Hi All,
i have a member of staff that has requested to work a 17hour double shift and i am strugling to get a definative answer to wether this is legal or
not. All of the advice i am getting so far seems to be that i cannot make him do it, but not if i can allow him to do it.
He works nights for me and that shift is 10 hours but he also wishes to work the morning shift of 7 hours immediately following on from this. he is
more than capeable of doing this as he has helped us out in the past when one of the morning staff didn't turn up.
employment lawcan be a bit of a grey area and i have been stung before in an employment tribunal so don't want to hammered again.
cheers
Say thank you very much for the offer. You are a much valued employee and as a reward we will pay you the full 17 hours but do not need you. Get
yourself off to bed, thanks.
Keeps him happy, keeps you legal. Nice..
Working Hours Directive needs to be reffered to
last year, when i was doing that pig flu thing, people were regularly asking for overtime doing 16 hour shifts. can't see its a problem as long
as he's got breaks at regular times. and by working long and getting tired, it won't be dangerous.
ie 16 hours graphic design, ok
16 hours on heavy machinery, not ok
again, don't know the law, but as long as he's requested it and you're not forcing him to, i think its ok
I'm not sure, might be dependent upon the line of work, things I woud think of are if he sustains an injury and blames it on you for making him
work too many hours at a tribunal, or worse, if he causes damage to a customer or their property as a result of being overly tired.
Get him to sign a waiver saying that it was his choice to work the double shift, stating that if anything happens as a result of his exhaustion, he
takes full responsibility personally.
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Say thank you very much for the offer. You are a much valued employee and as a reward we will pay you the full 17 hours but do not need you. Get yourself off to bed, thanks.
Keeps him happy, keeps you legal. Nice..
quote:
Originally posted by deezee
Night Working Restrictions
Is Tiny Tim starving at home?
You'll just end up with a knackered, useless employee in my opinion. No one can function 100% when they've worked for that long. I really
can't see why it's in your interest to allow him to do it.
Unless it night watchman and he gets to sleep through most of it anyway!
Just my opinion, but I reckon you're better off saying no. 
Cheers,
James
Maximum regular hours must not exceed an average of 8 hours in any 24 but you can do overtime in addition to this. You must have 11 hours between shifts. If your guy works a 17 hour shift then he can't start his next shift until 28 hours later, i.e. the next day plus 4 hours. If he works the double shift on a Friday then has Saturday off, for example, you'd be OK I think.
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
You must have 11 hours between shifts.
"Maximum regular hours must not exceed an average of 8 hours in any 24 "
so what about us shift worker 2 days 2 nights 4 off all 12 hour or longer shifts, with no lunch or tea breaks when busy
heres a new one to throw in, watching trawlermen on dave, just said they'd all been working 18hours a day for a week. also, i guess, technically while at sea they're always at work?
I'd be cautious about it if he's working on machinery or in an environment where he can injure himself or others. If something goes wrong
you don't want HSE on your case over the long shift he's been working.
Lorry drivers obviously can't work shifts like that.
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
so what about us shift worker 2 days 2 nights 4 off all 12 hour or longer shifts, with no lunch or tea breaks when busy
Essentially, if its risk assessed (write it down and file it but does not need to take long to do!), you'll be fine. I would not make a habit of it but as a one off assuming its a relatively safe environment, not lone working and not using say a grinder you'll both be ok.
i wouldnt. They will be your best pal up til the moment they decide to sue you. Signing a disclaimer is pointless as you cannot absolve yourself of
responsibility for his wellbeing.
If anything went wrong you would simply not be able to explain to the HSE why you had a tired man on the job.
If this is a one off then you will be OK. He's requesting to do it and you are not asking him to. What everyone is referring to here is the Working Time Directive (Working Time Regulations) which states that any worker must have a continuous rest break of 11 hours. The WTD also says that no-one must work 48 hours or more in any one week, averaged over 17 weeks. If you want to play extra safe, ask him/her to sign an opt-out (basically a 3 line document that says that they are wishing to work this and are waiving their rights under the WTD). You can't have your employee do this kind of shift often, it should only be done on an exceptional basis otherwise you will have the health & safety police on your back too. Essentially the WTD was brought in to stop unscrupulous employers from taking advantage of employees. Not sure if your guys have employment contracts - if so, need to make sure you are paying any additional hours at the appropriate rate i.e. if they work more than x hours in any one week then additional hours may be paid at an enhanced rate i.e. 1.5 times or 2 times normal hourly rate. Just something to consider. At the end of his shift, he must have the appropriate rest break. Assume you're also aware that nightworkers have special rules about risk assessments and the like. If you google Working Time Regulations you will get all the info there. Hope this helps.
I thought it was 12 hours between shifts...
As far as I know there's theoretically no problem with the length of the shift in itself, but what you have to think of is him being tired both
on shift and going home. I'd imagine if it comes out that the guy who fell asleep and ploughed into a bunch of kids had come off a 17 hours shift
you're up poo creek without a paddle.