The working week
Your normal working hours should be set out in your contract of employment, and unless you choose to you should not have to work more than 48 hours a week on average.
Night work
In addition there are regulations that cover working at night, so if you are an Adult worker ie 18+ you can work at nights but this is limited to 8 hours on average on ‘night work’ in 24 hours. If you're under 18 but over school leaving age you're classed as a young worker, and under the law you're not allowed to work at night (normally this is 10.00 pm to 6.00 am but you can agree to change this to 11.00 pm to 7.00 am). There are some exceptions to this (for example, if you work in a hospital or hotel). You can have 30 minutes rest break if you work longer than four and a half hours at a stretch.
Breaks
These cover:
- Rest Breaks – lunch breaks or tea breaks, or other short breaks during your working day
- Daily Breaks from Work
- Weekly Breaks from Work
Useful links
You can use the library in your Connexions Centre too as it has information for you to read or take away.