Working Time Regulations

19th May 2014

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As an employer there is a minefield of rules and regulation that you must follow and keep abreast of, here are just a few examples of things that you need to know, you must remember the “ignorance” is no excuse in the eyes of law

The legal number of hours between shifts is determined by the Working Time Regulations 2003.
- These state that the minimum rest period in a 24-hour period should not be less than eleven consecutive hours. In brief, workers are entitled to at least 11 hours rest per day, at least one day off each week and a rest break during the shift if it is longer than six hours.
- As an employer you cannot insist that a worker works more than 48 hours per week without a valid an “Opt Out” agreement.
- Also it is important to note that for night workers, if there is 8 hours’ work in any 24 hours there is a right to free health assessment.

This can all sound very ominous to try and control, certainly when as the business owner your focus may be elsewhere, however it need not be ominous at all, for further advice and what you need to be doing please contact the team at Smartworxs for support or to receive their simple to follow guide on complying with the European Working Time Regulations (2003).

Contact info@smartworxs.co.uk or call Richard on 07977 147130

Other useful links http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/work_time_regs/wtr0.htm

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