Who is responsible for ensuring 11 hour break between end of 1 shift and start of next?

[kikilo]

I have an 18 year old niece. Full time at college and she has a weekend job. She picked up lots of extra shifts over the Christmas/New Year break, which was great for her.
Last week and this she has been asked to cover additional shifts, again not a problem as all have been early evening shifts and only 3 hours long, although she knows as she heads towards exam season she won't be able to pick up additional shifts, due to college work load.
My question is who (her or her employer) is responsible for making sure she gets 11 hours off between shifts?
It apparently happened last week, I was not aware, and today she has a picked up shift finishing at 21.15 going onto a 07.00 start regular shift tomorrow.
She had no clue about the Working Time Directive....but she does now!
I think it should be her employers, but as they don't appear to be working to it, I think she should pipe up, she of course thinks they will label her as a troublemaker and not offer her any more shifts.
It is a big national retailer, who should know the rules.
Any thoughts?

I would say employer as they have a duty of care health & safety.
If your niece doesn't want to say anything not sure what you can do .

@needanewnamechange I suspect it's because 1 manager does the roster and ensures that the Working Time Directive is adhered to and the managers who ask/beg staff to cover shifts don't look at the whole picture, they just want 'bodies on the shop floor'!

I work in the transport industry and our drivers have to have 11 hours daily rest between shifts, but they can reduce to 9 hours rest 3 times over 2 weeks. I'm pretty sure this would also apply to your niece. It is the employers responsibility to ensure their staff are having sufficient rest between shifts.

Isn’t it 11 hours rest within any 24 hour period? So if she had 11 hours off before the 2 shifts and 11 hours off after the second shift it would be deemed appropriate?

What time did she start the shift that finishes at 9:15 & what time does the second shift finish?

Normal shifts are Saturday 07.00-2.30 and Sunday 10.00-17.00. These are her contracted hours, any other shifts are 'overtime' and negotiated by the managers. The 'overtime' shift today started at 17.00 and finished at 21.15.
My understanding is that it is 11 hours between end of shift and start of the next but happy to be corrected.

Some rules regarding breaks and rest time are different for shift workers. Apologies if she isn't a shift worker.

The employer but at the same time, if she's saying yes / volunteering then she also has a responsibility and as long as she has the right to decline (& isn't forced into working) then it's on her. She's an adult too and has to take responsibility for her own decisions also.

@PorpentinaScamander yes she is a part time shift worker, but static shifts each weekend.

@InvisibleWomenMustBeRead I do agree, but I also understand her concerns about raising it with her manager.... wouldn't be the first time someone was let go for 'rocking the boat'. She was unaware of the rest time rules as previous jobs have been office hours roles.

Then some of the rules don't apply annoyingly.
My shifts are 7.45am-9.15pm sometimes I do 3 in a row. Actually one Christmas I did 4. I could hardly walk after the 4th one

Then it is on her though Op. Shes free to decline and if she's not treated properly then she can take it further at that point.

Yes it should be 11 consecutive rest hours between shifts but as far as I'm aware the directive also states 11hrs within a 24hr period.
She's getting 9.75 between shifts then 2.5 after 2nd shift with the 24hr period.
I hope she is receiving her 20 min break during her Saturday shift too.
I work a split shift on a Monday 9:30-11:30 then 4-6:30 so technically 4.5 hours between shifts.
Is it a battle she wants to fight or was she happy for the overtime?

I agree she has to fight her own battles. She wants the additional money but I have said she needs to pace herself, she is at college Mon-Fri 09.00-16.00, then works Sat and Sun, so gets no full days off to relax and do her own thing. She is hard worker and her managers are very pleased with her. College also have no concerns. I shall suggests she speaks to her manager and asks for clarification about her shifts and breaks between them.

She can just refuse a shift that's going to be to close to another finish time or start time.
She doesn't have to say anything about the working time directive. Just say "Sorry, I can't do that time."

I used to work for a similar major retailer and I know that management are likely to talk a lot of rubbish if she raises this.
She needs to look out for herself and just not accept unsuitable hours.

@Happityhap I am seeing her after work today and will let her know it's OK to say NO! I shall also advise her to bank this experience for when SHE is a manager having to get shifts covered....I have worked for managers who 'target' the younger staff as they are less likely to say no to iffy shifts.My dad used to say to us kids, 'never ask someone to do something you wouldn't be prepared to do yourself' and this has held me in good stead for the last 40 years.

My dad used to say to us kids, 'never ask someone to do something you wouldn't be prepared to do yourself' and this has held me in good stead for the last 40 years.

OP That saying doesn’t exactly apply here though; there are lots of people who are prepared to flout the working time regulations because they want the money.

I’m not in retail, but I am a manager in a similar field with shift workers and I am forever having to tell people when they cannot pick up extra shifts or come in earlier/stay later because of WTR. They always tell me they don’t care, they’re happy to do it for the money and to help us out, but I always refuse if WTR wouldn’t be adhered to.

A good business will never break WTR, and if they are finding they “need” to in order to have enough people on shift then something is going wrong somewhere else, for example scheduling or recruiting, and then those problem areas need targeting and fixing.

Tbh op I would think a fit, healthy young adult working in retail can cope with the odd weekend of not having 11 hours rest. Used to work for a well known fast food chain back in the day. It wasn't unusual to do a close shift (finishing about 11PM) and then do an open shift starting at 6/7am). While at fulltime college.

If she wants the money, is able to do it and is not being pressured to take the shifts I don't see the problem personally. Many parents do much worse. It's not like she is a junior doctor or an a and e nurse or a firefighter or an hgv driver or anything that will affect peoples lives if she makes a mistake at work.

She may have signed a form opting out of wtd I know that many firms (especially retail and care) ask employees if they are prepared to opt out?