Are there any regulations for working hours?

[TheLightSideOfTheMoon]

Keep seeing Working Time Directive type stuff but not sure if that’s actually enshrined into the law.

I frequently work 24 hour shifts (9am - 9pm) with a ‘sleep in’ in between. This is fine.

However, occasionally I’m asked to do a 26 hour shift. So, start at 7am, work until 10pm and then sleep.

This I can’t do. Involves getting up at around 5.30am and then continuing until 10pm. My job can be exhausting. And doing this just isn’t feasable.

Other colleagues are also complaining.

I read somewhere that a 13 hour shift is the maximum. Is this true?

I’d like concrete evidence that this is against regulations.

I have looked online but the answers are all over the place.

Hi @TheLightSideOfTheMoon
Probably a good idea to ask MNHQ to move this over to Legal.
There are a number of lawyers over there with expert knowledge.
(You just need to ignore all the non-lawyers who wade in with their opinions/thoughts/something they read online once)

Oh, I put it in work. Hoping some HR type people might see it.

Didn’t occur to me it was a legal thing.

Thank you!

Ask for it to be moved to Employment Issues, lots of knowledgeable people on there who know about employment law.

I would just phone Acas tbh then you know the person replying is actually qualified to comment.

It’s complex. The longest shifts I have done with sleep in or on call arrangements have been around 80 hours.

Contact ACAS as I know there are some variations when you sleep in. www.acas.org.uk/rest-breaks

The basic legislation is:

• 20 mins break after 6 hours
• 11 hours uninterrupted rest in each 24 hour period
• 24 hours uninterrupted rest each 7 days or 48 hours each fortnight.

How does that work with live-in carers?
A friend's mum has a carer who works 2 months at a time. She takes a chunk of hours off every weekend on one day, but is otherwise 'on duty' all the time.

@Scarby9

How does that work with live-in carers? A friend's mum has a carer who works 2 months at a time. She takes a chunk of hours off every weekend on one day, but is otherwise 'on duty' all the time.

It’s complicated as you don’t get paid when asleep. www.gov.uk/night-working-hours