at least 28 days (four weeks) in paid holidays each year;
rest breaks of 20 minutes in a 6-hour period;
daily rest of at least 11 hours in any 24 hours;
restricts excessive night work;
at least 24 hours rest in a 7-day period; and
a right to work no more than 48 hours per week, unless the member state enables individual opt-outs.
It was issued as an update on earlier versions from 22 June 2000 and 23 November 1993.[1] Since excessive working time is cited as a major cause of stress, depression, and illness, the purpose of the directive is to protect people's health and safety. A landmark study conducted by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization found that exposure to long working hours is common globally at 8.9%, and according to these United Nations estimates the occupational risk factor with the largest attributable burden of disease, i.e. an estimated 745,000 fatalities from ischemic heart disease and stroke events alone in 2016.[2] This evidence has given renewed impetus for maximum limits on working time to protect human life and health.
Background
Like all European Union directives, this is an instrument which requires member states to enact its provisions in national legislation. The directive applies to all member states. It is possible to opt out of the 48-hour working week,[3] but not the other requirements.
After the 1993 Council Negotiations, when the 1993 version of the Directive was agreed to after an 11–1 vote, UK Employment SecretaryDavid Hunt said, "It is a flagrant abuse of Community rules. It has been brought forward as such simply to allow majority voting – a ploy to smuggle through part of the Social Chapter by the back door. The UK strongly opposes any attempt to tell people that they can no longer work the hours they want."[4]
Part 2 – definitions; night time is between midnight and 5am and not less than seven hours
Part 14 – more specific EU provisions take precedence
Part 15 – minimum standards directive
Part 16 – maximum reference period is fourteen days for article 5; four months for article 6; and determined by collective agreement for article 8;
Part 23 – the directive cannot be a reason to reduce protection
Part 24 – reporting to the EU Commission on the implementation of the WTD
Parts 25–26 – review of derogations for fishing boats and passenger carriers
Breaks
Article 3 – there must be a daily rest of eleven consecutive hours per 24-hour period.
Article 4 – a rest period for every six hours, set by legislation or collective agreement.
Article 5 – weekly rest of 24 hours uninterrupted, on top of the daily rest in article 3, but derogation is justifiable for technical, organizational, or work reasons.
Working week
Article 6
member states must ensure weekly working time is limited by law, or collective agreement
average working time should not exceed 48 hours for each 7-day period.
Article 17 – derogations allowed under arts 3–6, 8 and 16 for (1) "managing executives or other persons with autonomous decision making powers", family workers and religious leaders (2) ... (5) doctors' provisions.
Article 18 – derogations by collective agreement.
Article 19 – limit to derogation for the reference period.
Article 20 – mobile and offshore workers.
Article 21 – workers on fishing vessels.
Article 22 – "miscellaneous"
individual opt out for article 6 where:
the worker agrees
no detriment for not agreeing
records kept up to date
authorities kept informed
information given
three-week transitional provision
inform EU Commission.
Paid holidays
Article 7 – annual leave of at least four weeks (i.e., 20 days on a full-time basis). The term "week" is defined by article 5, which refers to "weekly" as meaning a "seven-day period".[5] If an employee's job is terminated, he or she is entitled to payment in lieu of holidays that were not taken.
Night work
Article 8
eight hours night work in any 24-hour period on average
eight hours where hazardous or strenuous work.
Article 9 – free health assessments for night workers.
Article 10 – night workers who risk health can be given guarantees.
Article 11 – night workers to be notified to competent authorities "if they so request".
Article 12 – night and shift workers should have health protection.
Article 13 – "an employer who intends to organize work according to a certain pattern takes account of the general principle of adapting work to the worker, with a view, in particular, to alleviating monotonous work and work at a predetermined work-rate".
The SIMAP judgment defined all times when the worker was required to be present on site as actual working hours, for the purposes of work and rest calculations. The Jaeger judgment confirmed that this was the case even if workers could sleep when their services were not required.
Labour laws, labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer, and union.
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
Shift work is an employment practice designed to keep a service or production line operational at all times. The practice typically sees the day divided into shifts, set periods of time during which different groups of workers perform their duties. The term "shift work" includes both long-term night shifts and work schedules in which employees change or rotate shifts.
The EFTA Court is a supranational judicial body responsible for the three EFTA members who are also members of the European Economic Area (EEA): Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The freedom of movement for workers is a policy chapter of the acquis communautaire of the European Union. The free movement of workers means that nationals of any member state of the European Union can take up an employment in another member state on the same conditions as the nationals of that particular member state. In particular, no discrimination based on nationality is allowed. It is part of the free movement of persons and one of the four economic freedoms: free movement of goods, services, labour and capital. Article 45 TFEU states that:
Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Community.
Such freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.
It shall entail the right, subject to limitations justified on grounds of public policy, public security or public health:
The provisions of this article shall not apply to employment in the public service.
Drivers' working hours is the commonly used term for regulations that govern the activities of the drivers of commercial goods vehicles and passenger carrying vehicles. In the United States, they are known as hours of service.
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 are a statutory instrument forming part of United Kingdom labour law. They aim to combat discrimination against people who work for employment agencies, by stating that agency workers should be no less favourably treated in pay and working time than their full-time counterparts who undertake the same work. It gives effect in UK law to the European Union's Temporary and Agency Workers Directive.
European labour law regulates basic transnational standards of employment and partnership at work in the European Union and countries adhering to the European Convention on Human Rights. In setting regulatory floors to competition for job-creating investment within the Union, and in promoting a degree of employee consultation in the workplace, European labour law is viewed as a pillar of the "European social model". Despite wide variation in employment protection and related welfare provision between member states, a contrast is typically drawn with conditions in the United States.
The original Working Time Regulations 1998 was a statutory instrument in UK labour law which implemented the EU Working Time Directive 2003. It was updated in 1999, but these amendments were then withdrawn in 2006 following a legal challenge by the European Court. It does not extend to Northern Ireland.
The Transfers of Undertakings Directive2001/23/EC is a European Union law that protects the contracts of employment of people working in businesses that are transferred between owners. It replaced and updated the law previously known as the Acquired Rights Directive 77/187/EC.
British Nursing Association v Inland Revenue[2002] EWCA Civ 494 is a UK labour law case regarding the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.
Pfeiffer v Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, Kreisverband Waldshut eV (2005) C-397/01-403/01 is an EU law and European labour law case concerning the Working Time Directive. It is relevant for the Working Time Regulations 1998 in UK labour law.
Robinson-Steele v RD Retail Services Ltd (2006) C-131/04 is a European labour law and UK labour law case concerning the Working Time Directive, which is relevant for the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Landeshauptstadt Kiel v Jaegar (2003) C-151/02 is a European labour law case concerning the EU Working Time Directive.
Sindicato de Medicos de Asistencia Publica v Conselleria de Sanidad y Consumo de la Generalidad Valenciana (2000) C-303/98 is a European labour law case concerning the Working Time Directive, which is relevant for the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Sindicato de Médicos de Asistencia Pública, the Spanish doctors' union, started on 22 August 1991, under the acronym SIMAP-CV. SIMAP is a union of doctors working in public health. Since its foundation has been involved in various initiatives to protect public health and the rights of physicians.
British Airways plc v Williams (2011) C-155/10 is a UK labour law and EU law decision by the European Court of Justice regarding the right to holidays with pay, which is found in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights article 24, the Working Time Directive and the Working Time Regulations 1998. Williams itself was decided under analogous rules found in the Civil Aviation Regulations 2004. It held that variable components in pay, such as bonuses, must be included in the amount of pay people receive while they are on holiday.
Working time in the United Kingdom is regulated in UK labour law in respect of holidays, daily breaks, night work and the maximum working day under the Working Time Regulations 1998. While the traditional mechanisms for ensuring a "fair day's wage for a fair day's work" is by collective agreement, since 1962 the UK created minimum statutory rights for every individual at work. The WTR 1998 follow the requirements of the Working Time Directive, which allowed an "opt out" from the maximum working week, set at 48 hours. Other reforms have included the 28 holiday minimum per year, 20 minute breaks for each six hours worked, and a maximum average of 8 hours work in a 24-hour period for night-workers.
The Temporary Agency Work Directive2008/104/EC is an EU Directive agreed in November 2008 which seeks to guarantee those working through employment agencies equal pay and conditions with employees in the same business who do the same work. It is the third piece of legislation in the European Union's employment law package to protect atypical working. Though it was proposed in 2002, the British, German, Danish and Irish governments blocked its enactment until 2008.
Russell v Transocean International Resources Ltd [2011] UKSC 57 is a UK labour law case, concerning the interpretation of the Working Time Directive. It is notable that Lord Hope remarked that the right to paid holidays is probably best interpreted as requiring that workers may take a whole week at a time, rather than individual days.
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