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Autumn 2003 Newsletter

Time called on overtime

The Working Time Regulations 1998 prescribe a maximum working week of 48 hours. The courts have recently heard the first case of an employer being prosecuted for making an employee work more than that. A newsagent was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £1,200 in compensation for making the employee work on average over 70 hours a week, and also refusing a lunch break and annual leave.

Of course, many people still work more than 48 hours a week, and many are happy to do so - particularly if they are paid for the overtime. But it is now important for an employee to opt out of the maximum if longer hours are to be worked, or the employer could be in trouble. Information about this and other employment issues can be found at the employment rights section of the Department of Trade and Industry website (www.tiger.gov.uk).