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Are you breaking working hour laws without knowing it?
The Working Time Regulations clearly set out the maximum number of hours that employees should spend at work. These regulations apply to most businesses (and workers) and you really should be aware of them. The most important laws are as follows:
• Holiday entitlement: most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of holiday each year
• Working hours: most workers are not allowed to work more than six days out of every seven days
• Working breaks: no worker should spend more than six hours working without a twenty minute break
• Working hours in one week: these should not go beyond a total of 48 hours
Bear in mind that these regulations apply to workers over the age of 18 and workers below this age will stick by different guidelines. In general, they are entitled to a longer break during a working day and must work no more than 40 hours per week. Furthermore, workers aged 16 and 17 should rest for a total of twelve hours prior to starting a new day at work. It is your responsibility as a small business owner to keep a record of the working hours of your employees to ensure that regulations are being kept to at all times.
If you spend time and effort putting into place a plan for monitoring working hours, you will not only be obeying the law but you will be giving your business the best chance of experiencing additional benefits. These may include increased productivity (nobody works well when they are tired and have not taken a proper break), decreased chances of an accident occurring which could have implications for your small business health and safety regulations, and, importantly, the reputation of your business amongst your workers and the general public will be provided with a boost if you are seen to care about issues such as working hours. Ultimately, taking an interest in the Working Time Regulations and your small company employees’ welfare can only be a good thing for your business.