| > the WTD makes mandatory a number of things that cannot be opted out from Let's stop cherry picking. These CAN be altered by an employment contract: > the 20-minute rest break for those who expect to work more than 6 hours in a day > the daily rest of 11 hours in 24 hours > the weekly rest of 24 hours in every 7 days or 48 hours in every 14 days > the 17-week reference period for night work > the average hours for night workers working with special hazards > The reference period for working out the 48-hour average maximum working week can be changed from 17 weeks to 52 weeks This is exactly my issue with these big EU directives and regulations. The EU gets massive press about the headline issue, and the nuance, opt-outs etc get swept under the rug |
They CANNOT in a regular employment contract UNLESS it can be justified that the job specifically needs it. Even when employer is justified, the rest entitlement still exists and must be compensated for, and the employer requires appropriate justification if they cannot give that compensatory rest. And if they put themselves in this situation (where employees go beyond normal working time limits), they need to keep good records of time they did make their employees work, so they can confirm they haven't broken the law to the HSE when it comes knocking.