Under the Working Time Regulations 1988, your employer is under a duty:To take all reasonable steps in keeping with the need to protect workers health and safety to ensure that each worker's average working time (including overtime) does not exceed 48 hours per week.
To take all reasonable steps, in keeping with the need to protect health and safety, to ensure that night workers' normal hours of work do not exceed eight hours per day on average.
To ensure that no night worker doing work involving special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain works for more than eight hours per day.
To ensure that all night workers have the opportunity of a free health assessment when starting night work and at regular intervals thereafter.
To transfer a night worker to day work where possible, if a doctor advises that the night work is causing health problems.
To give workers "adequate" rest breaks where the pattern of work is such as to put their health and safety at risk, in particular where work is monotonous.
To keep and maintain records showing whether the limits on average working time, night work and provision of health and safety assesments are being complied with in the case of each worker.
To allow workers the following rest periods unless they are exempt, in which case compensatory rest will usually have to be given:
- 11 hours' uninterrupted rest per day;
- 24 hours' uninterrupted rest per week (or48 hours uninterrupted rest per fortnight); and
- A rest break of 20 minutes when working more than six hours per day.
To allow workers 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year (equivalent to 28 days for a full-time worker), pro rata entitlement for part-time workers. There is no obligation to also give workers' holiday on bank holidays.
Opting out of the 48-hour week
The limit on average working hours does not apply if the employer has "obtained the worker's agreement in writing" to perform work in excess of the limit. This is generally referred to as an "opt-out agreement". The opt-out agreement can last for a fixed period or indefinitely. Any opted-out worker can cancel the opt out by giving at least seven days' notice unless the opt-out agreement provides for longer notice, which cannot exceed three months.