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As an employer, you should know how long your staff are legally allowed to work. Employment law governs the hours that employees are allowed to work per week, the rest breaks they are entitled to, and the periods of rest between working days. In addition, you must look after your staff’s health and safety and provide a healthy work-life balance. Therefore, not applying these rules correctly could result in you facing an employment tribunal for constructive dismissal. This article will explain what you need to know about working hours in England.
Maximum Working Hours
Employment law in the UK details how many hours a person can work. The limit is 48 hours per week, averaged out over 17 weeks. Since this is an average, in practice, your employee’s hours may legally exceed 48 hours some weeks. Additionally, some weeks they will be under 48 hours. Where your employee has another job, the 48-hour maximum limit applies to the total hours worked for both jobs. Therefore, you should keep a written record of the hours your employee works.
For those under 18, the maximum weekly work hours are 40, equivalent to eight hours per day. The maximum hours for night workers also differs from the 48 hours maximum week.
If you make your employee work more than the maximum amount of hours per week, you could be breaking the employment contract terms. Breaching these terms could lead to a claim for constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal. Those over 18 years of age may opt out of the maximum work hours per week but must do so in writing. Importantly, you should keep a record of this agreement. However, those working in the following industries are not allowed to opt out:
- airline workers;
- road transport workers;
- ship and boat wreckers; and
- workers transporting high-value goods as security guards.
However, there are some areas of work where the maximum weekly working hours limit does not apply, such as:
- emergency service and armed forces;
- industries that require staffing for 24 hours, such as healthcare;
- surveillance and security work; and
- seafaring or sea-fishing.
What Counts Towards Working Hours
The following table contains examples of what counts and does not count toward your employee’s working hours.
| Included in working hours | Not included in working hours |
|---|---|
| Travelling on the job, which includes between home and work where a person does not have a fixed workplace | Travelling in non-working hours and travelling to and from work where your employee has a fixed place of work |
| Training related to the job | Paid and unpaid holidays |
| Business lunches | Break where no work is carried out, such as lunch break |
| Time at the workplace on call | Time on call outside of the workplace |
| Unpaid overtime you have asked your staff to do | Unpaid overtime which your staff have volunteered to do |
| Time on business calls | |
| Paid overtime | |
| Working time overseas |
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What Breaks and Rest Period Are Employees Entitled to?
Generally speaking, adult workers are entitled to specific breaks and rest periods for their jobs. Where your staff work more than six hours per day, they are entitled to a 20-minute unpaid, uninterrupted rest break. Employees must take this break during their working day rather than at the end or at the beginning. Additionally, your staff must take their break away from their optimal work area, such as their workstation.
Workers are also generally entitled to rest periods in between their working shifts. They are entitled to a rest period of 11 hours each working day. However, there are instances where you might postpone this and ask to take a rest period at the next possible chance. Your staff are also entitled to take a weekly or fortnightly rest period. For example, this is 24 hours within 7 days or 48 hours during 14 days.
Key Takeaways
You must know the rules relating to working hours. In addition, employees must have rest breaks and periods of rest between working days or shifts. As an employer, you need to help maintain your workers’ health and safety and help them achieve a healthy work-life balance. For example, your staff does not have to work more than 48 hours per week on average over 17 weeks. Moreover, there are rules regarding what constitutes work hours, such as when they are travelling and carrying out overtime. Also, where your staff works 6 hours or more per shift, they are entitled to a rest break of 20 minutes. Employees are also allowed a statutory holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks per year.
If you need help understanding working hours in England and Wales, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
You cannot require your staff of over 18 years to work more than an average of 48 hours per week, averaged over 17 weeks. However, if your staff opt out of the maximum requirements or work in specific industries, they can work more than 48 hours. Where your staff are under 18 years old, you can only require them to work for more than 40 hours per week or 8 hours per day.
Unless your staff has opted out of the maximum weekly working hours, you cannot require them to work more than this. If you do, you could have breached the employment contract, and they could take you to an employment tribunal for constructive dismissal.
Employees aged 18 and over can opt out of the 48-hour weekly limit by providing written consent. However, this opt-out is not allowed for certain workers, including airline staff, road transport workers, ship and boat crew, and security personnel transporting high-value goods.
Non-compliance can lead to breaches of employment contracts, which may result in claims for constructive dismissal. Employers must ensure they adhere to these rules to avoid legal repercussions and maintain a healthy work-life balance for their staff.
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