Employment Law A-Z - W is for... Working Time Regulations

W is for… Working Time Regulations

The Working Time Regulations 1998 considered the meaning of working time and introduced duties and obligations onto employers in respect of the hours that employees are working. This includes for example, taking all reasonable steps to protect workers’ health and safety, ensuring that their average working time (including overtime) is not more than 48 hours per week.

It also contains the rights of workers to have 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday per year. An update to the system, in calculating and taking holiday, was introduced in 2024. It is important that employers give due consideration to these regulations and ensure compliance. There is a vast array of sanctions available to employers who breach these regulations including a potentially unlimited criminal fine and compensation for workers in the employment tribunal.