Working Time '48 Hours' Opt Out

Warning, this article may wind you up.

Ahead of a conciliation committee meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned of the risk to the working time opt-out.

Currently the working time opt-out permits people to choose to work more than 48 hours a week. The CBI says that it could damage career aspirations and affect overtime at a time when workers want to help support their families. At present the removal of the working time opt-out is being backed by Socialist MEP’s.

CBI Deputy Director-General, John Cridland says: "Who should choose your working hours, you or politicians in Brussels? We think people can make up their own minds about the hours they want to work."

"The legislation proposed by some politicians would impose a ban on working longer hours, and not take into account individual circumstances and ambitions."

"Some people want to work longer hours and some do not. We think the solution is to give people a choice, as they have at the moment. Some MEPs think the solution should be a stop sign, and if you want to keep working, tough luck."

"A common position was agreed last year by member states, and these attempts by some MEPs to shift that position should be resisted."

Article Source:
Chris Crawford MD of BD Recruitment is a specialist recruiter for the search marketing recruitment sector, with a plethora of technical IT jobs and creative jobs.

Working Time Directive

The Working Time Directive was introduced in 1993 by The European Commission. It limited the maximum working week to 48 hours unless staff requested to work longer. After a recent review, EU ministers have agreed that Britain can retain its opt out of the legislation.

The opt-out has allowed member states to put in place measures allowing individuals to agree not to be subject to the 48-hour working limit. Employees are basically allowed to work as many hours as they wish now but with a cap at 60 hours over an average of 3 months.

According to the TUC, 3.3 million employees currently work longer than 48 hours a week.

John Hutton, Business Secretary commented : "Flexibility has been critical to our ability to create an extra three million jobs over the past decade. That flexibility has been preserved by ensuring workers can continue to have choice over their working hours in future years".

Industries such as catering, hospitality and recruitment rely heavily on this legislation.

Author:
Chris Crawford is the MD of BD Recruitment, a specialist recruiter for the creative recruitment, marketing recruitment and technical recruitment industries, based in Manchester, UK.