Introduction (896 words)

The Working Time Regulations, which came into force on 1 October 1998, have now been in place for five years. Their purpose is to ...

1. The case for limiting working time (839 words)

Employers are bound by an implied contractual duty not to require that employees work such long hours as to damage their health. In the ...

2. What the regulations apply to (1530 words)

Definitions of what is, and what is not, counted as working time provide a starting point for negotiations on reducing long working hours. ...

3. Who the regulations apply to (1937 words)

From 2003 the regulations have been extended to include workers in most of the previously "excluded" sectors, such as air, road and rail transport ...

4. The maximum working week (2255 words)

The maximum working week is one of the key provisions of the Working Time Regulations, and it is the one part of the regulations ...

5. Night and shift work (1867 words)

The regulations place an eight-hour limit on a night worker's normal hours. It is important to note that this is not a limit on ...

6. Rest periods and breaks (1849 words)

The regulations provide a right to periods of "rest", defined under regulation 2 as "a period which is not working time, other than a ...

7. Paid holidays (2853 words)

A right to paid holiday has been one of the main benefits of the working time directive and regulations, even though employers in the ...

8. Collective and workforce agreements (1074 words)

Collective agreements have a specific role to play under the Working Time Regulations, in adjusting and adapting many of the basic provisions. There is ...

9. Enforcing the regulations (641 words)

Normally workers will enforce their entitlements or rights under the Working Time Regulations through the employment tribunal system, as they would for other employment ...

Further information (272 words)

Labour Research Department, 78 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HF, tel: 020 7928 3649, www.lrd.org.uk. Monthly publications Labour Research and Workplace Report carry regular reports ...