There are Working Time Regulations which became law on October 1st 1998, that you need to be aware of as an employer.

According to the Health & Safety Executive, as an employer of personal assistants, your employees can be considered to be in the category where ‘special circumstances' apply, in the context of a worker's ‘activities involving the need for continuity of service'.

Some of these legislated employee rights are as follows:

• a 48 hour limit for an average weekly working week
• a paid minimum annual leave entitlement
• minimum daily/weekly rest periods & rest periods at work
• an 8 working hour limit for night workers (who also have a right to be offered a free health assessment)

However, under the ‘special circumstances' flexibility provision and with mutually agreed employment contracts of terms and conditions, you may not necessarily be required to conform to all of this legislation.

Employer's Responsibilities

If you have an employee regularly working over 48 hours per week, it is advisable to have a mutually agreed and legally binding contract for them to work in excess of the working week limit. However, this contract must also allow your worker to bring this agreement to an end. A notice period of up to 3 months should also be specified, and if your employee decides to end this agreement, a written notice of their intention is required by you.

In addition, the employer must maintain records of these contract agreements, and the actual hours worked by your employee. These records need to be kept and, if requested, be available for inspection by the Health & Safety executive or local authority Environmental Health Officers. These records are needed to show that as an employer you are complying with the Working Time Regulations, even if individual employee agreements do not require full compliance due to ‘special circumstances'.

Version 4.0

Version Date: November 2009

The Rowan Organisation - Supporting Independence Through Choice