MAGRATH LLP HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATE

EU COUNCIL OF MINISTERS FAIL TO ABOLISH THE WORKING TIME OPT-OUT

In May 2005, the European Parliament voted in favour of reforming the Working Time Directive by approving amendments that would lead to the abolition of the opt-out from the 48-hour working week. On 2 June 2005, the UK Government managed to stall the amendment proposals in the Council of Ministers, the EC body that needs to approve such amendments before they become law.

The Working Time Directive, which was first agreed in 1993, sets out provisions for a maximum 48-hour working week (including overtime). However, the UK has a right to derogate from the 48-hour maximum under the Working Time Directive (No.93/104) and currently workers can voluntarily opt to work more than 48 hours per week.

Under the European Parliament’s proposed amendments the opt-out was to be removed within three years, and the Directive's definition of on-call time was to be amended to include “inactive” time (time when a worker is on call but not working). Employers' organisations opposed the amendments, claiming that the new Directive would restrict flexibility in the labour market, and urged the UK Government to maintain the opt-out.

In light of the UK’s opposition, the European Commission offered a compromise position on 1 June 2005, which would have allowed Member States to ask the Commission's permission to maintain the opt-out beyond the three-year limit “for reasons relating to their labour market arrangements”. However, the UK’s Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Alan Johnson, with the support of employment ministers from Germany, Poland, Austria and Hungary, used the UK’s “blocking majority” in the Council of Ministers to reject both the amendments and the compromise. The amendments have therefore been dropped for the time being and are unlikely to resurface until next year.