EU Working Hour Regulations - What They Mean for Your Practice

SPVS encourages best business practice within the veterinary profession and at the heart of any business are the staff within it. Old attitudes of devoting all your time to the practice, at the expense of one’s health and family, are thankfully dying out. SPVS feels that it is incumbent on any employer to provide decent working conditions, regardless of legislation.

We would also emphasise that even with full compliance of WTR, practices still have a duty under H&S legislation to ensure that staff are not tired whilst working. There are instances of staff being involved in road collisions resulting in injury to themselves or third parties. In these cases it would be normal for the police to examine the on-call rotas leading up to the incident.

The Working Time Regulations 1998 (amended 2003) are the basis of regulation.
The basic rules for workers over 18 are

• Staff are entitled to 5.6 weeks holiday per year (4 weeks + statutory Bank Holidays)

• Staff must work no more than 6 days out of 7 (or 12 out of 14)

• Staff must take a 20 minute break if their shift lasts more than 6 hours

• Staff must work a maximum of 48 hours a week

• Staff must have a minimum of 11 hours rest between each working day

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