Usually people must not be asked to work for more than 48 hours per week. 

By law, you can be asked to work more than 48 hours in an individual week. But you should not be asked to work for more than 48 hours per week on average over a 17-week period.

You can work more than 48 hours per week on average only if you have specifically agreed to work more hours. Any agreement to work more than 48 hours per week must be in writing (known as an "opt-out agreement"). 

Your employer cannot force you to opt-out of the 48-hour working week protections. If they say you cannot be employed if you don’t, they are likely breaking the law. In fact, the law specifically protects you from being punished or fired for saying no.

Sometimes employers hide the opt-out inside the main employment contract or in a job offer letter. You can just cross this out before signing the contract or sign but send an email saying: 'I do not agree to opt-out of the 48-hour week.'

If you have already signed an opt-out (and therefore agreed to work for more than 48-hours a week), you can cancel it at any time. You just have to give your employer notice (this is usually 7 days, but check your contract as it can be up to 3 months). 

To give your employer notice that you wish to stop working over 48 hours each week send them an email that says "I am writing to give notice that I wish to end my agreement to opt out of the 48-hour maximum working week. Please update my records. My notice period starts today, [Date]”.
 

If you regularly work for at least 3 hours between 11pm and 6am for most of your shifts, you are classed as a night worker. 

In general, night workers should not be working for more than 8 hours (calculated as an average) in every 24 hours. 

If your work involves special hazards or physical or mental strain, you cannot work for more than 8 hours.

If it doesn’t, you can work more than 8 hours sometimes - as long as the average amount calculated over 17 weeks is not more than 8 hours.

There are some exceptions to this rule. For example, it doesn't apply to caretakers, security guards or certain jobs which cannot be interrupted. 

Just as with daytime work, you should get a 20-minute break if you work for a period of 6 hours or more. You are entitled to spend your break during your shift away from wherever your work station is.

Those aged under 18 get a bit more protection in law.

Different protections apply for young workers who have reached school leaving age but have not yet turned 18.   

Workers under 18 in this group are not allowed to work for more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. All your jobs have to be included when calculating this maximum time, even if they are with different employers. (A ‘week’ starts at midnight between Sunday and Monday.)

There are some exceptions to these rules, but it is much harder to change the rules for 16-17 year olds than for over 18s.

Rest breaks

Young workers should get at least 30 minutes break per day if you work continuously for more than four and a half hours. If you are juggling jobs add the hours up - if it is more than four and a half you still get a break. But, like everyone else, you don’t have a right to be paid for the break unless it says you will in your contract.

Rest period from one day to the next

Those under 18 should be getting an uninterrupted rest of 12 hours between one working day and the next. This rest period may be interrupted in the case of split shifts, where periods of work are broken up into shorter periods.

Days off between working weeks

Under 18s should get at least 2 days off a week, and these should normally be taken in a row. However, the 2 days can be reduced to 36 hours if the employer has a technical or organisational reason for doing so. (Though the remaining 12 hours rest should be taken as soon as possible afterwards.) The 2 days may be interrupted in the case of split shifts where periods of work are split up over the day or are of only a few hours.

Night Working - Under 18

In general, people under 18 should not be working between 10pm and 6am or between 11pm and 7am (if their contract allows for them to work after 10pm). As an example, that means you could work up to 11pm but then you should not start work before 7am the next morning.

There are exceptions to this rule. For example, you can work up until 12pm, or from 4am onwards, if it is necessary and you are working in certain types of work, for example, in catering, a hospital or if you are involved in sporting or artistic activities. For more information on working at night see GOV.UK - Night working hours.

Children who have not yet reached school leaving age 

There are greater working restrictions on children who have not yet reached school leaving age. In England and Wales, this is the last Friday in June of the academic year in which they turn 16. The restrictions vary depending upon whether the work is in term time or the holidays. 

1. Try to sort it out by talking informally to your line manager.
2. If that doesn’t work - you could use your work’s grievance procedure.
3. If that doesn’t solve the problem, consider reporting it the to the new Fair Work Agency (when that is available). They will have the power to enforce working time rights directly, including the ability to fine employers who deny workers their proper rest breaks. At the time of writing the Fair Work Agency has not yet launched, but it is expected that reporting the issue to them will be a lot easier for you than taking the issue to the tribunal.
4. Your other option is to take the issue to an employment tribunal (or start down that road by notifying ACAS early conciliation, which may be enough to sort the matter).

Is a 20-minute break legal for an 8-hour shift?

Yes, if you are an adult working anything more than 6 hours you must be given at least one 20-minute break. Working a longer shift doesn’t entitle you to more breaks under the law, although you may be entitled under your contract. Although, if your work is "monotonous" (e.g., a fast-paced production line or repetitive data entry), your employer must provide enough breaks to ensure you don't put yourself or others at risk.

If you have a health condition or disability that requires more frequent rest or food, you could request extra breaks as a "reasonable adjustment" under the Equality Act 2010. Refusing this could be seen as discrimination.

Can my boss make me work 12 hours without a break?

No. If you are an adult working anything more than 6 hours you must be given at least one 20-minute break. If you are under 18, you must get at least one 30-minute break if you are working for more than four and a half hours.

What are the maximum working hours for migrant workers in England and Wales? 

The maximum working hours for migrants are the same as for anyone else. You should not usually work for more than 48 hours in a week.  By law, you can be asked to work more than 48 hours in an individual week - but, you should not be asked to work more than 48 hours a week on average over a 17-week period. You can only work for more than 48 hours a week on average if you have specifically agreed to work more hours in writing by signing an opt-out agreement. 

Can my employer force me to work more than 48 hours a week?

No. Your employer can ask, but they cannot force you. If they make it a condition of your job, they are likely breaking the law. In fact, the law specifically protects you from being punished or fired for saying no.

To work more than 48 hours on average, you will need to have signed a 48-hour opt out agreement. You cannot be made to sign one. Even if you already signed one, you can cancel it at any time. You just have to give your employer notice (usually 7 days, but check your contract as it can be up to 3 months). See Maximum time at work for what to say.

My contract says I have to work more than 48 hours in a week. Can they do that?

No. Your employer can ask, but they cannot force you. They can only ask you to work for more than 48 hours if you have signed an agreement to ‘opt-out’ of the 48-hour work rule. Sometimes employers hide the opt-out agreement inside the main employment contract or job offer letter. You can just cross this out before signing the contract or sign but send an email saying: 'I do not agree to opt-out of the 48-hour week.' If you have already signed the contract, you can now tell your employer in writing that you no-longer wish to agree to work over 48 hours each week. See the Maximum time at work a week for what to say. 
 

Disclaimer

The information in this guide applies to England and Wales only. The law may be different if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

The law is complicated. We have simplified things in this guide. Please don’t rely on this guide as a complete statement of the law. We recommend you try and get advice from the sources we have suggested.

The cases we refer to are not always real but show a typical situation. We have included them to help you think about how to deal with your own situation.

Acknowledgements 

This guide was produced by Advicenow. We would like to thank everyone who has commented or helped with the guide including editorial teams at Thomson Reuters who kindly reviewed this updated version.

This guide was updated thanks to funding from the Ministry of Justice under the Online Support and Advice Grant.