29/04/2002

UK workers face shorter working week

The European Commission has ordered Britain to close loopholes in its labour laws following a complaint from union, Amicus.

Britain's second biggest union said that the UK government had "unlawfully and inadequately" implemented measures limiting the working week to 48 hours.

As a result Brussels has opened legal action in a drive to force it to implement measures contained within a landmark EU employment directive.

The decision could mean UK workers facing a shorter working week. On average Britons currently work 43.6 hours a week, compared with a European average of 40.3 hours.

The government has around two months to comply with the working time directive, which Tony Blair's administration signed up to soon after coming to power five years ago.

(MB)

Related Northern Ireland Business News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

22 March 2002
CIPD criticises 'impractical' agency work directive
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has criticised the latest draft EU directive on agency workers as being "unnecessary and impractical". The draft of the directive, which was published on Wednesday 20 March, reveals that Europe has seen a steady increase in the amount of temporary work over the past decade.
12 April 2002
Black and Asian workers lose out in pay say TUC
The Trades Union Congress is calling on the British government to extend Britain’s race relations laws to tackle a serious problem of low pay among the country’s black and Asian workers.
24 November 2003
UK's 'unpaid' overtime runs to £23bn
UK employees lose out on around £23 billion each year by not claiming overtime which is rightfully theirs, the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) has claimed. The TUC has estimated that on average an employee in the UK puts in around £4,500 in unpaid overtime, amounting to around £23bn each year.
11 February 2004
Move to end workers' long hours slammed by CBI
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has strongly criticised the European Parliament today after MEPs voted to stop employees working more than 48 hours a week.
04 February 2002
Report shows over 4 million UK employees work long hours
Despite a European working time directive, nearly four million people in the UK are working more than 48 hours a week, according to a new report. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) report - published on Monday February 4 - slams the UK's long hours working culture as a "national disgrace".