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Responding to the vote in the European Parliament signalling an end to the UK’s opt out from the Working Time Regulations, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warns against a statutory restriction on maximum working hours and advises that it should be down to employers and employees to work towards a better work-life balance.

Mike Emmott, CIPD’s Employee Relations Adviser, said:
“The CIPD opposes long working hours but believes that a healthy work-life balance is best achieved through better work organisation and progressive people management.

“Good employers do not make their staff work longer hours, but business demands may occasionally arise, requiring employees to put in extra hours. Additionally, the removal of this flexibility neglects to recognise that employees may value the freedom of choosing whether to work more hours or not.

“The overall fall in working hours since 2000 shows that the current legislative framework on working hours is an appropriate one.

“This is not the final nail in the coffin though as the opt-out will remain until 2012 in any case and there are further rounds of negotiations to be had with the employment ministers of the various EU countries. We urge the government to remain firm and retain this opt-out to protect the long-term flexibility of the UK labour market.”

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Filed under: Press Releases on December 18th, 2008

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