On 22 September, the European Commission adopted a proposal to update key aspects of the working time directive. The directive was applied in the UK by the Working Time Regulations 1998 and became law in October 1998. The Commission describes the proposals as "a balanced package of inter-related measures which retains the principal objective - health & safety of workers - while responding to the needs of the modern European economy.

The proposals have been made after a two-stage consultation process which culminated in the European level representatives of employers and workers indicating that they were unable to enter into negotiations on this issue. The proposals will now be sent to the Council & Parliament for agreement.

The inability of the "representatives of employers and workers" to agree a common position on the working week are typified by subsequent announcements from the CBI and the TUC.

The CBI said that "Britain's business community would fight 'tooth and nail' against proposed EU restrictions on working hours" and that "the proposals show a clear misunderstanding of the UK's industrial relations culture, which serves this country well."

The TUC said that "this is a disappointing decision that will satisfy no-one. These limited reforms show that the Commission has failed to grasp the scale of the UK's long hours culture and the damage it is doing to our workforce and economy."

The proposals affect four areas of the Working Time Regulation, namely:

• time spent "on call" but on the working premises
  
  
• the length of the "reference" or averaging period for determining compliance
  
  
• time within which compensatory rest must be taken
  
  
• the opt-out from the maximum weekly working time.

The proposals are to amend the Working Time Directive as follows.

Time spent "on call" but on the working premises

• the introduction of two new definitions, namely
  
  
  • "on-call time", the period during which the worker has the obligation to be available at the workplace in order to intervene, at the employer's request, to carry out his activity or duties, and
    
    
  • "inactive part of on-call time", the period during which the worker is on call (as above) but not required by his employer to carry out his activity or duties.
    
    

• the inactive part of on-call time would not be treated as working time unless otherwise stipulated by national law or, by collective agreement
  
  
• the periods during which the worker carries out his activities or duties must be regarded entirely as working time.

The length of reference periods

• the standard reference period would remain 4 months (17 weeks in the UK Regulations), but this could be extended, for objective or technical reasons, or reasons concerning the organisation of work, to a period of up to a maximum of 12 months, subject to compliance with the general principles relating to the protection of the safety and health of workers and to the consultation of concerned social partners
  
  
• where a worker's contract is for a period of less than one year, the reference period may not be longer than the period of the contract
  
  
• the derogation allowing the reference period to be 6 months in certain circumstances would be removed.

Time within which compensatory rest must be taken

• where a derogation from the daily and weekly rest periods is used and an equivalent period of compensatory rest is allowed, the compensatory rest would have to be granted within a reasonable period of time which may not be longer than 72 hours.

The opt-out from the maximum weekly working time

• member states may choose whether to allow the opt-out
  
  
• if it is to be allowed, it must be authorised by a collective agreement at the appropriate level
  
  
• if there is no collective agreement, it may be authorised by a written agreement between the employer and the worker
  
  
• whether or not there is an agreement in force, the consent of an individual is required
  
  
• consent may not be given at the beginning of the employment relationship or during any probation period
  
  
• consent is valid only for a period of time of one year and must be renewed if it is to continue in force
  
  
• no worker may suffer any detriment because he is not willing to enter into an agreement
  
  
• no worker may work more than 65 hours in any one week (i.e. not an average over the reference period), unless provided for in a collective agreement
  
  
• the employer must keep up-to-date records of all workers who carry out such work and of the number of hours actually worked and present them to the appropriate authority if requested to do so
  
  
• the appropriate authority may, for reasons connected with the safety and/or health of workers, prohibit or restrict the possibility of exceeding the maximum weekly working time
  
  
• the penalties laid down by each member state for infringements of the national provisions must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" and must ensure that workers and/or their representatives have adequate means of enforcing the obligations under the Directive.

Discuss this news item in the PayPerShop Forum

...back to 1 October 2004

Sources:
europa.eu.int/...=en
europa.eu.int/....pdf
europa.eu.int/...=en