Eight in ten UK firms feel that EU plans to restrict the employees to a 48-hour week would badly damage business performance, a new study has found.
Research by consultancy firm Croner found that 81 per cent of businesses felt that if the UK adopted the EU’s Working Time Directive (WTD), it would have a negative impact on the economy.
Currently, Britain has an opt-out from the WTD, with UK employees now working the longest average hours in Europe.
Although trade unions have called for an end to the opt-out, claiming that long hours damage employees’ health, business groups have firmly opposed the implementation of the WTD.
Lobby groups have stated that any restriction of working hours would harm the UK economy and take away the fundamental right of staff to work as many hours they like.
Croner said that far from improving employees’ work-life balance, the WTD would do the opposite by imposing a more rigid structure as to when staff could undertake overtime.
Kimbra Green, employment law experts at Croner, said that as a nation we pride ourselves on our competitive economy.
“The survey results are not a sign that our employers are becoming slave-drivers, but rather a protest by bosses for freedom of choice when it comes to working hours.
“There will always be employers who exploit the system, but it’s clear that a blanket ceiling on working hours will have the majority up in arms,” she said.
