Can I agree to work for more than 48 hours per week?

Question

 I am an estate agent and work five days a week and two Saturdays a month.  I heard something on the news that people in the UK should really only work 48 hours a week – I do many more hours than this – am I breaking the law?

Answer

No you are not breaking the law.  In the UK workers can agree to work longer than 48 hours.  The Working Time Regulations (based on the European Working Time Directive) say that if you do not agree to the opt-out, your average working time, including overtime, must not exceed 48 hours a week.

If you have agreed to opt out neither you nor your employer are breaking the law.  However, a worker cannot be forced to opt out.

Recently there have been some stories in the media about European Parliament plans to stop countries such as the UK from opting out of the Working Time Directive.  European MPs voted to phase out the opt-out over the next three years, as they believe it would ensure that people have a better work-life balance (so do some unions; they see it as a health and safety issue).  The British Government opposes these plans, as it believes that they would reduce the competitiveness of the Uk’s economy.  To block the European Parliament’s plans, the UK would need to recruit other countries’ support to retain the clause under qualified majority voting in the EU council of ministers.  So watch this space!