UK staff may win more time off

Extended holidays in exchange for long hours

UK workers could win longer holidays as a result of government efforts to fend off European Union-inspired limits on weekly working hours.

At present, the UK has a partial exemption from EU legislation introduced in 1998 which limits the working week to a maximum of 48 hours.

However, some EU countries believe that this gives the UK an unfair competitive advantage, and want British businesses brought fully into line.

According to a report in the Times newspaper, the government may propose longer holidays for British workers in return for being allowed to keep its exemption from the EU limit on weekly working hours.

The Department for Trade & Industry has said that the final decision on whether the opt-out remains in place is for the EU, and has refused to be drawn on whether a deal involving longer holidays is on the cards.

Dispute

Any move towards longer holidays would get a warm welcome from the UK workforce, which enjoys fewer public holidays than its European counterparts.

The UK's partial exemption from the working time legislation gives workers the right to opt out of the maximum 48-hour week.

An estimated three million UK adults work more than 48 hours a week, with only a third of these earning overtime pay.

Although the majority of workers were included under the original measures, a number of sectors were excluded.

Last week, 770,000 UK workers including aviation ground staff, baggage handlers and transport workers were brought within the framework of the law, known as the working time directive.

But oil rig workers are at the centre of a dispute between government and unions over the implementation of the directive.

Junior doctors and lorry drivers are not yet covered by the directive - and will be brought within its provisions in the future.