Maximum hours you can work in one day?

RS-Eleven

Are there any rules as to how many hours you can work in any one day?

I am looking for some shop work but hoping to work only 4 (or even 3) days per week but for around 40 hours in total.

Don't mind long hours but would like to get more than a couple of days off per week having spent the last 6 years running my own business with hardly any time off at all!

Thanks for any help you can offer.

anamenottaken

You can work 24 hours a day if you want to - provided any employer were silly enough to think they would get a decent level of work out of someone not having a break!

Whilst you cannot be forced to work long hours, you can do so voluntarily.

wontfallforit

Stating the obvious, you'd have to work 10 hours per day (+ breaks) over 4 days, if you wanted 40 hours.

At one point, I used to work 9hrs per day + breaks, and have also done 8.75hrs + breaks (both resulting in 10hr shifts, both over 4 days) - but that doesn't quite bring you up to 40hrs.

The main problem would be finding a shop that's actually open that long. Have you looked at the likes of shopping centres, where shops generally open until 8pm+?

RS-Eleven

Thanks for the replies.

I have somewhere in mind that I know is open very long hours, and that I should hopefully have a decent chance of getting a job at!

Should be able to cope with those types of shifts, so it sounds like it should be possible provided they don't have any internal policies regarding working hours?

Savvy_Sue

One thing to bear in mind is that an employer running a shop or similar might prefer to have more staff working shorter shifts because it gives more flexibility.

So if you have 4 staff, one of whom works these long shifts, you're a bit stuffed when this person goes sick or takes leave, because you've only got 3 others to cover a lot of hours.

Whereas if you have 6 staff all working shorter shifts, when one goes sick or takes leave you can more easily get the other 5 to cover one set of short shifts.

Just something to bear in mind if you are not finding employers offer these long shifts.

terra_ferma

Working times are regulated by the Working Time Regulations.



The Working Time Regulations provides you with the rights to:

• a limit of an average 48 hours a week on the hours you can be required to work, though you may choose to work longer
• 5.6 weeks' paid leave a year
• 11 consecutive hours' rest in any 24-hour period
• a 20 minute rest break if your working day is longer than six hours
• one day off each week
• a limit on the normal working hours of night workers to an average eight hours in any 24-hour period, and an entitlement for night workers to receive regular health assessments.

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1526

paulwf

It is possible, I work with people that do 7am to 6pm shifts (so 10 hours excluding breaks). However they tend to work only a couple of days a week...as Savvy Sue mentions employers generally want flexibility. Doing 20 hours in 2 days seems to be preferable to part time employees instead of spreading it out over 4-5 days.

aaronoxf

What about suggesting a rota system, one week you work 5 days at 10 hrs = 50 hours. the next week you do 3 days at 10 hours = 30 hours. therefore your working your 40 hours a weeks.