Defining working time
Under the WTR regulations (WTR regulation 2) working time is defined as:
• any period during which a worker is working, at the employer’s disposal and carrying out his or her activities or duties;
• any period during which s/he is receiving “relevant training”; and
• any additional period which is to be treated as working time under a relevant agreement.
These descriptions leave considerable scope for interpretation over issues like travelling and on-call or standby duty (see below) and in some cases the courts have had to rule on key issues. As the third element in this definition indicates, it is open to employers and unions (or other representatives where unions are not recognised) to define working time by agreement.
NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions define working time as including time taken for training purposes, civic and public duties, health and safety and trades union duties. It is calculated exclusive of meal breaks, except where individuals are required to work during meals, in which case it is counted as working time.
The WTR definition applies to mobile workers included in the scope of the regulations in 2003, even where there are parallel regulations affecting their working time, such as the railway workers affected by the ROGS regulations, or road transport drivers affected by the domestic Drivers’ Hours Rules.