The most important legal consideration for an employer in structuring the working hours of its workforce is health and safety law. Employers are under a duty, under a term that is implied in every contract of employment and in the law of negligence, to take reasonable care for the health and safety of their employees. They are under a similar duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. These duties involve providing a safe system of working, which includes working hours.
In deciding on the number of hours that employees will be required to work, when those hours will be worked, and how many rest breaks they will be given, employers must ensure that they do not endanger the health and safety of their workforce. If employees are asked to work long hours for an extended period, it may not only be their own physical and psychological health that is at risk. If their performance is affected by fatigue, they may also put at risk the safety of others, including their fellow employees and members of the public.
The steps that an employer needs to take to fulfil its duty to protect an employee's health and safety depend in part on the characteristics of that employee. Therefore special care may need to be taken to monitor the working patterns of vulnerable groups such as young workers and pregnant women and new mothers (health and safety).
The Working Time Regulations 1998 also make special provision for young workers, who are those below 18 but above 15 and complusory school leaving age:
- eight-hour limit to the working day.
- forty-hour limit to the working week, with no possibility of averaging or 'opting out'.
- subject to several exceptions, no working between 10pm - 6am.
- health and capacities assessment before assignment to night work. Adults get health assessment only;
- 30-minute rest break in each period of more than four-and-a-half hours, rather than the adult entitlement of a rest break in each period of six hours;
- daily rest of 12 consecutive hours rather than the adult entitlement of 11 consecutive hours;
- weekly rest of 48 hours, rather than the adult entitlement of 24 hours;
- not covered by 'unmeasured working time' or 'special cases' exception;
- not covered by exceptions to daily and weekly rest breaks for shift workers changing shifts;
- no scope to modify or exclude entitlement to rest breaks or daily and weekly rest periods by collective or workforce agreement.