Guidance in Brief: working time for employees
Barbour has updated its guidance for employees concerning working time including information on identifying and controlling risk. This is a summary of its contents.
Regulations:
The Working Time Regulations 1998 governs the hours we in the UK can work. The basic rights and protections offered by the Regulations are:
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a limit of an average of 48 hours a week (over a 17 week rolling reference period) which a worker can be required to work (although workers can voluntarily opt to work longer);
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a limit of an average of 8 hours work in 24 which night workers can be required to work;
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a limit of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week for young workers (with some exceptions), with no opt out option, and no averaging permitted, and normally no night working permitted;
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a right to receive free health assessments for night workers;
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a right to 11 hours rest between each working day (12 hours for young workers);
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a right to a day off each week (two for young workers);
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a right to an in-work rest break if the working day is longer than 6 hours (4.5hrs for young workers); and
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a right to 5.6 weeks paid leave per year (ie 28 days for a five day week job) pro-rata’d for part time workers. This figure includes paid public holidays.
Identifying the risk:
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do you regularly work overtime or shifts?
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are you working an average of more than 48 hours per week?
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are you a young worker and are being asked to work the same as your older colleagues?
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are you too busy at work to take your annual leave entitlement?
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are you regularly asked to come in to work on your day/s off?
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are your working hours monitored?
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do you drive or operate machinery or carry out safety critical work (which may have additional working time limits)?
Controlling risk:
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recognise the symptoms of fatigue. This is more than just being tired and can lead to stress, depression, decreased productivity and making mistake;
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if you are working more than 48 hours averaged out over a 17 week rolling reference period, report it to your employer and discuss how the situation can be addressed;
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you need to cooperate with your employer when measures of prevention or control over the hours you work, particularly if you are a driver or work with machinery;
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inform your employer/s if you work for more than one employer, particularly where there is a risk that you may exceed the 48 hour rule; and
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follow the rules regarding rest. This is particularly important if you are driving; take regular breaks throughout the journey.
Visit Barbour for the full briefing.
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Guidance in Brief: working time for employees
Barbour has updated its guidance for employees concerning working time including information on identifying and controlling risk. This is a summary of its contents.
Safety & Health Practitioner
SHP - Health and Safety News, Legislation, PPE, CPD and Resources Related Topics
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An interesting reminder, acknowledging the hazards and risks directly associated with work related stress fatigue founded in over-exposure to pressures and demands in the workplace, over time.
The importance of mitigating the risk of fatigue manifesting in “vigilance decremation” cannot be overstated as whilst many minor errors even mishaps maybe picked up and hopefully averted by the operator or supervisor the increased risk of more serious omission and/or misjudgement in the chain of causation of more serious injury to the individual and/or others maybe too late after the event.
Vigilance decremation maybe more critical in in the public service domain from airline Pilots to professional drivers and other machine operator yet it is still prevalent in 58% of DSE user operators posing not only a risk to their occupational health but, presenting in at least a 20% lose in performance and productivity yet is perceived as normal, temporary and an acceptable even generic hazard for DSE operators because, they still turn up for work day after day even though this should be classified as “presenteeism”.
Perhaps, when the proposed yet seriously delayed new EU MSD Directive is released from captivity after the next EU elections the concept of evaluating and/or auditing workplace stress might just recognise the risk of fatigue allowing it’s detection, measurement and mitigation although it is unlikely to be prevented.