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21/08/2001
UK employees work the longest hours in Europe
People in the UK work the longest hours in Europe and almost half of the country’s employees have no flexible working arrangements in place.
The report was revealed by the TUC at the launch of a TUC and Industrial Standard double initiative which offers a guide aimed at balancing work and personal life for both employer and employee.
The ‘Changing Times’ guide sets out a process designed by the TUC to achieve changes in the organisation of working time that will benefit all, with the Industrial Society/TUC video training pack offering a way in enabling this.
The video pack says that work-life balance isn’t just about introducing policies for working parents but ensuring everyone at work has the opportunity to take the time to pursue other interests.
Recent surveys suggest the majority of employees do not have the freedom to do this. The 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) suggests only one in three employees (32 per cent) are able to take the advantages of flexitime, a quarter (28 per cent) are allowed to take parental leave, and only 16 per cent have access to a job-share scheme. Almost half of the employees surveyed in WERS (46 per cent) said there was no provision for flexible working at all.
Statistically, UK workers still work the longest hours in Europe - 43.6 hours a week, compared to 38.4 hours a week for Belgian workers - and despite the introduction of the European Working Time Directive in 1999, four million employees are still regularly working over 48 hours a week. (AMcE)
The report was revealed by the TUC at the launch of a TUC and Industrial Standard double initiative which offers a guide aimed at balancing work and personal life for both employer and employee.
The ‘Changing Times’ guide sets out a process designed by the TUC to achieve changes in the organisation of working time that will benefit all, with the Industrial Society/TUC video training pack offering a way in enabling this.
The video pack says that work-life balance isn’t just about introducing policies for working parents but ensuring everyone at work has the opportunity to take the time to pursue other interests.
Recent surveys suggest the majority of employees do not have the freedom to do this. The 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) suggests only one in three employees (32 per cent) are able to take the advantages of flexitime, a quarter (28 per cent) are allowed to take parental leave, and only 16 per cent have access to a job-share scheme. Almost half of the employees surveyed in WERS (46 per cent) said there was no provision for flexible working at all.
Statistically, UK workers still work the longest hours in Europe - 43.6 hours a week, compared to 38.4 hours a week for Belgian workers - and despite the introduction of the European Working Time Directive in 1999, four million employees are still regularly working over 48 hours a week. (AMcE)
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