The MIA and CBI’s campaign to retain the UK’s opt-out from the EU Working Time Directive has paid off following the collapse of negotiations on a revised text. The European Parliament, Council of Ministers and European Commission failed to agree a new text after five years of trying.
The current directive will now remain in place, meaning UK workers can continue to agree to work more than 48 hours a week. The opt-out provides important flexibilities for workers across the UK, and allows Motorsport businesses to meet extra demand when times are good or compete globally when times are more difficult.
We do not anticipate there being the political will in the Commission to reopen discussions on the opt-out, but it is possible that a new Commission could tackle the issue of on-call time, which remains unresolved and important for many member states.
The CBI believes people are best placed to decide for themselves whether longer hours are for them, based on their own circumstances. For the past five years, however, a sizeable group of politicians in Brussels have sought to remove the opt-out choice from Britain and other EU countries. Both the CBI and the Government have lobbied hard to keep it. Our efforts have paid off. It is a victory for common sense, and is good for the UK economy.
This story has been adapted from an article written by Ben Digby of the CBI's employment and employee relations team.
