An employer who fails to abide by certain requirements of the Working Time Regulations 1998 can face sanctions under criminal law.
Employers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that workers are not required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week, unless they have signed an opt-out agreement. The average weekly working time is normally calculated over 17 weeks. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing these requirements with regard to shops, restaurants and food outlets.
In only the second prosecution of its kind in the UK, newsagent Martin McColl Limited admitted breaching the requirements of the Working Time Regulations concerning maximum working hours. Council officers discovered that an employee at the newsagent, in West Edinburgh, was working on average 51.5 hours a week, on one occasion working a 68-hour week, without receiving payment for the extra hours. The company was fined £600.
The shop workers’ union USDAW has welcomed the prosecution as a reminder to employers that if they ask their staff to work illegal hours they will be penalised.
The Opt-Out
In the UK, individual workers can opt out of the requirement under the Working Time Regulations that the average working week should not exceed 48 hours. This has been the subject of much debate in the past, with the European Commission repeatedly expressing concern over the way the opt-out was being used in the UK. To date, however, proposals to restrict its use have come to nothing. The Minister for Europe has said that the new EU Treaty under negotiation will not affect the UK’s opt-out.
If any of your employees work more than an average of 48 hours a week, you must have a valid opt-out agreement in place. Contact us for advice by either completing our enquiry form, or call our head office on 020 7790 2000.
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