The EC Directive on working time was adopted under Article 118A of the Treaty of Rome, relying on the qualified majority voting procedure available under that Article in spite of the opposition of the UK Government. The UK Government then unsuccessfully challenged the validity of the Directive, alleging that Article 118A was not an appropriate basis for it. The UK contention was that working hours are not a matter of health and safety. It was only after this challenge had proved unsuccessful (see UK v EU Council [1996] All ER (EC) 877) that the provisions of the Directive were brought into force in October 1998 although the final date set by the EC for implementing the Directive had been November 1996. It was speculated that any person who was deprived of the entitlements granted by the Directive, during the period between 1996 and 1998 when the UK was in default of its EC obligations, might claim compensation. In at least one reported case the Employment Appeal Tribunal appeared to have accepted this argument. In Gibson v East Riding of Yorkshire District Council (1999) The Times, 12 February a swimming instructor employed by a local authority successfully relied on the directive to obtain an entitlement to four weeks paid annual leave. The EAT found that the Directive had direct effect even though it had not been implemented. However the Court of Appeal subsequently held Article 7 was insufficiently precise to have direct effect against Yorkshire District Council. It is unlikely that a person employed in the private sector would have been able to claim compensation from the employer: however, such a person might possibly have relied on Francovich v Italian Republic (1992) and claimed damages from the UK government. The reluctance of the UK to implement the Directive was demonstrated by using the 1972, rather than the 1974 legislation, as a basis for the Regulations. Nevertheless the Health and Safety Executive is the principal enforcement agency, but some of the regulations are also linked to the Employment Rights Act 1996 to give workers rights to seek compensation in an employment tribunal. WORKING TIME REGULATIONS1998 SI 1998/1833 PART II RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS CONCERNING WORKING TIME

DOI link for The EC Directive on working time was adopted under Article 118A of the Treaty of Rome, relying on the qualified majority voting procedure available under that Article in spite of the opposition of the UK Government. The UK Government then unsuccessfully challenged the validity of the Directive, alleging that Article 118A was not an appropriate basis for it. The UK contention was that working hours are not a matter of health and safety. It was only after this challenge had proved unsuccessful (see UK v EU Council [1996] All ER (EC) 877) that the provisions of the Directive were brought into force in October 1998 although the final date set by the EC for implementing the Directive had been November 1996. It was speculated that any person who was deprived of the entitlements granted by the Directive, during the period between 1996 and 1998 when the UK was in default of its EC obligations, might claim compensation. In at least one reported case the Employment Appeal Tribunal appeared to have accepted this argument. In Gibson v East Riding of Yorkshire District Council (1999) The Times, 12 February a swimming instructor employed by a local authority successfully relied on the directive to obtain an entitlement to four weeks paid annual leave. The EAT found that the Directive had direct effect even though it had not been implemented. However the Court of Appeal subsequently held Article 7 was insufficiently precise to have direct effect against Yorkshire District Council. It is unlikely that a person employed in the private sector would have been able to claim compensation from the employer: however, such a person might possibly have relied on Francovich v Italian Republic (1992) and claimed damages from the UK government. The reluctance of the UK to implement the Directive was demonstrated by using the 1972, rather than the 1974 legislation, as a basis for the Regulations. Nevertheless the Health and Safety Executive is the principal enforcement agency, but some of the regulations are also linked to the Employment Rights Act 1996 to give workers rights to seek compensation in an employment tribunal. WORKING TIME REGULATIONS1998 SI 1998/1833 PART II RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS CONCERNING WORKING TIME

The EC Directive on working time was adopted under Article 118A of the Treaty of Rome, relying on the qualified majority voting procedure available under that Article in spite of the opposition of the UK Government. The UK Government then unsuccessfully challenged the validity of the Directive, alleging that Article 118A was not an appropriate basis for it. The UK contention was that working hours are not a matter of health and safety. It was only after this challenge had proved unsuccessful (see UK v EU Council [1996] All ER (EC) 877) that the provisions of the Directive were brought into force in October 1998 although the final date set by the EC for implementing the Directive had been November 1996. It was speculated that any person who was deprived of the entitlements granted by the Directive, during the period between 1996 and 1998 when the UK was in default of its EC obligations, might claim compensation. In at least one reported case the Employment Appeal Tribunal appeared to have accepted this argument. In Gibson v East Riding of Yorkshire District Council (1999) The Times, 12 February a swimming instructor employed by a local authority successfully relied on the directive to obtain an entitlement to four weeks paid annual leave. The EAT found that the Directive had direct effect even though it had not been implemented. However the Court of Appeal subsequently held Article 7 was insufficiently precise to have direct effect against Yorkshire District Council. It is unlikely that a person employed in the private sector would have been able to claim compensation from the employer: however, such a person might possibly have relied on Francovich v Italian Republic (1992) and claimed damages from the UK government. The reluctance of the UK to implement the Directive was demonstrated by using the 1972, rather than the 1974 legislation, as a basis for the Regulations. Nevertheless the Health and Safety Executive is the principal enforcement agency, but some of the regulations are also linked to the Employment Rights Act 1996 to give workers rights to seek compensation in an employment tribunal. WORKING TIME REGULATIONS1998 SI 1998/1833 PART II RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS CONCERNING WORKING TIME