LRD guides and handbook September 2014

Health and safety law 2014

Chapter 9

General background — the Working Time Directive

[ch 9: page 147]

The European Union (EU) directive on working time was designed to protect workers’ health and safety by imposing legal limits on the maximum length of the working week, and by requiring paid holidays, breaks and rest periods. The directive became law in the UK mainly through the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR).