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Daily and weekly rest breaks
[ch 4: page 121]Workers are also entitled to a daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours (regulation 10, WTR) and a weekly rest of not less than 24 hours (regulation 11, WTR), which can be averaged over two weeks. Again, an employer can modify this in special cases, or if there is a collective agreement by providing “an equivalent period of compensatory rest” (regulations 21 and 24, WTR).
Young workers have extra protection (see Chapter 2: Young workers).
As well as working time obligations, employers owe duties under contract and tort (that is, negligence) not to require employees to work long hours that risk damage to health (Johnstone v Bloomsbury Health Authority [1991] IRLR 118). Working regularly for over 48 hours a week can also be relevant evidence in a claim for psychiatric injury based on workplace stress (Hone v Six Continents Retail Limited [2006] IRLR 49). See also Chapter 3, page 82.
A failure to follow the Health and Safety Executive Management Standards for Workplace Stress, especially after being reminded of these by a union, can be significant. There is information on the website of the Health and Safety Executive and in LRD’s annual legal guide for reps, Health and Safety Law.
In the following case, a requirement for a driver to work without a reasonable break was a breach of contract:
Immediately on his return from a nine-day overseas driving job, Mr Owen was told to do another long-distance job. He refused, explaining that he had not had enough time off between trips, and was dismissed. The EAT agreed that there was an implied term entitling Owen to a reasonable break before he undertook more driving duties. The requirement to work another long shift with inadequate time off was an unreasonable order and a breach of contract.
NWT Freight Forwarding v Owen UKEAT/0643/01