Working time rules challenged

The European Commission is backing a challenge to the British government's implementation of the Working Time Directive. The case, brought by broadcasting union BECTU, is contesting the exclusion of freelancers from entitlement to holidays.

In its submission to the European Court of Justice, where the case is being heard, the Commission states that the Directive entitles every worker to paid annual leave. The Working Time Regulations, which implement the directive, introduced the requirement for a minimum of 13 weeks' continuous work before workers are entitled to paid leave.

BECTU general secretary Roger Bolton said: "We are determined to establish in law the rights of our members working freelance and short term contracts to have paid holidays, and our case has been immeasurably strengthened by this development."

The TUC has attacked new draft guidance on the Working Time Regulations as legally incorrect and designed to deprive workers of their rights. In responding to drafts for a new short guide to the regulations, as well as a shortened version of the current guidance, the TUC said that some of the advice given was legally inaccurate, that the tone of the guidance was pro-employer, and that the short guide was unnecessary.