Posted By Sean Fraser
Shane,
You stated that because your people work more than 11 hours over their contractual weekly hours on a voluntary basis, they did not require to sign an opt-out agreement. The definition is not whether it is vountary or not, it is to do with the level of control the employee has in regulating their own workload. What you refer to is "unmeasured working time".
Examples from the guidelines are:
1. "Worker A is paid by the hour. He occasionally works overtime, for which payment is made. The working time does not fall within the scope of this exception [i.e. is not unmeasured working time] because it is measured."
2. "Worker D's contract also requires a working week of 42 hours, but the volume of work coming to him is greater than someone could reasonably be expected to do in that time. However, he has discretion and a clear choice ovber how much work is done, how his work is done and how to meet his objectives, for example he can prioritise tasks and so, if he choses to, he could limit his working week. Therefore, to the extent that he can limit them, the time worked beyond that required by his contract falls within the scope of this exception [i.e. still working but the hours are not taken into account - note there is no mention of overtime payment!]
3. "Worker E, whose contract requires a working week of 40 hours, works in an environment where collegues habitually do a 12-hour day even though the work does not necessitate such hours. Worker E works the long hours because she is led to believe that her employer considers it unacceptable to work shorter hours. Therefore, the time does not fall within the scope fo this exception because she is required by her employer to work extra time."
Be careful - if you have not requested an opt-out and people are routinely working beyond the 48 hour limit, make absolutely sure they are working hours that can be deemed "unmeasured". Otherwise, there is a strong possibility that with the increased awareness of WTD just now, you might be challenged.
Even so, all of this is simply detail. Once again we are arguing the detail of law and how to get around it or meet the bare minimum. I can understand the NHS concern - after all, as a huge monolith they are an easy compensation claim target - but it all comes down to how much personal choice we actually have, rather than the situations we are forced into by circumstance and culture.
The danger of a knackered and stressed out employee is the crux of the matter - working long hours does not mean greater productive hours. Indeed, it usually reduces productivity over time and could be detrimental to the bottom line, not increase it! We spend a lot of time at work - but how much of it is actually working?
Over-work your employees and you will be actively harming your business - humans aren't machines, they wax and wane throughout the day according to their own in-built metabolism, their lifestyles and their philosophy to life. Nor are humans standardised. Striking the right balance is a matter of understanding, compassion and mutually agreed goals. This is something no regulation or rule book can ever reasonably dictate - it has to be individually negotiated. General rules are fine, but there needs to be a flexibility of approach to help fit the work to the people, not the other way round.