Maximum weekly working hours
Calculating your working hours
Average working hours are calculated over a ‘reference’ period, normally 17 weeks.
This means you can work more than 48 hours one week, as long as the average over 17 weeks is less than 48 hours a week.
The 17 week period can be extended to a maximum of 52 weeks if this is agreed, for example, by a trade union. You need to calculate the average for the number of weeks in the agreement.
Your working hours cannot be averaged out if you’re under 18. You cannot work more than 40 hours in any one week.
Exceptions
Some jobs have different reference periods, for example:
- trainee doctors have a 26-week reference period
- the offshore oil and gas sector has a 52-week reference period
What counts as work
A working week includes:
- job-related training
- time spent travelling if you travel as part of your job, for example sales rep
- working lunches, for example business lunches
- time spent working abroad
- paid overtime
- unpaid overtime you’re asked to do
- time spent on call at the workplace
- any time that is treated as ‘working time’ under a contract
- travel between home and work at the start and end of the working day (if you do not have a fixed place of work)
What does not count as work
A working week does not include:
- time you spend on call away from the workplace
- breaks when no work is done, for example lunch breaks
- travelling outside of normal working hours
- unpaid overtime you’ve volunteered for, for example staying late to finish something off
- paid or unpaid holiday
- travel to and from work (if you have a fixed place of work)
You have more than one job
Your combined working hours should not be more than 48 hours a week on average.
If you work more than 48 hours on average, you can either:
- sign an opt-out agreement
- reduce your hours to meet the 48-hour limit