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Time rules chaos to hit contractors
00:00 23 Sep 1998
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Exclusive by Graham Ridout
Experts have warned that the Working Time Directive, which comes into force in eight days time, will create absolute chaos for shift and night workers.
Helen Boddy, a partner with solicitor Shadbolt & Co, said that she had "clients (tunnelling contractors) who were panicking because they had priced contracts assuming that their operatives could work a two 12-hour shift system. Now all the guidance suggests they will have to work three eight-hour shifts and their bids do not accommodate this."
Boddy said that originally contractors were relying on being granted an exemption from the regulations. The regulations state that workers in the rail, air and transport sectors are exempt.
However, Boddy remarked: "It is a grey area as to who exactly is exempt from the legislation. A lot of people either don't know anything about the regulations or thought it would be dead easy to opt out."
Additional concern was expressed by David Stopford, director of employment affairs at the Construction Confederation, who accused the Health and Safety Executive and the Department of Trade and Industry of issuing a guidance note that was "absurd" and "very unclear".
Stopford said the note, jointly issued by the HSE and DTI last week, contains guidance on shift and night working that goes beyond the definitions in the regulations. In the regulations, night-time employment is defined as where operatives spend a majority of their working week, say three days out of five, employed during certain specified hours.
In the HSE/DTI guidance notes, nocturnal working is redefined as occurring "sufficiently often" to be considered as regular night-time employment. Stopford said how people would interpret "sufficiently often" is open to question.
He said that the HSE/DTI guidance goes "far beyond" the Statutory Regulations and if it is upheld in a test case then the implications will be severe for all industries undertaking shift work.
This week, the Construction Confederation is scheduled to discuss its reply to the guidance note.
Experts have warned that the Working Time Directive, which comes into force in eight days time, will create absolute chaos for shift and night workers.
Helen Boddy, a partner with solicitor Shadbolt & Co, said that she had "clients (tunnelling contractors) who were panicking because they had priced contracts assuming that their operatives could work a two 12-hour shift system. Now all the guidance suggests they will have to work three eight-hour shifts and their bids do not accommodate this."
Boddy said that originally contractors were relying on being granted an exemption from the regulations. The regulations state that workers in the rail, air and transport sectors are exempt.
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However, Boddy remarked: "It is a grey area as to who exactly is exempt from the legislation. A lot of people either don't know anything about the regulations or thought it would be dead easy to opt out."
Additional concern was expressed by David Stopford, director of employment affairs at the Construction Confederation, who accused the Health and Safety Executive and the Department of Trade and Industry of issuing a guidance note that was "absurd" and "very unclear".
Stopford said the note, jointly issued by the HSE and DTI last week, contains guidance on shift and night working that goes beyond the definitions in the regulations. In the regulations, night-time employment is defined as where operatives spend a majority of their working week, say three days out of five, employed during certain specified hours.
In the HSE/DTI guidance notes, nocturnal working is redefined as occurring "sufficiently often" to be considered as regular night-time employment. Stopford said how people would interpret "sufficiently often" is open to question.
He said that the HSE/DTI guidance goes "far beyond" the Statutory Regulations and if it is upheld in a test case then the implications will be severe for all industries undertaking shift work.
This week, the Construction Confederation is scheduled to discuss its reply to the guidance note.
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