Work Rotas Law UK: Shift Pattern Notice & Other Laws (2024 Update)
Meelik Samel
November 24, 2023
UK labour legislation is a complicated area to navigate and can be confusing in multiple aspects. This article will guide you through the essential aspects of UK rota laws to provide you with a better understanding of how much notice an employer has to give for a shift change in the UK.
What is the UK work rota law?
When people ask about the work rotas law UK has implemented, the official document we most often need to refer to is called Working Time Regulations established in 1998. This piece of legislation regulates all rota-related obligations and entitlements both for employees and employers, for examples how much notice does an employer have to give for a shift change. In this article, we have outlined some of the most important aspects of you need to know about work rotas law.
7 must-know work rota laws in the UK to keep in mind
Whether you are managing a company that requires rota work or if you are employed as a shift worker, there are some rota laws you need to know and follow. This doesn’t mean that you have to memorise the entirety of the Working Time Directive. We have got you covered with the following list of the most important aspects to keep in mind, so you can focus on how to schedule employees effectively.
1. Workweek in the UK
This is probably the core aspect of UK rota laws for everybody managing shift schedules. The maximum workweek in the UK is 48 hours, including overtime. This means that even if overtime work is needed, no employee can be required to work more than 48 hours per week. Employees can voluntarily opt out of this limit, but this cannot force this. For employees under 18 years of age, the maximum workweek is 40 hours and daily work cannot exceed 8 hours. Underage workers cannot opt out of these limits.
2. Working longer than 48 hours per week
If your employees wish to work more than 48 hours per week, they can choose to do so by a written agreement. This can be done for a defined period of time or indefinitely. Your employees can revoke this agreement at any time. It’s crucial that none of your employees will be treated differently on the basis of whether they opt out of 48-hour work week or not. This would be a gross violation of workers rights.
There are some type of employees who cannot opt out of 48-hour work week. As we mentioned in the previous section, you have to be over 18 to do so. But even then, there are certain professions where rest time is essential and thus employees cannot exceed 48 hours per week.
UK employees who cannot opt out of 48-hour work week:
Airline employees
Employees working on ships or boats
Lorry drivers with vehicles of mass over 3.5 tonnes
Employees who operate vehicles covered by EU rules on drivers’ hours
Security guards working on vehicles that carry valuables.
3. Overtime hours
UK employees only have to work overtime if it’s agreed in their employment contracts. For example, if an employee has a full-time contract with a 40-hour work week with no specifications about overtime, then the maximum working hours for this employee are 40 hours, even though the UK rota laws have a 48-hour limit.
4. Overtime pay
There is no statutory pay for overtime hours in the UK, but even with fixed salaries and overtime hours, the average hourly salary has to meet the National Minimum Wage requirements. If overtime is a necessary part of your business, overtime pay rules should be specified in employment contracts to avoid confusion and disputes in the future.
5. Rest break rules
Rest break rules are another core aspect of the UK rotas law. These are especially important to follow for what is a rolling rota, as this can be even more prone to human errors than regular work schedules. All employees are entitled to three types of rest breaks.
Rest breaks at work
Rest break at work has to be at least 20 uninterrupted minutes for all employees working for more than 6 hours per day. This can be, for example, a lunch break. These breaks are not required to be paid but can be. This should be determined by the employment contract to avoid confusion.
Daily rest
All UK employees are entitled to at least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest breaks between workdays. This can limit the maximum shift duration to 13 hours. For example, an employee working from 8 am to 9 pm cannot be required to start working the next day sooner than 8 am. This is important to understand when changing employee schedules from night shift to day shift or vice versa.
Weekly rest
All UK employees have a right have either:
A 24-hour break from work without interruptions every 7 days
A 48-hour break from work without interruptions every 14 days
Additional breaks
If the nature of a certain job is repetitive, monotonous or tiresome and the work poses health and safety risks either to employees or other parties, employers must ensure additional rest breaks for workers to always remain fresh at their shifts.
Exceptions
There are some exceptions to the rest break rules we described above:
Emergency workers, police or armed forces are faced with an extraordinary disaster
Working hours are not measured; for example, upper management positions
Sea transport employees
Air or road transport employees
6. Night work rules
There are some additional limits to night shift working time. In general, a night shift cannot exceed 8 hours within a 24-hour period. But this limit does not apply to the following:
Jobs that require 24-hour staffing, for example, the healthcare industry
Industries that are heavily affected by seasonality, such as tourism, security, agriculture and retail
Emergency situations
Jobs that require extensive travelling
If collective agreements change night work restrictions
But what constitutes night work? According to UK rota laws, if an employee works at least three hours between 11 pm and 6 am, it’s considered nighttime work. But if there is mutual agreement between employees or unions and employers in place, the definition of nighttime work can be different.
7. Holiday entitlements
Every employee in the UK is entitled to paid yearly leave, which must last at least 28 days out of every 365. The yearly holiday schedule may be based on calendar years or tax years, depending on the employers. Employment contracts need to include a formal declaration of this.
The income that employees get for taking mandatory yearly leave, sometimes referred to as vacation or holiday pay, is referred to as holiday pay. Holiday pay guarantees that workers will have enough money to support themselves while taking time off to unwind, rest, and enjoy their free time.
The minimal amount of paid yearly leave in the UK is known as statutory entitlement. This translates to 5.6 weeks, or 28 days, of paid vacation annually in 2023. Part-time workers may receive this benefit prorated according to their working hours. The normal compensation of an employee, which includes their base pay, regular overtime payments, and specific kinds of bonuses or commissions, is typically the basis for calculating holiday pay. The conditions of the employment contract or collective agreement may provide additional contractual compensation and allowances.
Workers accumulate the yearly leave benefit during the course of the year. The leave year is commonly coordinated with the fiscal year of the company, the calendar year, or a predetermined duration outlined in the employment contract. Subject to certain restrictions, employees can often roll over a part of their unused annual leave into the next year.
The number of working days or hours that an employee would regularly work during their yearly vacation period is often used to define the duration of a holiday. An employee's right to yearly vacation, for instance, would be determined in terms of whole weeks or fractions thereof if they work five days a week.
In the UK, there are extra days off that are acknowledged as public holidays or bank holidays. While it is not required, employers have the option to offer holiday pay on bank holidays. To prevent complaints, this should be specified in employment contracts.
Who establishes and executes the law on rotas at work for the UK?
Most rota work laws fall under a legislative piece called the Working Time Regulations. This was established by the UK Government in 1998. From September 2023, there is a new important law in place called The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill. This helps protect zero-hour contract workers and other employees working with atypical schedules.
Who must comply with the UK law on work rotas?
The Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) and all other UK rota laws apply to employees and employers in all sectors across the UK. However small or large your organisation is, if it’s based in the UK, it is required to comply with UK work rota laws.
What happens if you break the work shift law?
Any work rota or schedule is considered to be a legal document that both the employer and employees have to follow. If employees are not following the rota, employers have the right to dismiss workers. But if employees experience unfair rota at work or unfair dismissals, they can take employers to the employment tribunal. This can result in penalties and payments to employees.
4 best practices to stay on top of the work rota laws in the UK
Labour legislation is complicated, and UK rota laws are no exception to this. But there are some easy steps all employers can take to ensure that they comply with labour regulations.
1. Provide employees with rotas ahead of time
It goes without saying that the more time your employees have for adjusting to their work rotas, the more satisfied they will be with management’s work. This means that it is less likely for them to make official requests according to The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill, which would be an extra burden of administrative work.
2. Avoid last-minute rota changes
If it’s not absolutely necessary, avoid last-minute changes to work schedules, as this will ensure that you comply with UK rota laws. How much notice does an employer have to give for a shift change in the UK depends on the industry they work in. And to mitigate this uncertainty, it’s always safer to avoid any unnecessary rota changes.
3. Don’t rely too much on overtime
If your business is seeing a spike in demand due to high season or just better sales work, make sure you have enough employees to cover all shifts. It’s best to figure out how to make a rota without overly relying on overtime, even if overtime hours are agreed in employment contracts. Constant overtime can make rotas prone to overscheduling staff and breaking working time rules. For employees with lower salaries, you will also need to constantly calculate the average hourly salaries to make sure it doesn’t go below the National Minimum Wage.
4. Include training and work-related travel in rotas
It’s always a safer bet to include all training and work-related travel hours to rotas to avoid any disputes and ensure compliance with UK rota laws. It’s a small investment from a business perspective that provides you with a more satisfied workforce. And fewer disputes will mean less time wasted on solving them.
How much notice does an employer have to give for a shift change in the UK?
There is no specific amount of time for shift change notifications in the UK, and it varies according to the following factors:
How much is the employer able to anticipate and contain situations that require shift changes
What is the type of work during shifts in question
What agreements and contracts are in place between employers and employees
If employees are guaranteed a certain number of hours, the cancellation notice may be shorter as they are entitled to receive the salary for those hours.
Can an employer cancel a shift last minute in the UK?
It is not illegal to make last-minute shift cancellations in the UK. But depending on the employment contract you have in place with your employees, you may need to pay your employees for cancelled shifts. This may not be the case for zero-hour contracts or agency workers.
What does the UK law say about changing from night shift to day shift?
If your employee worked three hours or more between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., they are considered night workers. If all employees agree that their job is done at night, they may be classified as night workers. Trade unions are able to do this.
Before hiring someone to work nights, employers are required to provide them with a free health evaluation. Employees are not required to accept. A licenced health professional must write the assessment. It may be a survey.
Employers need to be aware that working at night may make employees more stressed. When an employer has doubts about an employee's suitability for night employment, the employee has to undergo a follow-up evaluation by a medical specialist.
Regular availability of a repeat evaluation is required. If a worker has health issues that a doctor indicates are connected to working at night, the employer is required to provide an acceptable alternative job whenever possible.
Use the PARiM software and be sure your rotas stay legal
Labour compliance can be a major headache for managers and schedulers, and manual rotas are always prone to human errors, which can make it even worse. Start making your work rotas with PARiM to automatically ensure compliance with labour regulations and schedule without worries.
Set up working time rules
Create complex rulesets to ensure compliance with working time regulations. For example, set up a 48-hour work week limit for all employees over 18 years of age and a 40-hour work week limit for those that are younger than 18. Create rotas quickly and PARiM will ensure that no employee will be scheduled to work more than their individual work week limit.
Track hours and rest breaks
Let your employees clock in and out with PARiM Staff App and get real-time information about when and where they they are clocked in and out. Set up break rules and let your employees clock in to break from their app as well. You can make sure that all your employees receive the breaks they are entitled to without having to worry about time theft.
Provide schedule changes quickly
With PARiM, rota creation process is so quick that you can easily create long-term schedules to avoid last-minute changes and shift cancellations. When new schedules are done, publish them in bulk with just a few clicks and your employees will receive their rotas in real time in their mobile apps. You can be sure, that every team member has the information they need.
Frequently asked questions
What is the current shift cancellation policy in the UK?
There is no determined limit on when employers have to notify employees about cancelled shifts. The UK laws determine that the time has tu be “sufficient” and this can vary depending on the industry you are working in. Workers may also be entitled to compensation for cancelled shifts based on their employment contracts.
How long can an employer keep you after your shift in the UK?
Employees cannot be kept at work longer than shift hours. If overtime is specified in employment contracts, shifts can be longer than scheduled but will have to follow daily and weekly rest time rules and not exceed a total 48 working hours per week.
Can an employer force an employee to change a shift?
Employer can switch employees from night shifts to day shifts if night work is detrimental to employees’ health. If there are changes in schedules, employers can require employees to change shifts if working time rules and rest time rules are met.
Is it illegal to work 7 days a week in the UK?
For many industries, it’s not illegal to work 7 days a week. This may require employees to opt out of the 48-hour work week limit. For some employees, this is prohibited, such as those working in transportation, for example airline workers or lorry drivers.
Is it legal to work 10 days in a row in the UK?
It’s legal to work 10 days in a row. Again, employees may need to opt out of 48-hour work week limit. Those working for 10 days in a row are also entitled to an uninterrupted 48 hours without any work each fortnight.
Can I work 14 days in a row in the UK?
Yes, you can. You may need to opt out of 48-hour work week limit and make sure to rest properly as you are also entitled to an uninterrupted 48 hour rest period every 14 days.
Is a rota a legal document?
Yes. Rota is considered to be a legally binding agreement. This means that employees have to follow the rota. Otherwise, employers will have a basis for dismissal. From employees’ perspective, they are legally entitled to leave from work as soon as their shift ends.
What is an unfair rota at work?
Unfair rota practices constitute sudden avoidable changes in scheduling, a disruptive or incoherent scheduling process and bad communication.
What are the rights of an employee who works on a rota?
All employees have the right to work no more than 48 hours per week. They have the right to rest breaks for shifts over 6 hours as well as uninterrupted daily and weekly rest periods. Daily rest has to be at least 11 hours long and weekly rest at least 24 hours every 7 days or 48 hours every 14 days.
What are the rights of an employer who uses a rota shift system?
Employer has the right to make changes or cancellations to rotas if their business requires to do so. Depending on the employment contracts, they have the right to cancel shifts with or without compensation. The notice period for shift changes and cancellations has to meet the requirements of the industry they are working in.
