Formerly excluded sectors and mobile workers

Until 2003 the WTR regulations excluded workers in a range of sectors (air, rail, road, sea, inland waterways and sea fishing). That blanket exclusion was replaced by a more selective approach that continued to partially or totally exclude mainly mobile groups of workers. But they now have protection from other sector-specific working time rules and regulations described in this booklet.

A mobile worker is any worker employed as a member of travelling or flying personnel by an undertaking which operates transport services for passengers or goods by road or air (WTR regulation 2(1) as amended).

In brief, the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2003:

• excluded seafarers, fishing workers and inland waterways workers entirely from the WTR;

• excluded most aviation crew from all the key WTR provisions (weekly working time, night work limits, minimum rest periods and breaks, annual leave, night-worker health assessments and pattern of work breaks — similar to emergency workers;

• excluded many road transport workers (those covered by the EU Drivers’ Hours Rules) from most of the WTR provisions except paid annual leave and night-worker health assessments;

• added mainly mobile rail workers and those in urban passenger transport to the ‘special case’ exclusions disapplying WTR night work limits and minimum rest periods and breaks — subject to compensatory rest;

• partially excluded other mobile workers by disapplying WTR night work limits and minimum rest periods and breaks — subject to adequate rest.