Members of the European Parliament today voted, by a significant majority, to end the UK’s opt-out from the Working Time Directive. The recommendation from Parliament is to phase out the opt-out within three years.
Jean Lambert MEP, who has been a long-time advocate of ending the opt-out and who has published a report on the health effects of long working hours [1], said:
“I am delighted that the Parliament has taken a clear position in favour of workers’ rights. Despite intense lobbying from the UK Government and businesses, MEPs have stood firm and supported workers, who are too often left open to exploitation.”
The legislation, which is designed to protect workers’ health and safety, limits the average working week to 48 hours over a 12 month period.
Jean Lambert, a Member of the Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee who spoke in the debate on Monday, said:
“Working time rules are designed first and foremost to protect the health and safety of workers and those around them. There are many serious health issues related to our long-hours culture including stress, anxiety and depression, as well as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and insomnia. Now UK workers, like their counterparts on the continent, will have the right to enjoy a healthier work-life balance.
“The majority of long hours employees are not paid for their overtime and therefore have little to fear in terms of their earnings from working less. Unsurprisingly, seven out of ten people who work unpaid overtime want to cut their hours. Over half of those doing paid overtime also want to reduce their working time.
“There is a large degree of flexibility built into the Directive so that workers can work longer in peak times, if required. The 48 hour per week maximum is calculated on average over a 12 month period. This means workers can work longer some weeks as long as they are also allowed sufficient rest.”
421 MEPs voted in favour of ending the UK opt-out. A majority of 394 was required for the position to be adopted by the Parliament. The next step will be for the Parliament to negotiate with the Council to find an agreed way forward to phase-out the opt-out.
Notes to Editors
[1] Jean Lambert’s report Must I Work Harder?, which outlines her reasons behind calling for an end to the UK opt-out, can be found here.
Number of people working over 48 hours per week
UK total – 3,251,494
In the UK, 38 per cent of people working over 48 hours per week only work 1 or 2 hours more, so it would be relatively easy to adjust their working time to comply with the Directive. However, 14 per cent of those working long hours work over 60 hours per week.
Percentage of people working over 48 hours per week by region
North East – 11%
North West – 11%
Yorkshire and Humberside – 12%
East Midlands – 14%
West Midlands – 13%
Eastern – 15%
London – 16%
South East – 14%
Wales – 10%
Scotland – 12%
Northern Ireland – 10%
Statistics source: TUC
Physical effects of long hours:
– Cardiovascular disease (in the UK there are 66,000 reported cases of heart disease each year related to work)
– musculoskeletal disorders
– chronic infections
– diabetes
– high blood pressure
– headaches
– gastrointestinal disturbances
– extreme fatigue
– insomnia
– lower immune system
Psychological effects of long hours:
– stress (Government figures cite stress as second only to musculoskeletal disorders as Britain’s most likely reason for time off work)
– anxiety
– depression
Health related facts:
– Road safety experts believe that exhausted drivers account for more accidents than drunk drivers
– Surgeons kept awake all night can make 20per cent more mistakes and take 14percent longer to complete tasks
– 45 % of employees in the EU who work more than 48 hours per week consider that their health and safety is at risk because of work (as opposed to 26 per cent who work less than 48 hours)
– 55 per cent of employees in the EU who work more than 48 hours per week consider that their work effects their health (as opposed to 32 per cent who work less than 48 hours.
Health effects source: Must I work harder?