Work Breaks and working hours are covered by legislation known as the Working Time Regulations 1998.

The principal provisions are for:-

• A limit on average weekly working time to 48 hours (although individuals can choose to work longer).
• A limit on night workers’ average normal daily working time to 8 hours.
• A requirement to offer health assessments to night workers.
• Minimum daily and weekly rest periods
• Rest breaks at work
• Paid annual leave

Working Time Limits

An employer is required to take all reasonable steps to ensure that workers do not work more than an average of 48 hours a week over a 17-week period. This averaging period may be extended in certain circumstances.

Night Work Limits

An employer is required to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the ‘normal’ hours of their night workers do not exceed an average of eight hours for each 24 hours over a 17-week period. This averaging period may be extended in certain circumstances.

Health Assessments for night workers

An employer must offer a free health assessment to any worker who is to become a night worker. Employers must also give night workers the opportunity to have further assessments at regular intervals.

Daily and Weekly rest periods

A worker is entitled to a rest period of 11 consecutive hours between each working day, and to an uninterrupted rest period of not less than 24 hours in each 7-day period. This may be averaged over a 2-week period.

Rest Breaks

A worker is entitled to an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes when daily working time is more than six hours. This should not be either at the beginning or the end of the working day. Payment is a matter for the workers’ contracts. The Regulations do not specify whether breaks should be paid or not.

Where a pattern of work involves uninterruptible or monotonous activity which may put the health and safety of a worker at risk, an employer needs to consider granting regular breaks in order to reduce these risks.

The need for such breaks should be identified in a general risk assessment (further details can be found in the HSE leaflet entitled ‘Five Steps to Risk Assessment’ which is available free from this Department.

Paid Annual Leave

A worker is entitled to at least four weeks’ paid leave each year (pro- rata for part-time workers).

Enforcement

Some of the above measures will be enforced by the relevant Health & Safety authority, such as Working Time Limits (the 48 hour week), Health assessments for night workers and night work limits. Other measures such as in-work rest breaks and leave entitlements will be enforced by workers bring a complaint to an Employment Tribunal. However as a prior step a worker should seek to settle a dispute with their employer by mutual agreement – perhaps through the business’s own grievance or appeals procedure, where one exists.

Further Information

Further information can be obtained by contacting the HSE infoline 08701 545500 or by contacting Environmental Health on 01784 446293.

If you need information about making a claim or about Tribunal Procedures you should call the Employment Tribunal Service Enquiry Line on 0345 959775.

Useful Websites

www.hse.gov.uk
www.dti.gov.uk