9. Hours of work



Key changes and developments since last year
 


• the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) Court found that time that is: spent on journeys ordered by the employer; to and/or from a place other than the employee’s fixed or normal place of work; when such travel takes place outside normal working hours is “working time” within Article 2 of the Working Time Directive; 


• the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that stand-by or on-call time for retained firefighters is “working time” under the directive;


• the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said compensatory rest should, as far as possible, be a single, uninterrupted break of 20 minutes;


• the High Court has declared a duty system requiring firefighters to work 96-hour shifts as unlawful;


• the ECJ confirmed that workers are entitled to carry over pay for unpaid and untaken holiday leave to the end of their employment;


• the EAT ruled that where voluntary overtime payments are regular enough to amount to “normal remuneration” they should be included in holiday pay;


• the EAT said the correct approach for working out holiday pay for employees who do not have regular hours of work is to work out average pay in the 12-week period prior to holiday being taken; and


• the EAT has ruled that an award for injury to feelings can be made in the case of a breach of the Working Time Regulations where it results in a claim for detriment under section 45A of the Employment Rights Act 1996. However, the Court of Appeal ruled against an injury for feelings award in a case involving a failure to provide rest breaks.