In 1993 the United Kingdom won an opt-out clause allowing it not to apply the maximum 48-hour working week if a worker agrees to work longer.

 

At first reading, Parliament proposed the abolition of this clause, which is used in some Member States (generally in the UK and in certain sectors in other states), three years after the revised directive enters into force.

 

In June this year EU employment and social affairs ministers reached an agreement. Under their common position of 15 September 2008, working time in the EU must be limited to 48 hours maximum unless a Member State introduces an opt-out clause and a worker decides to use that clause.  For workers who opt for the derogation, the legislative text lays down a maximum of 60 hours of work a week on average over a three-month period.  This can be increased to 65 hours a week on average over three months where there is no collective bargaining agreement and where the inactive period of on-call time is regarded as working time. The text also stipulates various safeguards for workers who use the opt-out clause.

 

At second reading the EP Employment and Social Affairs Committee restated its position calling for the abolition of the opt-out within 36 months of the revised directive's entry into force. Most MEPs felt that an annualisation of the reference period for calculating weekly working hours would allow a sufficiently flexible organisation of working time.

In May 2005, at first reading, Parliament proposed extending the reference period for calculating weekly working hours from four to twelve months (known as "annualisation of the reference period") under certain conditions, in order to prevent any risk to workers' health and safety.  The aim were to strike a balance between health and safety and the need for work to be organised flexibly, as well as to simplify the existing directive, which allowed various derogations and exceptions.

 

The text approved by the Council allows Member States to provide for a twelve month reference period in the legislation following consultations with employers' and employees' organisations. However, the maximum reference period will be six months in Member States which decide to use the opt-out clause.

The Council and Commission introduced the ideas of "active" on-call time (a period during which the worker must be available at the workplace in order to work when required by the employer) and "inactive" on-call time (a period when the worker is on call but is not required by his employer to work).

 

In its common position the Council says that inactive on-call time should not count as working time unless otherwise decided by national law or by agreement between employers' and employees' representatives in accordance with national law.

 

At its vote on 5 November 2008 the Employment and Social Affairs Committee reiterated its position that any period of on-call time, including inactive time, is to count as working time. However, inactive on-call periods can be calculated in a specific way for the purposes of complying with maximum weekly average working time.

The existing directive contains no specific provisions on reconciling work and family life. The Council has accepted Parliament's first-reading amendments on the need to reconcile work and family life better. The Member States urge employers' and employees' representatives to reach agreement on this.  In addition, Member States must ensure that employers inform workers in good time of any planned major changes in the organisation of working hours.

 

In its second-reading amendments, the Employment and Social Affairs Committee beefed up this provision, so that employers will have to inform workers well in advance of any changes in working hours. In addition, workers will be entitled to request changes in their working hours, and employers will have to take account of such requests in a fair manner and can only refuse them for valid reasons. 

Regarding rest periods, the general principle is that, where normal rest periods cannot be taken, workers should be given periods of compensatory rest.  The Council's common position states that it shall be up to Member States to determine the length of a "reasonable period" within which compensatory rest is to be granted.  The EP committee believes that compensatory rest periods should be granted "following periods of time spent on duty", in accordance with the relevant law or an agreement between the two sides of industry.

 

The committee adopted other amendments clarifying the situation of workers bound by more than one contract.   Here it says that working time is to be defined as the sum of the periods of time worked under each contract.

 

It also stipulates the categories of senior executive exempted from the directive: chief executive officers, senior managers directly subordinate to them and persons directly appointed by a board of directors.