ok to sign Working Time Directive form?

liney

purplepardalis wrote: »

My company have included the opt out in their contract of employment. They say you can withdraw your agreement by providing 3 months written notice. Is this enforceable?

It is my understanding that the opt out can be included in the T&C's (although best practice would be seperate documents) as long as the opt out requires an additional signiture, and you are not required to agree to the opt out in order to accept the whole contract.

The 3 months is the maximum 'opt back in' notice.

bob_dob

Well the update is that most of the workforce have not signed the opt out form!

Please may i ask 2 questions-
1, how long has this 48hr week rule been in force?
2, if the Employer doesn't get it's employees to sign the opt out agreement and the employees continue to work over the 48 hours (over a 17 week period)- what happens?

liney

Working Time Regulations were first introduced in 1998 and have been amended several times over the years.

The employees are not permitted to work over 48 hours (averaged) if they do not sign the opt out. The company should ensure that overtime required is done on a rota to ensure that this does not happen.

If you refuse to opt out you should not suffer any detriment for asserting this statutory right.

Andy_L

1. Since 1998
2. They are breaking the law & can be fined/imprisioned, IIRC its an "improvement notice" 1st (ie a warning) and then prosecution if they don't sort their act out.

If people are doing unpaid overtime & want to do it then its in their interests to sign. If its the classic culture of semi-obliged unpaid extra hours then time to shop the employer to the HSE

DCFC79

I only came across the WTD a few years ago, i think it was 2008 when i registered with an agency, before then signing the form never cropped up.

Lincoln_Imp

liney wrote: »

Working Time Regulations were first introduced in 1998 and have been amended several times over the years.

The employees are not permitted to work over 48 hours (averaged) if they do not sign the opt out. The company should ensure that overtime required is done on a rota to ensure that this does not happen.

If you refuse to opt out you should not suffer any detriment for asserting this statutory right.

Our place force overtime right up to the 48 hour week but there is a lot of people that work over 50 hours per week ,week in week out and to my knowledge no one has opted out

Trouble is we have a lot of agency workers who dont really have a lot of choice as if they refuse our place just get rid ..wrong i know but not a lot they can do about it

Personally i woudnt sign it

There is a big difference in wanting to do the overtime and being forced to do it though ,i dont mind working 60 hours a week when i want to but if my company started to force me in i would do 48 and no more

liney

Lincoln_Imp wrote: »

Our place force overtime right up to the 48 hour week but there is a lot of people that work over 50 hours per week ,week in week out and to my knowledge no one has opted out

Trouble is we have a lot of agency workers who dont really have a lot of choice as if they refuse our place just get rid ..wrong i know but not a lot they can do about it

Personally i woudnt sign it

There is a big difference in wanting to do the overtime and being forced to do it though ,i dont mind working 60 hours a week when i want to but if my company started to force me in i would do 48 and no more

You must consider that unpaid breaks are not working hours when calculating times. Agency workers have probably signed the opt out at the agency, because the agency is their employer.

Whilst you should not suffer detriment, I am aware of companies who refuse all overtime to workers who do not sign the opt out, with the stance they are rewarding those that do sign with the extra hours.

It depends on how reasonable or unreasonable the company are generally as to whether I would sign or not.

bob_dob

Hi, thanks for the answers.
If the WTD has been around that long then im confused as to why my employer would suddenly wasnt us to sign the opt out form......?

bob_dob

......maybe, either they are being responsible or trying to get us in a position where they can dictate what hours we do every week (which is what i suspect!)

The latest is i hear that they have edited the original form slightly....one of the things clarified, i believe, is that the period we have to be able to opt back in to the WTD is one month!

Surely if that period was reduced to 7 days then it would hardly make any difference what changes they wish to enforce on us, regarding being forced to work overtime, because we would only have to 'obey' it for 7 days?

bob_dob

Just to confirm, the 'revised' WTD opt out form has been re-issued to the workforce who didn't sign the original and the ONLY thing that has been changed is the addition of 'If i change my mind, I will give my employer one months notice in writing to end this agreement'.

So, together, this is the final paragraph-
'This agreement will remain in force for the duration of my employment with **** Ltd. If i change my mind, i will give my employer one months notice in writing to end this agreement'

I dont see anything improved to warrant signing this.

Any thoughts please?