European Parliament wants to scrap working time opt-out

The European Parliament has voted to amend the Working Time Directive to end a worker’s right to opt out of the maximum 48-hour week, but any change must be approved by the Council of Ministers.

If amendments to the Directive are adopted, the right of workers to opt out of the 48-hour working week would be phased out over a period of three years from the date the amended Directive comes into force.

But any changes to the Directive still have to be approved by the Council of Ministers and then returned to the European Parliament for second and third readings. The UK Government, which wants to retain the opt-out, will hope to have enough support from other member states at the Council of Ministers meeting to block the change.

The European Parliament also voted to amend the Directive to provide that on-call time counts as working time in most cases and to allow for average working hours to be calculated over a full year, rather than the current period of 17 weeks.

  • Working hours opt-out could end: on-call time to count as working time   Read more about the decision on the European Union website.

  • European Parliament votes to scrap WTD opt-out   Personnel Today reports.
  • UK opt-out under threat    IRS Employment Review has more.

  • Victory for common sense compromise on 48 hour working week and Working time vote - further threat to a competitive Europe   The TUC and CBI give their reaction to the vote.

    Also

    Euro Socialists win battle against opt-out    Personnel Today reports.

    UK working week exceeds most EU states    Personnel Today looks at new research from the European Industrial Relations Observatory.

    Opt-out hangs in the balance   Members of the European Parliament's employment and social affairs committee have voted to end the working time opt-out that allows employees to put in more than the normal maximum 48-hour working week.

    Committee recommends UK gives up working time opt-out   The parliamentary body which advises the government on employment policy has made recommendations guaranteed to anger business, including the removal of the opt-out to the Working Time Directive.

    Sweden: Reducing working time   IRS journal European Industrial Relations Review looks at recent developments in the regulation of working time in Sweden.

    Hours of work and Rest breaks and rest periods    HR & Compliance Centre's employment law reference manual provides guidance on hours of work and rest breaks and rest periods.

    Working time: the case law    HR & Compliance Centre's case law reports service rounds up what the courts have said about working time.