minimum daily rest period in 24hrs

[patrickstar]

hi
i work in a mail centre where the 11 hr rest period in any 24hr period has never been enforced.

we use 10hrs off

is this common in other mail centres as acas guidelines state it should be 11 hrs off now

can a local agreement be put in place in contradiction of the working time directive or should it be strictly observed?

should the union be insisting on this or not?

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

hi
i work in a mail centre where the 11 hr rest period in any 24hr period has never been enforced.

we use 10hrs off

is this common in other mail centres as acas guidelines state it should be 11 hrs off now

can a local agreement be put in place in contradiction of the working time directive or should it be strictly observed?

should the union be insisting on this or not?

From the direct gov website

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ ... G_10029451" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Daily rest - a break between working days
If you are an adult worker you have the right to a break of at least 11 hours between working days. This means as an adult worker, if you finish work at 8.00 pm on Monday you should not start work until 7.00 am on Tuesday.


So if your not getting this then you can tell them you want your 11 hours daily rest

[DGP1]

I can't believe people are working 14 hour days

[brothermagrew]

The legal number of hours between shifts is determined by the Working Time Regulations 1998. They state that the minimum rest period in a 24-hour period should not be less than eleven consecutive hours. In brief, workers are entitled to at least 11 hours rest per day, at least one day off each week and a rest break during the shift if it is longer than six hours. An employer cannot insist that a worker works more than 48 hours per week. Any more than 48 hours are voluntary and subject to an Opt Out agreement.

Working time law is based on the following legislation:

The European Working Time Directive 93/104EC
The European Young Workers Directive 93/33EC
The European Young Workers Directive 94/33EC
The UK Working Time Regulations 1998 and 1999
The Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2002

The Working Time Regulations implement the European Working Time Directive and parts of the Young Workers Directive in the UK. The 2003 amendment extends existing rights to groups of works who were previously excluded, e.g. junior doctors. Article 18 of the Working Time Directive allows member states to permit individual workers to opt-out of the 48-hour weekly limit on their working hours. The UK remains the only European country that allows individual workers to use the provision. This arrangement is currently under review.

The Working Time Directive is a health and safety law and seeks to ensure that workers get sufficient rest to enable them to carry out their duties safely when they are at work and protect their long-term health. The limits therefore apply to the total hours that an individual works, regardless of how many jobs they do. An employer is required to record the hours undertaken by an employee, but the worker also has a responsibility for his or her own health and safety.

Working Time rights apply differently depending on the type of worker and the type of work, and can be varied by agreements between employers and groups of workers or individuals.

A 48-hour week
The employer has a duty to ensure that working time does not exceed 48 hours per week on average unless proper procedures are followed.

The average is calculated over a 17-week period, but this period can be varied to 26 or 52 weeks under certain circumstances. Days when are off sick or on annual leave do not count.

Rest breaks
Workers are entitled to a rest break of 20 minutes if working six hours or more. This should be an uninterrupted period and be taken during your working hours, not at the beginning or end.

Daily rest
There should be a rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours in any 24-hour period.

Weekly rest
In addition to the daily rest period, there should be a further uninterrupted rest period of at least 24 hours in any seven-day period. This can be combined to form a 48-hour rest period in a 14-day period.

Night workers
If you regularly work at least three hours of your working day between 11pm and 6am you are considered a night worker.

Night workers should not work more than an average of 8 hours in every 24. If the work involves “special hazards or physical or mental strain”, the 8-hour limit applies to each 24-hour period and is not averaged over a reference period.

Night workers are also entitled to a free health assessment before being assigned to night work, with regular health assessments thereafter. If your health suffers because of the night work you should be moved back to daytime working.

Young workers
Slightly different rules apply to young workers – that is those between school-leaving age and 18.

The weekly limit is 40 hours, with a limit of 8 hours a day. This is not averaged over a reference period and there is no opt out provision. Young workers are entitled to a rest period of 12 hours each day, 48 hours in each seven-day period and a 30 minute break for shifts of more than four-and-a-half hours.

They must not ordinarily work between 10pm and 6am, or between 11pm and 7am if their contract provides for work after 10pm.

Opt-out provisions
You can reach an agreement with your employer collectively or individually to opt out of certain provisions.

Opt-outs of the 48-hour per week limit must be agreed individually and be in writing. You must be able to reverse the opt-out if you wish. You cannot opt out of entitlements to paid annual leave.


What is there preventing you writing, Emailing or phoning the CWU H.Q. Health & Safety Department and posing your query to them directly for an answer.

[fishtank]

No offence to you brother but the Working Time Regulations are a toothless tiger,virtually ignored throughout UK industry by both employee and employer and certainly ignored within Royal Mail.
I don't think there is an office that doesn't breach those regulations on a daily basis.
As i said not aimed at you brothermagrew,just the system in general.

[patrickstar]

quite simply it is the postman themselves that want to work these hours despite the legislation being in place to protect them. The employer seems to turn a blind eye to it in rm.its very difficult for the union to find the middle ground for common sense where people should be protected for their own good but also to not stop them from earning a reasonable wage.I do think that someone doing more than 14 hrs in a day is putting themselves at risk on a regular basis

[brothermagrew]

None taken fishtank but i do sometimes wonder how an investigation would pan out if an employee was to work say more than 13 hours in any given day and was to then become instrumental in a serious accident at work.

[not me]

quite simply it is the postman themselves that want to work these hours despite the legislation being in place to protect them. The employer seems to turn a blind eye to it in rm.its very difficult for the union to find the middle ground for common sense where people should be protected for their own good but also to not stop them from earning a reasonable wage.I do think that someone doing more than 14 hrs in a day is putting themselves at risk on a regular basis

and just think how much money RM save on staff
for every 2 workers doing 14,thats another FT position with 4 hours spare