The Directive provides that workers in all sectors, public or private, must not work longer than 48 hours a week, including overtime. The Directive also specifies requirements for rest periods, breaks and no less than four weeks' paid holiday per year. Its aim is to protect workers from the health and safety consequences of overworking.
In 1993, the UK negotiated an opt-out which allows Member States not to apply the limit to working hours under certain conditions: prior agreement of the individual, no negative fall-out from refusing to opt-out, and records kept of working hours of those that have opted out.
While the UK is the only country to have made extensive use of the opt-out, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Luxembourg are preparing or have passed legislation to make restricted use of the opt-out, in certain sectors.
In a report published on Friday, the TUC and charity Working Families called for the individual opt-out to be abolished, claiming that family life is being damaged by long working hours and that six years after the introduction of the Directive, there are still more employees working over long hours than there were in 1992.
According to TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, "A clamp down on employers abusing working time rules and the removal of the opt-out would prove very popular with working parents."
But Mike Emmott, Employee Relations Adviser of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, disputed this claim, saying, "Our research shows that the majority of people actually working over 48 hours per week choose to do so."
"The issue of long hours working is complex, deep-seated and ingrained in the culture of organisations and cannot be addressed by a uniform ban," he added. "CIPD research shows that persistent long hours working can have negative effects, but these are best solved by employer measures such as flexible working arrangements rather than a blanket ban on long hours working."
The European Commission is currently reviewing the Directive, and in particular the opt-out, and is expected to propose changes to both in the near future. The UK Government is therefore carrying out a consultation into the issue with a deadline for responses of 22nd September.
Speaking at the time the Government consultation was launched, Robyn McIlroy, an employment specialist with Masons, the international law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, commented:
"Clearly there are pros and cons for retaining and removing – or at least restricting – the opt-out. On the one hand, removing the opt-out may lead us away from the long-hours culture that is becoming increasingly common in the UK. On the other hand, any measure which restricts competitiveness and the ability of business to make profits must impact on salary levels and, in the current economic climate, UK workers may feel that is too high a price to pay for increased leisure time."