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A Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter allows an employer and a worker to agree to the worker’s opting out of the 48-hour work week. Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letters are used to protect employers and workers alike when disapplying the 48-hour limit on average weekly working time that workers are entitled to under The Working Time Regulations 1998.
Use this Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter:
to agree that the statutory limit of 48 hours average weekly working time does not apply to a particular worker
for all types of workers (including junior and senior employees)
only for workers based in England, Wales or Scotland
This document has been customised over 6.1K times
Legally binding and enforceable
Complies with relevant laws
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Dear ,
Maximum weekly working time opt out
Under Regulation 4(1) of the Working Time Regulations 1998, you can only work more than 48 hours a week on average (including overtime and time worked for other employers or businesses) if you have agreed to do so in writing.
Please sign the letter below to confirm that you agree that the limit on weekly working time does not apply to you and that your working time can exceed an average of 48 hours per week. Your contract of employment is deemed to be amended to this effect, but is otherwise unaffected.
You can end this letter of agreement at any time by giving at least prior written notice. Otherwise, it will continue .
After the end of the above period, any terms of employment affected by this letter of agreement will revert to those in force immediately prior to this letter of agreement.
Yours sincerely,
I agree that my average weekly working time may exceed 48 hours per week and that the statutory maximum average weekly working time of 48 hours a week does not apply to my employment with . I understand that signature of this letter of agreement dated is voluntary.
| Signed: | |
|---|---|
| Dated: |
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This Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter template covers:
the worker's agreement to opt out of the 48-hour limit on the working week
the duration of the agreement
the worker’s right to withdraw from the opt-out agreement
any consequential changes to hours of work or pay
Under The Working Time Regulations 1998 (which implemented the EU’s Working Time Directive), workers must not work more than 48 hours per week. This is viewed as an average taken over 17 weeks. A Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter allows you to disapply the statutory 48-hour limit on weekly working time while complying with the law. This means that, by signing the Letter, a worker agrees to work more than 48 hours per week.
Bear in mind that you cannot force a worker to sign a Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter. Workers must freely opt-out of the 48-hour work week and employers cannot retaliate against workers who refuse to do so.
For more information, read How to opt-out staff from the 48-hour week.
Workers can opt out of the Working Time Directive as long as this is mutually agreed upon in writing with the employer. However, some workers cannot opt out, namely:
airline staff
workers on ships or boats
workers in the road transport industry (eg delivery drivers)
other staff who travel in vehicles covered by the rules on drivers' hours (eg bus conductors)
security guards on vehicles carrying high-value goods
people under 18
For more information, read How to opt-out staff from the 48-hour week.
Workers can withdraw their agreement to work more than 48 hours per week whenever they like. This includes situations where the opt-out provision is part of their Employment contract. To opt-out, a worker must give at least 7 days’ written notice. A longer notice period may be agreed on with the employer. However, it cannot be longer than 3 months.
For more information, read How to opt-out staff from the 48-hour week.
Workers can refuse to sign a Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter sent by their employer. Opting out of the 48-hour work week has to be voluntary and an employer cannot force workers to agree to it. Any attempt by an employer to put pressure on a worker to sign a Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter is unlawful.
If a worker agrees to and signs a Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter, this means that their working hours can change. By opting out of the 48-hour working week, workers agree that their average weekly working time may exceed 48 hours. This doesn’t mean that they will have to work more than 48 hours every week. However, it means that they can work more than 48 hours per week averaged over 17 weeks.
The length of the agreement is decided by the parties and should be clearly set out in the Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter. Workers can opt-out of the 48-hour working week for a certain period of time (eg a year) or indefinitely.
Making a Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter online is simple. Just answer a few questions and Rocket Lawyer will build your document for you. When you have all of the details prepared in advance, making your document is a quick and easy process.
To make your Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter you will need the following information:
Employer and worker details
What are the employer’s details (ie their legal structure and name)?
If the employer is a company, LLP or partnership, who is signing the Letter on the employer’s behalf?
Will the Letter be printed on headed paper including the business’ name and address?
If not, what is the employer’s address?
What are the worker’s details (ie their name and address)?
Letter
On what date will this Letter be sent to the worker?
Should the Letter state what the worker’s new working hours will be? If so:
What are the worker’s new normal hours of work?
On what days of the week will the worker work the new normal hours?
Will the worker’s pay be increased as a result of their opting out of the 48-hour working week?
If so, what is the total new pay amount?
Termination
What is the notice period to terminate the opt-out agreement in this Letter?
Will the opt-out agreement continue:
Indefinitely, until further notice?
For a specific period? If so, what is the duration of the agreement?
Until a certain date? If so, on what date will the agreement end?
No detriment
Should the Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter clarify that the worker will not suffer any detriment if they do not sign this Letter?
Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letters are used to enable staff members to opt-out of the 48-hour working week. To achieve this, this Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter covers:
Sender and recipient details
The start of the Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter provides details of the employer (who is requesting that the worker opt-out of the 48-hour working week) and the worker.
Maximum weekly working time opt-out
The body of the Letter covers the details of the opt-out agreement. This includes:
information about the Working Time Regulations 1998 and what they mean for workers
the employer’s request for the worker to sign the Letter to disapply the 48-hour working week
clarification that signing the Letter only changes the worker’s contract with regards to their working hours
how the opt-out agreement can be brought to an end
Signatures
The employer (or someone acting on the employer’s behalf) should sign the Letter in the space provided before sending it to the worker. If the worker agrees to opt-out of the 48-hour working week, they should countersign the Letter in the space provided and return a copy to their employer.
If you want your Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter to include further or more detailed provisions, you can edit your document. However, if you do this, you may want a lawyer to review or change the Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter for you to ensure it complies with all relevant laws and meets your specific needs. Ask a lawyer for assistance.
Understand how to work out a worker’s average weekly working hours
To work out a worker’s average weekly working hours, add up the total hours they worked in a 17-week period and divide this by 17. If the worker has worked for less than 17 weeks, use the total number of weeks worked to calculate their average weekly working hours. Include all time worked, including time spent on:
job-related training
working lunches (eg business lunches)
unpaid overtime that you asked the worker to work
Bear in mind that there are some exceptions to using a 17-week period to calculate a worker’s average weekly working hours. For example, a collective agreement can extend the 17-week period to a maximum of 52 weeks. For more information, see the Government’s guidance on maximum weekly working hours.
The 48-hour working week does not mean that workers can’t occasionally work more than 48 hours per week. It simply means that workers cannot work more than 48 hours per week on average.
Be aware that the 48-hour limit applies across all jobs
The 48-hour working week is the legal limit across all jobs worked by the worker. This means that a worker must not work more than an average of 48 hours per week across all jobs they work.
You should speak to your workers about their working hours for each of their jobs. If they work more than one job, you must make sure that they do not work more than an average of 48 hours over 17 weeks in total for all jobs. If the worker works more than an average of 48 hours across all their jobs, you should discuss the worker opting out of the 48-hour workweek. Bear in mind that the worker should not be forced to opt-out and should not suffer a detriment for refusing to opt-out of the 48-hour work week.
If the worker does not want to opt-out of the 48-hour workweek, speak to them about their reasons. You should also conduct a risk assessment to determine the risks (eg health and safety risks) associated with the worker working more than 48 hours a week. Consider proposing a reduction in hours or discussing how any risks may be solved or entirely prevented.
Don’t pressure workers to sign a Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter
Opting-out of the 48-hour working week must be done voluntarily by all workers. You must take care not to force or pressure workers to sign a Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter.
Similarly, you must ensure that a worker who refuses to sign the Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter does not suffer a detriment because of their refusal. Suffering a detriment is when a worker is treated worse than before and/or has their situation made worse. Examples of detriment include a worker:
being overlooked for promotions or development opportunities
having their hours reduced without a good reason and without being consulted
The worker must also be given the opportunity to change their mind about opting-out of the 48-hour work week at any time.
For more information, read How to opt-out staff from the 48-hour week.
Keep clear records of all opt-out agreements
Under the law, you, as the employer, must keep written records of the worker’s working hours. This means that whenever a worker opts-out of the 48-hour working week you have to keep a written record of their working hours. Such records must be kept for 2 years from the date the opt-out agreement was made. If the worker opts back into the 48-hour working week, you can remove the agreement from your records.
Understand when to seek advice from a lawyer
Ask a lawyer if:
this Working Time Directive Opt-Out Letter doesn’t meet your needs
you’re unsure how to calculate a worker’s average working hours
you engage workers based outside England, Wales and Scotland
