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Same goes for the UK, to some extent: our politicians are generous enough to have secured for us the ability to "opt out" of the 48-hour limit. The result is th
by threedaymonk 14y ago
Same goes for the UK, to some extent: our politicians are generous enough to have secured for us the ability to "opt out" of the 48-hour limit. The result is that almost all employment contracts contain a clause opting the new employee out.
Having said that, I've personally never exceeded 48 hours in a week, and it may be that the prevalence of the opt-out is more due to a disinclination to add bureaucracy that to a desire to exploit workers.
- Nursie 14y agoI'm pretty sure opting out is optional, and you can't be made to do it as a condition of employment. The alternative is often that they'll have you do a lot of extra time-tracking to make your life more difficult. I have gone over 48 hours by about 12 hours a week for a period of a month, because this stuff had to be done. I got a promotion out of it. Now I'm independent people have to pay me up front if they want that.
- thisone 14y agothe 48 hour week is an average over a 17 week period. Even if you do opt-out, the next thing an employer comes up against is the minimum wage. You can't be working so many hours that your effective hourly wage is below the legal minimum. http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/working-time-limits-the-48-hour-week http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/working-time-limits-the-48-hour-w...