European Commission One Step Nearer To Removing UK Opt-out

On 19th May the European Commission moved one step nearer to removing the UK opt-out on the Working Time Directive by publishing its views, so far, of the practice.

The Commission prefers the removal of the current right of UK workers to opt out of the 48-hour maximum working week. However, it did suggest one option allowing retention of the UKs individual opt-out but with conditions that would, in effect, make it unworkable by

• Requiring opt-out agreements only to be made with worker representatives or trade unions
  
• The signing of employment contracts and the agreement to opt-out to take place at different points in time
  
• Employers regularly reviewing an employees opt-out agreement to see if they still agree

Surely, it is only a matter of time before the opt-out goes. UK employers with no electronic method of recording employee hours can do so simply and cheaply with a WinTA Lite system.