- Give me a break!
- Report by Matthew Trace of Naked PR
DEREK Vaughan of the UK Trades Confederation investigates the rights of employees in a changing working environment.
Every employer knows that employees are their company's biggest assets, so it makes sense to maintain good relations with them. As an employer, it is important to make sure that your employees get everything that they are entitled to. As an employee it is important to understand your rights so that you do not get taken for granted, or miss out on any of your entitlements.
In the same way a parent must treat all their children equally, employers often find it difficult to police employee rights, whilst maintaining a balanced workforce and keeping the peace.
In terms of the number of hours we are required to work, the Working Time Directive, introduced in 1998, protects employees from being exposed to excessive and unreasonable working hours.
The Working Time Directive entitles you to a rest break of at least 20 minutes if you work more than six hours in a row, and you must be given
"adequate rest breaks" if your work is particularly monotonous. You cannot be forced to work more than 13 hours in any one day and must have a full uninterrupted 24-hour period off in any one week. You are allowed to refuse to work more than an average 48-hour week during each seven day period. If you regularly work at night you should, by law, not work more than an average of eight hours in each 24 hours during a 17 week period.
You should also get a free medical check or health assessment from your employer before you begin night work and at regular intervals. The official definition of a night worker is someone who works more than three hours at night (between 11pm and 6am) as part of the normal course of their job.
Unfortunately, this legislation as with so many others, is fundamentally flawed and can be sidestepped. Today's business environment requires people who are prepared to go the extra mile and work the extra hours. To this end many people in senior management positions are obliged to opt out of the working time directive, and failure to do so may have severe consequences.
An area of potential confusion is employee break times. Traditionally, full-time employees working a 7-hour day will have an hour's break for lunch and two 15-minute breaks throughout the course of their day. However, times are changing and the needs of employees are becoming increasingly diverse.
Depending on employees' working times, and of course their religion, some people may need to perform their prayers in their workplace. Employers are not obliged to allow additional breaks for employees to perform prayers, however, employees working regular day hours may schedule their beaks to fit noon and afternoon prayer.
If an employee is a more devout follower of a particular religion, they may be required to perform prayers up to five times each day. Employers and employees are free to agree contractual terms to cover such specific areas of religious practice at work. Once any such terms are agreed, they become legally binding on both parties.
Smoking breaks
Probably the biggest bone of contention lies in the smoking at work argument i.e. is it fair that smokers take extra time out in the day to feed their habit?
In the UK there isn't a single law stating that smoking should be banned in the workplace. There are guidelines aplenty, but most of them come disguised under Health and Safety regulations, spurred by the knowledge that companies could be sued by employees who are denied a smoke-free environment. EMAIL
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On the other side of the desk, there's little smokers can do to carry on smoking in the office unless their boss is cavalier with the law. Employers have no legal obligation to set up smoking rooms, so often the only option for smokers is to go outside for a puff. If you work in a multi-storey building, then it could take a good 20 minutes to get out, smoke, and get back to your desk.
Staff who regularly interrupt their work with unofficial breaks (whether it's to go and smoke or not is irrelevant) could be dismissed if their employer has forbidden this practice and carried out a full disciplinary procedure. However, what often happens is that smokers get on average an extra hour break every day leaving non-smokers feeling, perhaps justifiably, disgruntled.
VDU breaks
Another grey area of break related legislation applies to those employees who spend any amount of time working with computers. Legislation requires employers, whose workers use visual display units (VDUs) to plan their daily work so that they are "periodically interrupted by such breaks or changes of activity as to reduce their workload at that equipment".
Guidance to the Regulations suggests that where the job unavoidably contains spells of intensive display screen work, then these should be broken up by periods of work away from the screen. Research recommends that a 5-10 minute break after 50-60 minutes of continuous screen/keyboard work is provided. If work cannot be so organised and there are no alternative duties for the worker to perform, managers must deliberately introduce breaks or pauses into the working day.
Furthermore, research commissioned by the Health and Safety Executives states that short, frequent breaks are more satisfactory than longer breaks, not just in helping prevent common VDU health hazards such as repetitive strain injury and eyestrain, but in improving workers' productivity. After all, a well rested workforce is not just less prone to accidents than a tired workforce, but is also significantly more productive.
Taking action
If you believe that your rights have been breached, then you should first speak to your employer. If necessary, make a written complaint or issue a formal grievance. Most employers want to comply with the law, and probably don't realise that they are breaching it, so an immediate change should take place. If nothing happens, and you are a union member, see if it can help.
If you want to recover compensation, you could bring legal action, but you should take full legal advice first. Most complaints will be heard at the employment tribunal, which is local to where you work(ed). However, if you want an order barring your employer from making you work more than the legal limit, you will have to apply in the High Court. In this case, you will need to use a solicitor and act quickly. If your employer decides to penalise you for insisting on your rights (e.g. refused to consider you for promotion), you may have an additional claim. If they dismiss you because you made a complaint, the dismissal may be 'automatically unfair'.
If you are not seeking compensation, you could ask the Health and Safety Executive / local Environmental Health Officers to intervene and investigate your complaint. Depending on the circumstances, they may prosecute your employer. If convicted, they are likely to be fined and ordered to comply with the law.
To avoid any arguments, problems or prosecutions, it would be best to make sure that everyone concerned is aware of their rights. If everyone knows what is expected and what is acceptable practice in their working environment, then perhaps it might become not only a more productive, but also a more pleasant place to be. 
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