working a 7 day week

[cc2]

Im an L A grade worker who works monday to friday in my unit and does a post walk on a saturday to earn a few extra quid. Im just wanting to know what the deal is with the 7 day working rule as i was planning on doing overtime in my own unit on sunday and have been told if i do that then i will have to take two consecutive days off next week. Have been told that you can no longer work 7 days in a row without a day off

[motherhubbard]

Working Time Directive

To protect workers’ health and safety, working hours must meet minimum standards applicable throughout the EU.

The EU’s Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC) requires EU countries to guarantee the following rights for all workers:
a limit to weekly working hours, which must not exceed 48 hours on average, including any overtime
a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours in every 24
a rest break during working hours if the worker is on duty for longer than 6 hours
a minimum weekly rest period of 24 uninterrupted hours for each 7-day period, in addition to the 11 hours' daily rest
paid annual leave of at least 4 weeks per year
extra protection for night work, e.g. average working hours must not exceed 8 hours per 24-hour period,
night workers must not perform heavy or dangerous work for longer than 8 hours in any 24-hour period,
night workers have the right to free health assessments and, under certain circumstances, to transfer to day work.

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

There is no law that says you can't work 7 days in the row, there is a law that says your employer can't make you work 7 days in a row (working time directive) and even that law can be worked around to enable you to do it anyway, the law talks about hours of weekly rest it's not actually full days off

[aiden01]

There is no law that says you can't work 7 days in the row, there is a law that says your employer can't make you work 7 days in a row (working time directive) and even that law can be worked around to enable you to do it anyway, the law talks about hours of weekly rest it's not actually full days off

Just to ask if you Finnish your shift at 9pm Tues to Fri can you start ot at 6am any day in in between or does there have to be an 11hr gap between duty and ot thanks

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

There is no law that says you can't work 7 days in the row, there is a law that says your employer can't make you work 7 days in a row (working time directive) and even that law can be worked around to enable you to do it anyway, the law talks about hours of weekly rest it's not actually full days off

Just to ask if you Finnish your shift at 9pm Tues to Fri can you start ot at 6am any day in in between or does there have to be an 11hr gap between duty and ot thanks

As long as it's completely voluntary there does not need to be an 11 hour gap, as long as it's not a job covered by EU driving hours regulations ie hgv etc then as long as the employer is giving you your legal right to take the daily and weekly rest breaks and you choose not to take them then the employer and employee are not breaking any laws

[Martin Walsh]

Royal Mail and the CWU have their own working time directive agreement which is contained in the way forward and contrary to the posts in this thread it very much still in place.

Royal Mail have had some visits by the HSE over breaches of the WTD. Royal Mail are targeting offices where individuals are working above 70 hours , are not taking their minuimn rest period and are not taking a 48 rest break every two weeks. It is fair to say where there has been a recruitment problem in certain offices Royal Mail have turned a blind eye on WTD but they have contacted CWU HQs over the fact that a number of units mainly in the Eastern Geograhical Area but some in West and North have got people working above 70 hours and with minuimn rest breaks being breached. They want to do some audits in units.

Even if you opt out of the 48 week you are bound by the WTD and the collective agreement which is in the Way Forward.

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

Royal Mail and the CWU have their own working time directive agreement which is contained in the way forward and contrary to the posts in this thread it very much still in place.

contrary to what posts exactly? none of the posts previously have even mentioned any national agreements they only state what is legal under the working time directive, yes that may differ to national agreements with RM and the cwu which give extra protections but it is still completely legal to do. None of the previous posts in this thread are no longer in place

also the original post was not in relation to total hours worked it was in fact clearly about working 7 days in a row which is not illegal, can be done and comply with working time directive and have the full rest hours daily and weekly and still work 7 days or more in a row, and even then it would be legal to work 7 days and not have those full daily and weekly rest hours as long as it was completely voluntary

[Martin Walsh]

The point I was making was when the WTD came about companies were encouraged to reach a collective agreement covering the WTD mandatory requirement and this is covered within the Way Forward and it states if you work 7 days one week you must have a 48 hour rest period the following week. This is in line with the WTD requirements and a collective agreement and becomes part of your implied terms of contract.

[mudmonster]

And when are Royal Mail going to crack down on this,How can you claim overtime till midnight and then be back in at 5am most days,even better when the office shuts a lot earlier than midnight

[Martin Walsh]

This is the issue Royal Mail often turn a blind eye too this in times of trouble and let's face it if it is choice for a manager where he gives the OPG overtime which breaches the working time directive or him having to take the walk out he will breach the WTD every time.

However Ofcom who are using the freedom of information act over 25 requests per week on efficiency and hours are pressuring Royal Mail on these issues. In fact Ofcom who are due to announce their recommendations on the review of Royal Mail's efficiency has now got the hours and performance for every office in the UK over the last 7 years.

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

The point I was making was when the WTD came about companies were encouraged to reach a collective agreement covering the WTD mandatory requirement and this is covered within the Way Forward and it states if you work 7 days one week you must have a 48 hour rest period the following week. This is in line with the WTD requirements and a collective agreement and becomes part of your implied terms of contract.

you said contrary to previous posts made in this thread, exactly what post said that the national agreement was no longer in force? the previous posts only stated the legal situation and did not mention any agreement no longer being in force

[wannabeek]

I think the point being made is there is actually no voluntary aspect to it if the employer is enforcing current legislations, as they should with the current legislation. I used to work well in excess of 70 hrs a week, and regularly over 80 (in previous employment, not RM).

However, that massive money spinner I was on came to an abrupt end for me when the Working Time Directive came in to force. I was willing and able to work longer hours, the employer had work for me to do, however I was not allowed to. It was suddenly illegal under EU law.

I suppose the employer could have broken EU law, but most companies are reluctant to do that, understandably, even if the employee is willing for them to do that.

[Tman]

If you were working over 80 hours per week then the firm and you were denying some other poor sod a job. They were letting you work yourself to death to save paying another employee's worth of NI etc. Wrong on so many levels..

[wannabeek]

If you were working over 80 hours per week then the firm and you were denying some other poor sod a job. They were letting you work yourself to death to save paying another employee's worth of NI etc. Wrong on so many levels..

I commend your socialist attitude but the reality is that not everyone is so selfless. You may see me as a selfish git but I have always intended to earn as much as I could while I was young, fit and able so that there would be no need to work like a packhorse slogging death in later years.

PS I didn't work to death. I paid off the mortgage 20 years early and life's pretty easy nowadays tbh. I don't believe I'd be in such a comfortable situation right now if I hadn't worked my socks off 20 years ago.

[Tman]

And that's why the WTD etc were introduced; to save people like you from exploitation by unscrupulous firms. Then again, unless someone is doing the most menial tasks, working 12+ hours a day every day doesn't lead to quality work, anyway.
Funny about the "old age" thing though. When posties could clock up amazing amounts of docket, it was the same old faces doing it, and the same old faces did it until the day they retired. Just grabbing, really.