48-hour week
[ch 4: page 122]Regulation 4, WTR says that in general, an adult worker should work no more than 48 hours in a week, averaged over a reference period. This is normally 17 weeks, but is 26 weeks in the special cases listed in regulation 21. These include, for example, those working in security and surveillance, care services and at docks and airports. The reference period is 52 weeks in the offshore oil and gas sector, and can be extended to 52 weeks by collective or workforce agreement in other sectors. Employers cannot force workers to work more than these hours (Barber v RJB Mining [1999] IRLR 308).
Complaints relating to the 48-hour week can be made online to the government pay and work rights team: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints. Complaints can be made anonymously.
Young workers must not work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week. These hours cannot be averaged over a longer period and young workers cannot individually opt out of the requirements. Where a young person works for more than one employer, working hours must be aggregated and must be within the overall maximum.