If you work in certain industries, you cannot turn off the 48-hour limit for your work week. If you refuse overtime and have worked less than 2 years in a job, your employer may threaten to fire you. To calculate this average, add up your hours over 17 weeks and divide them by 102 days. This imagines that each week has 6 days instead of 7 because you have a legal right to 1 day a week when you are not doing any work. There are other regulations for mobile transport workers and stricter rules for young workers aged 16 and 17. Your contract or statement could state that you have to work in addition to your regular hours of work – this is called overtime. You should only work overtime if your contract provides for it. If you think you need to work too much voluntary overtime and want to reduce it, talk to your employer informally. You may be able to find another way to manage the work. If you are under 18 and over school-leaving age (you have until the end of the summer semester of the school year in which you turn 16), you are classified as a young worker.

Again, some jobs are exempt from the required rest periods, such as the military, mobile workstations and workplaces without fixed hours. After the notice period expires, you only have to work 48 hours per week. 119 – 17 = 102 days during the reference period Sarah works part-time in a store on weekdays. His employer asks him to attend training on Saturdays. The time she spends on training counts as working time, even if it is outside her normal working hours. If you don`t want to take legal action, but think your employer is breaking the rules, you can also report a work hours issue to the GOV.UK. There are additional restrictions on night work for young workers. For example, your employer may offer overtime if the workload suddenly increases and they do not have enough staff to meet the demand due to illness. You may feel like you`re working too many hours if you: You shouldn`t count unpaid overtime you do unasked, such as staying late to do something or work you`ve brought home. You should omit all the time when you have free time, and rest breaks when no work is done. Find out which breaks you are entitled to. The declaration must indicate the number of hours you must work, including overtime.

The UK is subject to the EU`s Working Time Directive to ensure workers get enough rest between shifts. Therefore, even if your employees have agreed to get out of the 48-hour week, they need to get enough rest between shifts. This also applies to part-time workers, so hours worked for another employer must also be taken into account. You might suggest that you could work more efficiently if your employer: Working time agreements require – subject to various exceptions – that working hours be limited to eight hours per day and forty-eight hours per week. If you have “guaranteed mandatory overtime” in your contract, it means that your employer must offer you overtime, and you must accept and process it. Step 2: Divide the total number of hours worked by the length of the reference period Note: Employees under the age of 18 cannot work more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. This cannot be averaged over a period of time, nor can employees under the age of 18 opt out. If you think you are being denied the right to work no more than 48 hours a week (40 if you are under 18), contact one of the following organisations for advice: You can count the time spent on vocational training as working time if your employer has agreed that you complete the training. It doesn`t matter if your employer pays for training or not. There are also special provisions for mobile workers in the transport sector (road, rail or sea). Step 3: Calculate your average number of hours worked per week by dividing your hours worked by the number of days Your employer has a duty to create a safe work environment. It also means that you don`t work too many hours.

With respect to “weekly rest”, employees are legally entitled to 24 hours of leave every 7 working days or 48 hours of rest every 14 working days. There are stricter restrictions for employees who work night shifts, as they cannot work more than eight hours in any 24-hour period. You cannot count the training you have chosen in your personal time as working time, even if it is related to your work, such as evening classes. Some workers, such as young workers and mobile workers in the transport sector, are subject to special rules. Potentially, yes. For example, in some establishments, employers may offer overtime exclusively to migrant workers because they need less free time than local workers (because they are away from their loved ones, want to save money to send them home, etc.). However, local workers may find this discriminatory as it prevents them from working overtime and earning more money. Therefore, employers should ensure that all employees have the opportunity to work overtime.

Similarly, overtime should not be preferred by workers who were previously willing to work overtime, as this may lead to the interpretation that there is an obligation to work overtime in order to be able to work overtime in the future. Your contract can set out how much overtime you can do in a month. To comply with the law, Sam`s manager must ensure that his weekly average is reduced to 48 hours. After discussing the situation, Sam and his manager agree that he will work 41 hours (7 hours less than usual) the following week. If you decide not to work more than 48 hours per week, you can terminate your contract with at least 7 days` written notice. You have the right to say no, but if you say no for no reason, it could hurt your relationship with your boss. You can try changing the working hours in your contract. For example, if several co-workers are also working unwanted overtime, you might suggest that your employer hire someone else to cover the overtime. It can be cheaper to hire a new person than to pay several more employees.

You must keep a detailed record of all overtime hours you work in exchange for COIL. Sam usually works 48 hours a week. He did not decide not to set the weekly limit. For example, you can usually work in an office, but occasionally work from home. This is different from on-demand work. The employer must ensure that his employee does not work more than 48 hours per week on average in both workplaces. Contractually agreed working time refers to the number of hours an employee must work by his employer per week. This is normally set at a maximum of 48 hours per week, unless a lower value is fixed by national law or a collective agreement. Where the average is permitted, there may be certain variations in the working time required, provided that the average working time required does not exceed 48 hours per week and that the total number of hours actually worked never exceeds 60 hours per week, except in exceptional circumstances, which is permitted by national legislation, covered by a collective agreement and adequate safeguards are in place. The 8-hour average cannot be used and night workers can never work more than 8 hours in any 24-hour period if the work includes: You must include all the time you spend on the work you have agreed for your employer. When you add up your work hours, you need to count all the overtime you have agreed. Your employer may be able to persuade you to take job-related training outside of your regular working hours if it is stated in your contract.

This is counted as working time. The 48-hour week includes all directed time, such as work-related training, travel (if part of work), working lunches, and paid or unpaid overtime. However, unpaid overtime for which an employee has volunteered is not counted as a 48-hour week. To calculate your hours of work if you have not taken time off, you should: Young workers are generally not allowed to work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week.