20 FAQs about working time
- What is the maximum number of hours people are allowed to work per week under working time regulations?
- How do we accommodate rush jobs, when people might have to work longer hours than usual?
- Does the average 48 hours per week include overtime under working time regulations?
- Do we have to take on extra people for seasonal peaks to avoid breaking the working time regulations?
- If we take on extra staff for seasonal peaks, are they covered by the 48-hour maximum working week under working time regulations?
- If people have been on holiday, can we ask them to work extra hours to bring their average working hours up?
- Do we have to have a written agreement with employees who agree to disapply the working-time limit?
- Can we do anything about an employee who refuses to work more than the statutory maximum working hours?
- Is travelling time included in working hours under working time regulations?
- Does time spent on training count as working time under working time regulations?
- Does lunch time count as working time under working time regulations?
- Do hours spent 'on call' count towards working hours under working time regulations?
- We ask people to work extra hours to deal with an emergency, does the time count towards the 48-hour working time limit?
- How much annual leave do workers get under the working time reuglations?
- How do we calculate the holiday entitlement of part-timers?
- How many days off per week are workers entitled to?
- Are the working time rules different for young workers?
- Apart from the 48-hour limit, are there other working time regulations we might fall foul of?
- Is there a working time limit on the amount of night-time working that we can ask from our employees?
- What does the annual health assessment for night time workers entail?
1. What is the maximum number of hours people are allowed to work per week under working time regulations?
Under normal circumstances, the maximum is 48 hours a week (normally averaged over a 17-week period).
Some workers can choose to 'opt out' of the 48-hour weekly limit but this must be voluntary and in writing. Employers may ask workers if they are willing to opt out but must not sack or treat unfairly any worker that chooses not to sign an opt-out agreement. Workers can cancel their opt out agreement at any time with at least 7 days' notice or up to three months, if agreed in the original written opt-out agreement.
See 17 for information on workers aged under 18.
Read more about maximum weekly working hours on the GOV.UK website.
2. How do we accommodate rush jobs, when people might have to work longer hours than usual?
Average weekly hours are currently worked out over a 17-week reference period (or in certain circumstances a longer period - see 4). Provided that employees are not asked to work more than an average of 48 hours a week over that period, or a total of 816 hours over the whole period, you will comply with the regulations. So you can accommodate the extra hours worked when you have rush jobs, by monitoring and managing working hours overall.
3. Does the average 48 hours per week include overtime under working time regulations?
Yes.
4. Do we have to take on extra people for seasonal peaks to avoid breaking the working time regulations?
The reference period for the working time regulations can be extended from 17 to 26 weeks - or even to 52 weeks. The reference period is automatically extended to 26 weeks where a worker is covered by one of the 'special case' exemptions. Provided there is an agreement with the workforce or a recognised trade union, the reference period may be extended to up to 52 weeks. The current permitted extensions are designed to allow for seasonal industries, or enterprises which require round-the-clock working such as hospitals or utilities. So again, working time management may enable you to avoid the need to take on extra seasonal staff.
5. If we take on extra staff for seasonal peaks, are they covered by the 48-hour maximum working week under the working time regualtions?
Yes, unless they are willing to sign 'opt-out' agreements (see 1).
6. If people have been on holiday, can we ask them to work extra hours to bring their average working hours up?
It depends. The reference period can include up to four weeks' statutory holiday leave taken (as well as any sick, maternity, paternity or adoption leave). The reference period is then extended by the number of days leave taken to establish the average working hours. So there is potential for asking people who have been on leave to work some extra time.
7. Do we have to have a written agreement with employees who agree to disapply the working-time limit?
Yes. Such agreements must be made voluntarily - any attempt to apply pressure is unlawful (see 8). They must also be in writing, and must be signed by each individual employee involved. Workers may withdraw their agreement to disapply the limit at any time, providing they give the notice required under the agreement. The maximum notice that you can request from a worker is three months.
8. Can we do anything about an employee who refuses to work more than the statutory maximum working hours?
No. If you dismiss someone who refuses to work longer hours, or attempt to subject them to any detriment (for example, by shifting them to another less attractive job), they can complain to an Employment Tribunal. Any dismissal will be automatically unfair - regardless of how long the employee has been with you: they do not need a minimum period of service to put in a claim. If they complain of detrimental treatment short of dismissal, and the Employment Tribunal finds in their favour, it can award them whatever compensation it finds appropriate (subject to a statutory limit).
9. Is travelling time included in working hours under working time regulations?
For most workers, routine travel time commuting to work is unlikely to count as working hours.
However, if you have workers with 'no fixed place of work' who travel directly from home to clients, the time spent travelling to and from the first and last client of the day must be counted as working time.
Additionally, where the work involves travelling between clients - for example, a travelling salesman - the time spent travelling will count for the purposes of calculating working time and possibly pay. For example, if workers are paid on an hourly basis.
10. Does time spent on training count as working time under working time regulations?
Generally yes, provided that the training is work-related.
11. Does lunch time count as working time under working time regulations?
A normal lunch break is excluded from working time. However, a working lunch would be included (for example, a business lunch).
12. Do hours spent 'on call' count towards working time under working time regulations?
The current position is that hours spent on call away from the workplace, where the employee is free to pursue leisure activities, only count as working time for that time which is actually spent undertaking normal duties. Where time on call has to be spent at the workplace or restrictions imposed on the worker have a very significant impact on them, however, this counts as working time, whether or not the employee is actually working.
If you believe you might have a problem in this regard, take specific legal advice as soon as possible, since the cost of ignoring it could be very high.
13. If we ask people to work extra hours to deal with an emergency, does the time count towards the 48-hour working time limit?
Yes. With emergencies, as with seasonal work, it is possible to extend the reference period from 17 to 26 weeks. But people who came in over the weekend would be entitled to 'compensatory rest' - that is the same period of rest as the worker missed out on because they had to work during their rest period. The 'compensatory rest' should be taken within a reasonable period.
14. How much paid annual leave do workers get under the working time regulations?
Every worker is entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid leave per annum (ie 28 days in a full leave-year for a full-time member of staff). The statutory holiday is worked out on a pro rata basis for part-time workers, temporary and casual workers (ie an employee who works three days a week would be entitled to 16.8 days per year).
There is no specific statutory right to either time off or pay on bank holidays. If you do pay employees for holiday taken on a public or bank holiday you can count that towards their statutory minimum holiday entitlement. It is advisable to set out your policy on employees' rights to time off and pay in their contract of employment to avoid any misunderstandings and disputes.
If you offer paid bank holidays as well as 20 days' annual leave (ie 28 days' paid holiday) to those who work a five-day week, you are not required to give any further holiday entitlement. You may of course do so if it seems appropriate - if, for instance, you want to maintain a differential or reward long service.
All employees must take at least four weeks' holiday per year (or the equivalent for part-time workers). The remaining 1.6 weeks' holiday may be rolled over to the following year. You are not permitted to give pay in lieu of holiday except where you give holiday in excess of the statutory 5.6 weeks minimum or on the termination of employment.
Paid leave accrues, at the rate of one-twelfth of the annual entitlement each month, during the first year of the employment. It is no longer lawful to deny workers the right to leave until they have been with the employer for 13 weeks. The right to paid annual leave continues to accrue, even during periods of absence from work (for example, for illness or maternity leave).
From 1 January 2024, it is lawful to provide additional ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay as part of pay while the worker is working, rather than as holiday pay. For a worker entitled to 5.6 weeks annual leave, rolled-up pay would be an extra 12.07 per cent.
Workers should be paid their 'normal remuneration' for any holiday. This includes commission, regular overtime and other payments. This can be a complicated area so you should seek legal advice if you have any questions.
15. How do we calculate the holiday entitlement of part-timers?
The intention of the legislation is that part-timers, like full-timers, should be able to take sufficient paid leave to be away from work for the equivalent of 5.6 weeks in a full leave-year.
A week's leave should be the same as the length of time you work in a normal week - so people who normally work less than full time get less paid time off, on a pro rata basis. Where full-time workers get more paid annual leave than the statutory requirement, then part-timers will also be entitled to more holiday leave, on a pro rata basis.
Holiday entitlement has to be worked out on the number of hours normally worked in the week. If these hours vary, you may need to use a notional average working week to calculate holiday entitlement and reserve the right to amend it later in the year to reflect actual hours worked, or obtain your worker's written permission (a legal requirement) to recover holiday money overpaid.
You should not stop a worker taking holiday just because you do not know the total number of hours that the worker will work at the start of the holiday year. Many employers use a figure of 12.07% of hours worked to calculate holiday for those that work irregular hours, so for each hour worked, the worker is entitled to 7.24 minutes of holiday.
The sums involved may well leave you with awkward fractions of holiday time to allocate and pay for. There are various ways of dealing with these:
- you can give pay in lieu of time off (but only for holiday over the statutory 5.6 week minimum)
- you can round the time off up (but not down) to the nearest day or half day
- you can give them as part of an otherwise unpaid day off
- you can use them to allow the worker to come in late or go early
- you can ask the worker to carry the 'new' holiday time forward to the following year (but everyone must be required to take at least the equivalent of four weeks of holiday in the current leave year)
16. How many days off per week are workers entitled to?
Most workers are entitled to at least one day (24 hours) off each week, although this can be deferred (but not abandoned) in particular circumstances: for instance, where there is a high level of seasonal work, or where round-the-clock working is required. The 24-hour break each week can (if it suits you as employer) be replaced by two 24-hour breaks, or one 48-hour break (24 hours back-to-back) in each 14-day period.
Workers aged under 18 are entitled to work shorter days and to take longer breaks between working days (see 17).
17. Are the working time rules different for young workers?
Yes. 'Young workers' (ie 16 and 17 year olds) are entitled to two full days off a week, although this can be reduced to 36 hours if the nature of the job makes it unavoidable. It is also worth noting that 'young workers' may not ordinarily work more than eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. These working hours may not be averaged out and there is no opt-out available. They are also entitled to marginally longer breaks in the working day (30 minutes), if a period of work extends to 4.5 hours.
The rules for school age workers are even stricter. They must not:
- work for more than two hours on a school day or a Sunday
- work for more than 12 hours a week during term time
- work for more than five hours (13 and 14 year olds) or eight hours (15 and 16 year olds) on a Saturday
- work for more than 25 hours a week (13 and 14 year olds) or 35 hours a week (15 and 16 year olds) during school holidays
They are also entitled to longer rest breaks during a working day and are required to take two weeks off during school holidays each year. These rules apply regardless of whether the work they are undertaking is paid or unpaid.
18. Apart from the 48-hour limit, are there other working time regulations we might fall foul of?
Yes. Workers are entitled to 11 hours of continuous rest every day (12 hours for young workers), which yours will not be getting if, for instance, they start at midday and do not finish until the small hours. Moreover, if they work late on several nights a week, you might be caught by the regulations on night working (see 19).
19. Is there a working time limit on the amount of night-time working that we can ask from our employees?
Yes. Employees who regularly work upwards of three hours a night between 11 pm and 6 am will be classified as night workers. Night workers may not work more than eight hours a night, averaged over 17 weeks (or more than eight hours in any night in hazardous occupations, where no average applies). They must be offered a free health assessment before they start working nights, and further free health assessments regularly thereafter. In many cases, once a year would be appropriate.
20. What does the annual health assessment for night time workers entail?
The first stage should preferably be a health questionnaire, which should be drawn up with the help of a doctor or nurse who knows what the health effects of night time working are likely to be. If the answers to the questionnaire raise any doubts about the individual's fitness to work at nights, or suggest that their health may be suffering because of night time working, the employer must then offer that employee a free medical examination, and act on the findings if necessary. You must take particular care with new and expectant mothers, and with 'young workers'. You cannot wait until a worker requests an assessment - you must offer one.
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