Posted By Philip Plume Are there any maximum working hours in health and safety law. The working time regulations seem to specify that workers are entitled to rest periods, not that they must be enforced, as long as the employee opts out. Does any one have the answer? Thanks Phil

Posted By Philip Plume We have a handy man/enjeneer who worked fron the 4th feb through to the 19th feb. Every day was around 12 hours apart from one which was 7.5 hours. The only reason he went home on the 19 is because we sent him home he wanted to work. Did we have to send him home or not? the working time directive suggests no maximum, as long as you have 11 hours rest between shifts. Is this correct and does this mean that you can work 7 days a week indefinatly, as long as you have sufficent rest periods ie 11 hours?

Posted By Doug Russell Even if an individual worker chooses to opt out of the 48-hour average under the working time regulations he/she cannot opt out of the rest break requirements. These can only be varied by collective agreement, with the provision of compensatory rest. The situation where an individual worker chooses not to take breaks that are required is more complex. Often there has to be a question over just how much 'choice' an individual has. There was a European Court of Justice ruling in 2004 (C-484/04)following a complaint by the union Amicus. The ECJ ruled that the UK policy at the time (which said the employer was not obliged to ensure that rest breaks are actually taken simply that they are provided) was inadequate. Although employers could not ultimately force people to take rest periods, they should play an active role in encouraging it and must actively ensure that no undue pressure is placed on workers (e.g. performance targets, staffing levels) to deter them from taking breaks. As a result the (then) DTI guidance on the regs had to be amended slightly.