Working hours act | UK

Do you know how many hours should an employee work on the night shift? Is business travel considered as working hours? Answers to them are in this article here.
  • Author: Siva
  • Last updated: June 30, 2022
  • 1 Minutes
working hours act UK explained by Papershift

Which law in the UK describes the employee working hour regulations?

The Working Time Regulations Act of 1998. There was an amendment to the law in 2003. The law regulates the following –

  • Maximum working hours for an employee per week
  • Working duration and limits for night workers
  • Health assessments for night work

What is the maximum weekly working hours limit?

48 hours. There are of course exceptions to the 48 hour week. They include employment in services like –

  • 24/7 staffing work
  • Armed forces, emergency and police
  • Look at the complete list of exceptionson UK govt. website here

What is counted as work and what is not?

Activities that aid your job role and responsibilities are counted as work. They are also counted into working hours. Tasks such as

  • Training sessions
  • Business travel
  • Business lunch

Similarly, there are also activities that do not count as working time, such as

  • Break duration like lunch hour
  • Personal calls during work
  • Look at the complete list here

How to account for and manage such time regulations?

It is recommended to invest in a cloud-based employee time tracking system. Such a system will ensure the working time of employees adheres to the proposed law. Papershift time tracking system ensures this. As employers, your problem of the right time tracking system which takes care of your statutory law is taken care of.

Papershift time tracking system allows you flexibility. You may choose to track time from a browser, tablet device, or even smartphones.

The benefits of time tracking for employers are as follows –

  • Efficient payroll
  • Automated process
  • Work process optimization
  • Minute-by-minute time accounting
  • Efficient booking archiving and traceability of past data
  • Better security, transparency, and overview
  • Employees can be used more efficiently.
  • Better workforce planning
  • Facilitating work and improving profitability

Papershift workforce planning software provides HR managers the relief and assurance. Managers can regulate time tracking as per the working time regulations act. It removes the need for complicated documents and records management on spreadsheets and online drive. Sign up for a free demo here.

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Written by Siva

I write & describe the value & benefits delivered by Paperhift's rota planning, staff time tracking, and employee payroll management software. Especially useful for Shift Planners, Rota Managers, Team Admins, and HR Teams :-)