sickness. If the job requires the worker to be ‘on call’, or to travel as part of their role, you should determine whether this time counts as working time.

Related Topics

Absence Management

Contracts of Employment

Employment Documentation

Employee Handbooks

Employment Law