The Employment and Social Policy Council has failed to reach an agreement on the Working Time Directive at its meeting on 7 December.

Brief News:

The conditions under which opt-outs from the maximum weekly working time of 48 hours should be allowed took centre stage at a meeting of employment and social affairs ministers.
Gaps between three groups arguing for three different approaches have remained too wide to bridge following a discussion in the Council on 7 December. Countries such as Sweden, France, Greece and Spain have argued for a gradual phase-out of the possibility of opting out. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a different group, led by the UK, was in favour of the status quo, which allows for opt-outs signed by individuals. Making employees sign the opt-out agreement at the same time as the employment contract, a common practice in the UK, has come under widespread criticism. The common perception is that under such conditions people are under pressure to agree to the waiver, thereby effectively limiting their freedom of choice.
A third group, comprising the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Ireland and others, has been supporting the Commission’s proposal. The Commission is in favour of a ’flexible opt out’, ie opting out with the agreement of the individual subject to collective agreements (where possible).
To take account of a former jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice which makes ’on call time’ count as ’work’, the Council would add three definitions to the directive, that of ’on-call time’, ’inactive part of on-call time’ and ’workplace’. EU countries had argued that under the currently applicable definitions (Directive 2003/88/EC) the direct application of the Court’s interpretation would put an undue burden on healthcare budgets. But the inactive part of working time could also be counted as working time if national law or a collective agreement so stipulates.
The legislative proposal is subject to qualified majority voting in the Council. The European Parliament has a co-decision role.

Published: Thursday 9 December 2004 - 07:15