Small business group urges ministers to fight for Working Time 'opt-out'

As European ministers meet in Brussels to discuss the Working Time Directive, the Forum of Private Business is urging them to support the UK's right to 'opt out' of the regulations.

UK workers are currently entitled to opt out of the Working Time Directive, which limits employees to a maximum 48-hour working week.

However, the European Commission recently put forward a series of proposals aimed at limiting the UK's right to an opt-out, following concerns that some UK businesses were ‘abusing’ the system.

Nick Goulding, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, said, 'Working time is one of the few variables of adjustment that allow SMEs to improve productivity and adapt rapidly to new threats and opportunities'.

'By placing this variable in a more rigid framework, the Commission missed an opportunity to show private business in the UK and across Europe that it supports their need for increased flexibility and improvement of competitiveness', he added.