Category Archives: Legal News

Shift Work Employment

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If you are looking for a shift worker contract of employment please click: Shift Worker Employment Contract.

What is shift work?

Shift work is a pattern of work in which one employee replaces another on the same job within a 24-hour period. Shift workers normally work in crews, which are groups of workers who make up a separate shift team. In some shift systems, each crew will regularly change its hours of work and rotate morning, afternoon, and night shifts. Continuous shift systems provide cover for 24 hours, seven days a week. Non-continuous or discontinuous shift systems provide cover for less than the total hours available in a week – for example five 24 hour periods in seven days, or 12 hours out of 24.

Why is shift work on the increase?

Shift work is widespread throughout Europe. It is essential in some industries in which equipment, services or manufacturing processes must continue on a 24-hour cycle. Examples of this type of industry range from newspaper production and public utilities to hospital and emergency services. A development in more recent years has been the spread of shift working to industries such as telephone sales and banking. Other reasons for using shift work are:

  • Economic reasons – the pace of change has quickened and so has the rate at which plant and equipment become out of date: shift work enables employers to make maximum use of plant, which can reduce production costs and increase output.
  • Social reasons – changes in living and working patterns have created a demand for goods and services outside traditional working hours: for example, retail outlets are commonly open 7 days a week and in some cases for 24-hour periods.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Shift work can reduce unit costs because capital equipment is operated more intensively and cheaper off-peak electricity can be used. Rotas in some shift systems can enable a more flexible response to peaks and troughs of demand. Shift work can provide higher earnings for employees and allows them to use shops and social facilities at times when they are less crowded. On the debit side, shift working increases wage and labour costs and can disrupt employees’ social and domestic lives. It can also upset employees’ body rhythms and cause them to lose sleep. In addition, public transport facilities may not be available outside normal working hours.

What are the legal aspects of shift work?

The Working Time Regulations 1998 govern the hours people can work and prescribe special health provisions for night workers.

What are the health and safety implications of shift work?

There is no conclusive evidence about the effects of shift work on health, but disturbance of the body’s rhythms can lead to digestive problems and lack of sleep. Some of these problems can be reduced if applicants for shift work are medically examined before being appointed. In addition, shift workers should not work excessive overtime. They should also be provided with canteen facilities or hygienic surroundings in which to eat their food. There should be appropriate safety practices and access to medical facilities.

What payments are made for shift work?

There is a variety of ways of paying shift work premiums, but the following are the most common:

  • flat rate allowances per hour, shift or week, in addition to basic day rates;
  • fixed percentage additions to the day work rates;
  • differential basic rates of wages with shift workers getting a higher rate than day workers;
  • paying a standard annual amount to all employees working that particular shift;
  • extra allowances for hours worked outside the normal daily hours.

How can shift work be made successful?

  • Involve employees and their representatives as early as possible.
  • Consider carefully whether operating shift work is economic. The following factors favour the introduction of shift work: – low labour costs compared with capital costs – a high expected rate of depreciation of plant which will need replacing regularly – possibly because of rapid developments in technology – a projected reduction in production costs following the introduction of shift work.
  • Consider what type of shift system to adopt. This will depend on a number of factors including:
  1. the nature of the service or manufacturing process – for instance is 24-hour continuous working required?
  2. pressure to reduce hours of work
  3.  local tradition – certain shift systems may be more readily accepted because they are commonly used in a particular locality or industry.
  • Consider setting up a working party of management representatives and trade union or other employee representatives.
  • Negotiate with representatives of recognised trade unions to set shift premiums and other relevant terms and conditions of employment including health and safety and welfare provisions for shift workers.
  • Find out whether there are enough suitable volunteers for shift work from the existing workforce.
  • Find out whether suitable local employees will be available.
  • Arrange a thorough medical examination for applicants.
  • Plan a shift rota.
  • Involve shift workers fully in communication and consultation arrangements.
  • Make shift workers aware of grievance procedures and train shift managers and supervisors to handle grievances.
  • Arrange adequate supervision for shift workers ideally by a shift manager.

 

Volunteer Agreement – Taking on Volunteers

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Many organisations use the services of a volunteer and many people volunteer their time for a variety of reasons, perhaps for the experience, or the flexibility, or maybe for the simple reward of personal satisfaction.

A volunteer has a different status from that of an employee or worker. They have no real employment rights when compared to an employee or worker; indeed their rights are limited to being safe at work (i.e. a risk assessment must be performed by the host organisation).

It is important that any volunteer agreement is worded in such a way so that it is clear that it is not intended to create a contract of employment. However, please note that employment contracts can be verbal only and, irrespective of any written agreement, the circumstances and dealings between the parties may take things further and give rise to a contract.

In order to avoid the risk of creating an employment contract with volunteers, volunteer agreements shall not set out the duties and obligations of the parties but shall only provide a framework for setting out the ‘reasonable expectations’ of the parties. If the agreement places obligations upon the volunteers there is a risk that the document creates a contractual relationship between the parties and amounts to a contract of employment. Furthermore, it is important that organisations avoid giving volunteers income and reduce perks that could be seen as ‘consideration’. In other words, volunteers should only be reimbursed for actual out-of-pocket expenses only as any sum over actual expenses may be regarded as a consideration, no matter how small it is, which could create a contract of employment.

Volunteers are generally excluded from the National Minimum Wage and receive only basic expenses. Expenses don’t count as wages as they’re repayment for costs incurred through volunteering. Normally expenses will be limited to money for travel, food and drink, as well as repayments for things that volunteers have had to buy in order to carry out the work. If a volunteer receives any other payment or benefit in kind for volunteering, they might be considered as consideration and the volunteer may be classed as in a contractual relationship like an ’employee’ or a ‘worker’. Furthermore, even benefits which are necessary for the volunteer to carry out their work, such as training, can be problematic if they’re understood in such a way so as to suggest an obligation on the part of the volunteer.

In summary, a volunteer might be classified as an employee if obligations are placed on them and/or if they get certain kinds of benefits in the role. For example if they:

  • receive training that’s not directly relevant to the voluntary work; and/or
  • receive a fixed regular amount for expenses that is more than they spend.

Volunteers have the same rights under the Data Protection Act as employees. This means that organisations must comply with rules on personal data about volunteers and that they can’t process any of this data without permission.

Finally, it is important to note that people under 14 years of age cannot volunteer for a profit-making organization.

A Volunteer Agreement helps both the organisation and its volunteers by making expectations clear. If you are looking for a volunteer agreement template please see: Volunteer Agreement.