working time directive

broxiebear1

can anyone help me
i am employed as a commercial breakdown fitter (TYRES) my hrs are 47 a week if i take 30 min lunch break they moan at me but as i am diabetic i have to stop for lunch they dont ask me to work overtime but tell me i have to do it . if i refuse because it takes me over 48 hrs they will sack me what can i do

busterian

WTD states that if you work over 6 hours you are entitled to a 20 minute break.

As for working hours, it is averaged out of 17 weeks. Providing this doesnt go over 48 hours, your company is within the Directive.

You cannot be sacked or treated unfairly because you refuse to work overtime. Did you sign an opt-out agreement?

Unfortunately, if you haven't worked at your company for a year, they could actually sack you and state other reasons as you dont have protected rights.

HTH

broxiebear1

busterian wrote: »

WTD states that if you work over 6 hours you are entitled to a 20 minute break.

As for working hours, it is averaged out of 17 weeks. Providing this doesnt go over 48 hours, your company is within the Directive.

You cannot be sacked or treated unfairly because you refuse to work overtime. Did you sign an opt-out agreement?

Unfortunately, if you haven't worked at your company for a year, they could actually sack you and state other reasons as you dont have protected rights.

HTH

i work 47 paid hrs every week mon 8am till 5 30 pm sat 8am till 1pm yes hrs are more than i get paid so i take 30min lunch everyday and if busy they moan at that i tell them i need to eat
i have worked for them for 3 years now and just recieved my contract 3 months ago ,i never signed anything regarding giving up my right s regarding 48hr working directive but contract says my paid hrs 47 and aalso you are expected to work as company needs .
i do 24 hr call outs which i dont get allowance for i just get paid if i get called out which is not very often i am also thinking of stop doing that

chainsaw

[FONT=&quot]I have a similar problem which I won't go into as its too long. As a result I contacted all sorts of official bodies such as HSE, CAB, DBIS who are the government dept responsible for regulating the WTD, the GMB at the highest level, as well as my employers HR dept and every other organisation I could think of. All of these organisations have stonewalled me again and again saying they don't understand by questions or telling me its nothing to do with them so I made up my mind to find out for myself. I did this by reading all the information I could find including European and British court cases. This is what I found.

Everyone is in the WTD like it or not. You can opt out of working more than a 48-hour week over a reference period usually 13 weeks. The law says you cannot be sacked or punished in any other way for choosing not to opt out of the 48 max working week. (But we all know a company can find another reason to sack you)

Call out / Stand by has become a big issue. My understanding is if you are on call and obliged to be in a particular place by your company then all those hours are worked hours which go towards the max 48 hour week. This does not mean you get paid for them. It does mean that even if you are at home watching tele or asleep in bed the fact that you are not allowed to leave your house to go shopping or to the cinema etc means you are in work.

If on the other hand you are allowed to visit family go to the football match etc when you are on call then you are only in work from the time you are contact by your employer to work.

These principles has been tested a number of times in the European and British Courts.

Workers on the minimum wage and unpaid call out have a case that they are actually being paid less than the minimum wage.

I believe all the organisations mention above know what I have said to be true. They are all concerned about the consequences of what I said becoming generally accepted. For example If your work day was 8-5 and then went on call 5pm until 8am the next day and these hours counted as worked hours you would then under the WTD not have to start work for another 11 hours and the company would loose you for the whole of the next day. As it is now you work the whole of the next day.

What’s more assuming you worked a 40 hour week then you would only be able to work 8 hours on call a week (5pm -1am instead of 5pm - 8am)

The approach all the above organisations have taken and most importantly the government is to make everyone with a case go to court individually rather than accept the principle. All the cases I am aware of have won their case.

So if you want to go to court (employment tribunal) build up your evidence, hearsay is no good you need written evidence even record conversations. Use the company grievance procedure to the full as the tribunal usually won't be interest if you haven't. (Hope you don't get sacked for drawing attention to yourself) Don't expect any help from anyone especially unions and if you make a good case you will probably win.

On the other hand you could just go on the sick for a week and get your time/money back that way.[/FONT]

Googlewhacker

Your post makes alot of sense however you ruined it at the end with that stupid flippant comment.

Owain_Moneysaver

If you are diabetic they must make reasonable adjustment to your working routine to allow you to take meals/medication.

teabelly

WTD doesn't apply to all industries does it? Aren't communication workers and some others exempt? Or have those exemptions gone now?

Hammyman

You are classed as a Mobile worker so come under those rules which are:

30 minute break if you work more than 6 hrs.
48 hour average working week over a 17 or 26 week reference period with no opt out and a maximum working week of 60hrs.
If you work between 00:00 - 04:00, you are classed as a night worker and unless there is an opt-out agreement (which must be signed by worker representatives, NOT management) then you can only work 10hrs a day.

chainsaw

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Your post makes alot of sense however you ruined it at the end with that stupid flippant comment.

It sounds like broxiebear1 is being bullied and taken advantage of.

He could take his case to court hoping that his employer does not get wind of this and sack him on some other spurious grounds. He could go through the agro of going to court and who knows he might even keep his job afterwards assuming he is not sent to Coventry and made to feel so uncomfortable he has to leave of his own accord.

or

he could just take a weeks sick as I said which might make him feel a little better about his situation and allow him to keep his job and not be sent to Coventry.

I would take the hard route but I would advise others to take the easy route and go sick. There is nothing stupid or fippant about that. If employers treat their workers well they usually find sickness is at a minimum.

Roobarb_73

If you get sacked for asserting your statutory right not to work in excess of 48 hrs a week (assuming you haven't signed an opt out) you will be unfairly dismissed

chainsaw

Knowing right is on your side does not pay the bills.

You are unlikely to be sacked for refusing to work more than 48 hours but you might be sacked for any number of spurious reasons like being late a couple of times or making a couple of mistakes that the boss chooses to see as serious misconduct that he might see as a minor misdemeanor if another employer did it.

Yes you can fight it in the courts but its not easy and you are not sure to win.