The Working Time Regulations set out how much people are allowed to work on average. According to the government website, gov.uk: ‘You can’t work more than 48 hours a week on average – normally averaged over 17 weeks.’ However, there are some exceptions to this, and employees can opt-out. In this article, we will look at what those exceptions are, what activities count towards working time, and how your employees can opt-out. Working Time Regulations This is sometimes called the Working Time Directive. They set out the maximum number of hours anyone can work. They also cover rest breaks and holiday accrual. Under 18s cannot work longer than 40 hours each week, or 8 hours in a day. Have a look at our article here on employing children for more information. Adult employees should not usually work more than 48 hours per week on average. Sometimes, staff will need to work more than 48 hours in a week, which is ok as long as it averages out to no more than 48. The weekly average should be calculated over 17 weeks. If your staff are working more than 48 hours a week on average, you will either need to ask […]
Metis HR specialises in HR matters but we are sometimes asked how to prepare for a Health and Safety Workplace Inspection. We believe that the best preparation is advanced planning, don’t wait until you get notification that the HSE are on their way. We’ve put together some step by step tips to get in place now so that you are better prepared. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail Ideally, your preparations should start long before the threat of an announced or unannounced inspection. Have you documented all the relevant risk assessments, and implemented the control measures, or at very least started the process of implementing? Do you have a named person in the organisation who has taken responsibility for health and safety matters? Have you told people? Are all of your health and safety policies and procedures properly documented and reviewed? Do you have records of when your employees were last trained? Do they need refresher training? Have you previously had an inspection that left you with things to do? Have you done them? Is machinery or equipment all in good working order with any safety guards fully operational? How do you escalate health and safety matters that are not […]
