Summary
- Unsocial working hours refer broadly to any hours worked outside standard business hours or days, including night shifts, early morning shifts, and weekend work, though there is no official legal definition.
- Employers are not legally required to pay more than the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for unsocial hours, but where a shift allowance is included in an employment contract, failure to pay it is likely to constitute a breach of contract.
- Employers have specific obligations towards staff working unsocial hours, including conducting risk assessments, offering free health assessments before and during night shift work, and ensuring compliance with the 48-hour weekly working limit under the Working Time Regulations 1998.
- This article is a plain-English guide to employer obligations regarding unsocial working hours for business owners and employers operating in the UK, produced by LegalVision, a commercial law firm.
- LegalVision specialises in advising clients on employment law and workforce management obligations.
Tips for Businesses
Clearly define unsocial hours and any associated shift allowances in employment contracts to avoid disputes. Conduct regular health assessments for night workers and keep records of any opt-out agreements for the 48-hour working week. Carry out risk assessments to monitor the impact of unsocial hours on staff wellbeing and adjust workloads where necessary.
Unsocial working hours describe any time an employee works outside standard business hours or typical working days. Many industries depend on staff who work nights, early mornings, evenings, and weekends to keep operations running. This article will explore the legal framework and provide information on best practices surrounding unsocial hours.
What are Unsocial Working Hours?
While there is no official definition of unsocial working hours, unsocial working hours (also commonly referred to as anti-social hours) generally refer to any period an employee works outside conventional working hours.
Conventional working hours are usually either/or:
- standard business hours between 9 am and 5 pm; or
- standard business working days (i.e. Monday through Friday).
Therefore, weekends can be unsocial working hours. However, such hours can depend on what an individual business deems their regular working hours.
Shift workers often work unsocial working hours, which can include, for example:
- night shifts;
- evening shifts;
- early morning shifts; and
- rotating shifts.
Pay and Unsocial Working Hours
When your staff work unsocial hours, you must, like your other workers, ensure you pay them the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or the National Living Wage (NLW), where applicable. However, employment law does not require you to pay them more than this set rate simply because they work unsocial hours.
You can, of course, choose to pay your staff higher wages when they work unsocial hours. Your employment contract with them should state that you do this, and you will typically have a clause in the contract stating the rate you will pay your employees when they work unsocial hours and what constitutes unsocial working hours in your business.
Paying your staff more because they work unsocial hours is a discretionary payment called a shift allowance. If you do not pay your staff the shift allowance when their employment contract states that you would, you will likely be in breach of contract. This could result in an employee lodging a claim against you.
Associated Risks
If you have staff working unsocial hours, you should be aware of the risks that can arise as an employer. Risks can occur for your employees in two main areas: their social lives and sleep.
Social Life
If your employees are working such hours, it can affect their relationships, which can negatively impact their mental health, causing, for example, depression and stress.
Sleep
Working unsocial hours, such as night shifts, can cause havoc with your employees’ body clocks, disrupting their sleep patterns. This can result in regular tiredness as well as insomnia. In the long run, studies show that shift workers face higher risks of heart attacks and stroke. Lack of sleep can also lead to mental health issues.
Therefore, you must take steps to alleviate the effects of working such hours by conducting risk assessments to understand the potential impact on your staff. This may allow employees to vary shifts outside conventional work hours. Alternatively, where employees work substantial overtime, consider adjusting their workload or granting additional paid time off.
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Employer Obligations
Whether your staff work traditional or unsocial business hours, the law details the maximum hours they can work, and the rest breaks they are entitled to. Employees should not work more than 48 hours per week unless they voluntarily choose to do so by opting out of the 48-hour rule. You should record their decision in their personnel file.
Where your staff work unsocial hours, especially night-time hours, you must offer them a free health assessment. You must provide this before your staff become night-time workers, and a qualified health professional should carry it out. It will allow you to assess the risks and hazards night-time working might have on your staff’s health. Once your staff works night shifts, you must regularly conduct health assessments to ensure they remain fit to work those shifts.
Key Takeaways
Whilst there is no official definition of unsocial working hours, the law takes a broad view that it is any work outside of regular working hours or usual business days. This includes night-time shifts or excessive overtime work. You owe specific duties to employees working such hours, including promoting their welfare.
If you need help understanding what you need to know about unsocial working hours in the UK, LegalVision provides ongoing legal support for businesses through our fixed-fee legal membership. Our experienced employment lawyers help businesses manage contracts, employment law, disputes, intellectual property, and more, with unlimited access to specialist lawyers for a fixed monthly fee. To learn more about LegalVision’s legal membership, call 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unsocial working hours are not officially defined but are generally considered working hours that are not the standard 9 am to 5 pm hours on business days. Night shifts are typical examples of unsocial working hours.
Yes, the Working Time Regulations 1998 apply. These regulations limit the average working week to 48 hours, usually averaged over 17 weeks (unless the employee opts out), mandate rest breaks, and require at least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest in any 24-hour period.
No. The law only requires you to pay staff the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, regardless of when they work. However, if your employment contract includes a shift allowance for unsocial hours, you must honour it or risk a breach of contract claim.
You must offer all night shift workers a free health assessment before they begin night work, carried out by a qualified health professional. Once they start night shifts, you must conduct regular health assessments to ensure they remain fit to continue working those hours.
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