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Contracts of employment and working hours in the UK
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Contracts of employment and working hours in the UK
This article provides an overview of the UK working time law.
The most important laws and rules are summarised for you here. However, we assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the legal information. We recommend you consult a legal expert if you have any legal questions or need more detailed information.
You can read the exact regulations and exceptions here.
Maximum working hours for employees
The British legislation on working time protects employees by specifying maximum working hours and prohibitions for certain days.
It is prohibited to work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally averaged over 17 weeks. Exceptions include armed forces, security, 24-hour staffing and other.
However, working more can be chosen by opting out of the 48-hour week, if the employee is over 18 years old. Exceptions include airline staff, road transport industry workers, workers on ships and others. Opt-out agreements can be cancelled anytime, regardless of the employee’s contract. Opt-out agreements are currently not checked in this software.
Rest break
All employees have the right to take breaks during their working hours. These are mainly for rest, tea or lunch breaks.
Workers have the right to one uninterrupted 20-minute rest break during their working day if they work more than 6 hours a day.
Rest period
Rest periods are essential to maintain the health, safety and performance of employees.
Workers have the right to a daily 11 hours rest between working days.
For a weekly rest period, workers have the right to either an uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week or an uninterrupted 48 hours without any work each fortnight.
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