European Parliament vote on the Working Time Directive

The European Parliament has voted to reject proposals to revise the Working Time Directive which would have preserved the opt-out and introduced new flexibilities aimed at addressing the Simap/Jaeger ECJ judgements.

MEPs have instead voted for an amended Directive under which the individual opt-out from the weekly limit on working hours would be phased out. As the employment ministers of the EU countries have previously supported a package retaining the opt-out, a further round of negotiations will now need to follow to see if a compromise can be found.

For the time being, the existing Working Time Regulations continue to apply, and the NHS must continue to comply with these, including planning for the implementation of the further reduction in junior doctors' working hours in August 2009.

Employment ministers had previously linked their negotiations on the Working Time Directive to a compromise on the Temporary Workers Directive, which provides for temporary workers to be treated equally, from day one, with staff on permanent contracts except where alternative arrangements are agreed nationally. However, the latter was finalised last month and no further changes can now be made. EU countries now have 3 years to implement the Temporary Workers Directive.

For more information, contact: helena.bowden@nhsconfed.org or richard.dyson@nhsemployers.org