working time directive for night workers

[patrickstar]

have i got it wrong or should royal mail now be enforcing the 48 hrs rule on all of our nightworkers?

in our mail centre some night workers still do more than the 8 hrs of overtime,is this still allowed as the working time limit seems to exclude nights from any opt out?

also the rest period seems to be 11 hours off now but our mail centre seems to practice the 10 hrs off

if delivery staff come in on ot between the hours of 0300-0600 hrs and then go onto do their delivery ,surely they came under night working regulations as well and are limited to 48hrs max

not sure ,anybody know for fact

[keithposty]

the working time directive stipulates a 48 hour max working week and you cannot be forced to work more hours

the only exceptions are emergency services and armed services, with home workers

the working time directive applies to nights as well as days

you can sign an opt out of the 48 hour week by cannot be disciplined for not signing the opt out, you can cancel the opt out at any time

if you opt out then You can work more than 48 hours in one week, as long as the average over 17 weeks is less than 48 hours per week.

but saying that within royal mail , opt out or not, you must have a minimum of an 11 hour break between shifts and by law a 24 hour break between ending one week and starting the next weeks shifts

[fishtank]

Working Time Regulations
2. Night Work
2.1 Night workers (who regularly work at least three hours during night time) should not exceed an average of eight hours in each 24-hour period, averaged over 17 weeks.
Night time is a period of at least seven hours which includes the hours from midnight to 5am. Unless otherwise agreed by the employer and workers, night time runs from 11pm to 6am.
The averaging period can be extended by agreement or in specified circumstances.
There is no opt-out facility for night work regulations.

But before you get excited that average covers days off and breaks are not included so someone working 5X10hr shifts over a 7 day period with 1hr breaks would actually average out at 6.42hrs.
You would have to work around 65hrs per week for 17 weeks with no annual leave to come close to breaching the working time directive.

[patrickstar]

thanks for your advice on this matter

[Martin Walsh]

The CWU have a collective agreement on the working time directive which in many ways holds the field. It is fair to say that the working time directive is not adminstered very well inside or outside Royal Mail in this country.