STATISTICS
AND NEWS
Bulletin Européen d’études européennes sur le Temps
Bulletin für europäische Zeitstudien
Number 9, 1996
Bulletin of European Studies on Time
ISSN 1017-4885
BEST
European Foundation
for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions
Available in English, French and German
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 75
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 1
European Foundation
for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions
STATISTICS
AND NEWS
edited by
Alexander Wedderburn
Edinburgh, Scotland
Bulletin of European Studies on Time
Bulletin Européen d’études européennes sur le Temps
Bulletin für europäische Zeitstudien
EF/96/22/EN
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 2
Original Language: English
Luxembourg:
Office for Official Publications of
the European Communities, 1996
ISSN 1017-4877
Any items included in a BEST Bulletin may be reproduced without further
permission if the source is acknowledged. If you wish to receive either individual
contributions or more copies of BEST please write to the Foundation.
Printed in Ireland
EUROPEAN FOUNDATION
FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS
Loughlinstown, Dublin 18, Ireland
Tel: (+353) 1 204 3100 Fax: (+353) 1 282 6456
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 3
Contents
CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION
The economic scenario
Flexibility and pluriformity
The European directive on the organisation of working time
What does the directive require?
(1) The basic rights
(2) The exceptions
(3) The outcome in practice
New research on shiftwork
8
CHAPTER 2 : PREPARING FOR CHANGES IN THE LAW
Draft of the new German law on working hours
New law in the Netherlands on working hours
New legislative conditions governing working time in France
Parental leave in the Netherlands
12
CHAPTER 3 : TRENDS IN GENERAL HOURS OF WORK
Usual weekly hours in Europe (1) United Kingdom
Overtime : the trend over the years in the UK
Flexibility in the workforce in the UK
Flexible working hours (flexitime)
Annualised hours
Term-time working
Job-sharing
Compressed working weeks
Usual weekly hours in Europe (2) France
Flexitime
Time checks – “clocking in”
Flexiweeks
The state of collective negotiations in companies
Part-time work : new divisional agreements
New formulas: part-time work matching the school year
Usual weekly hours in Europe (3) Germany
Shorter hours
Flexitime
Weekend working
Reduced (4-day) working weeks
Developments in flexible working time arrangements
Usual weekly hours in Europe (4) The Netherlands
Employees’ preference and actual working hours situation
Usual weekly hours in Europe (5) Italy
The debate on the reduction of working hours
The present situation
Flexibility
Usual weekly hours in Europe (6) Belgium
17
CHAPTER 4 : DEVELOPMENTS IN SHIFTWORK
Shiftwork in the Netherlands
Types of shiftwork in the Netherlands
Shiftwork in France
30
3
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 4
Women on nightwork in French industry (from Gadbois, 1994)
Shiftwork in Belgium (from Léonard 1994)
Extended work week with longer shifts : General Motors Antwerp
Shiftwork in the United Kingdom
Changes in patterns of shiftwork
More and fewer 12-hour shifts
Good and bad firms
Traditional patterns
Conclusion
4
CHAPTER 5 : COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS (CLAs)
CLAs and working hours : Netherlands (from Van Hilst & Jansen,
1994)
Working hours on a weekly and annual basis : Netherlands
Working hours on a lifetime basis
CLAs and early retirement
“Solidarity contracts” : Italy (from Costa, 1994)
Flexibility of working hours
Some examples of agreements on working time recently registered
in various work sectors in Italy
Banks
Chemical
Railway
Radio-TV broadcasting
Tourism
Volkswagen negotiations in 1995
39
CHAPTER 6 : PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF NEW SYSTEMS
Practical flexible arrangements in Germany (from Knauth &
Hornberger, 1994)
Flexible working time in the metal industry (in NorthWuerttemberg and North Baden)
The intra-mural care sector in the Netherlands (from Van Hilst &
Jansen, 1994)
•The equalisation of similar work
•Changes in the provision of care
Holland Casinos (from Van Hilst & Jansen, 1994)
Experimental use of new shiftwork concepts in the car industry :
France (from Gadbois 1994)
A third crew in a car manufacturing plant: partial nightshift
at Renault-Flins
Four 10-hour shifts: two alternating 10-hour shifts four days a week,
abandoned by the Peugeot-Poissy car production plant
Experiments with a reduction of worktime in Belgium (from Léonard
1994)
Telework and tele-learning (from Léonard 1994)
ABB’s experience of telecommuting
Home-based translators at Janssen Pharmaceutica
Teleworking references
Telelearning
45
CHAPTER 7 : SOCIAL ISSUES
Action for women in Italy (from Costa 1994)
The governmental social project : Belgium (from Léonard 1994)
Example : GAN insurance
54
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 5
CHAPTER 8 : RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Diskus Classification: Lowering the barriers in planning problems
(from Van Hilst & Jansen, 1994)
Allowances paid and inconvenience experienced – Balance
between workload and compensation
Quality of life and quality of sleep in two different organisational
modes
Shiftwork depends on the individual’s situation
57
References:
Appendix A: The final text of the European Directive on the
organisation of working time
Appendix B : Full text of Table 3.1 : Employees’ total usual weekly
hours : peaks 1990†
Appendix C : Diskus Classification: Lowering the Barriers in
Planning Problems (from Van Hilst & Jansen 1994)
60
62
70
71
5
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 6
List of Tables
Table 2.1 : Norms for standard and consultational ruling (bill)
Table 3.1 : Employees’ usual weekly hours: peaks 1990†
Table 3.2 : Percentage of employees working less than 16 and
more than 48 hours a week
Table 3.3 : Traditional and flexible workforce (UK 1993)
Table 3.4 : Working hours patterns by sex and full/part-time status
(UK 1993)
Table 3.5 : Subjects of agreements on working time in France
Table 3.6 : Agreed working hours v. desired working hours 1992 :
Netherlands
Table 3.7 : Possible interventions in working hours
Table 4.1 : Numbers of people involved in shiftwork: Netherlands
Table 4.2 : Men and women in irregular shiftwork from 1989 to 1991 :
Netherlands
Table 4.3 : Percentage of men/women with irregular shifts in each
commercial sector
Table 4.4 : Numbers of men and women per type of shift
Table 4.5 : Percentage of men/women in shiftwork in different
branches of industry
Table 4.6 : Shiftwork by occupational group by gender : UK 1993
Table 4.7 : Shiftworking by industry division by gender : UK 1993
Table 4.8 : Prevalence of shiftworking by size of workplace : UK 1993
Table 4.9 : Percentage of shiftworkers by age groups : UK 1987
Table 5.1 : Average working hours during the period 1990-1992 :
Netherlands
Table 5.2 : Average early retirement age from 1985-1992 : Netherlands
Table 5.3 : Solidarity contracts in the textile sector : Italy
6
14
17
18
20
22
23
26
29
30
30
31
31
32
35
35
36
37
39
40
42
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 7
List of Figures
Figure 3.1 : Percentage of employees working less than 16 and more
than 48 hours a week (Europe 1990)
Figure 3.2 : Per cent working overtime (UK: 1977-1993)
Figure 3.3 : Average hours of overtime worked per operative
(UK: 1977-1993)
Figure 4.1 : Growth of shiftwork in manufacturing (UK 1973-1989)
Figure 4.2 : Shiftwork by age (UK 1987)
Figure 6.1 : Shift modules in the German car industry
Figure 6.2 : Customer-oriented shift system in the airport office of a
travel agency
18
19
19
36
37
45
46
7
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 8
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
This issue of BEST gives an update on news and statistics on working time,
following on from BEST 6, which had the same aim in 1993. This
introduction sketches a background of the economic scenario, the
introduction of the long-awaited directive on working time, and a mention of
recent activity in the international research world.
The economic scenario
The opening of the 1990s has been a time of the deepest and most prolonged
world economic recession since the 1930s, happening in different countries
with slightly different timings and depths, but generally darkening the picture
of all economic activity. Growth rates in industrial production have been
down, and unemployment has been higher. Some recovery began in 1994 and
1995, but at different speeds in different places, and in different sectors of the
economy.
One consequence of a period like this is that there is less pressure for a
shortening in the standard working week. That is something that tends to
occur in waves, and more at times of economic boom.
However, reforming pressures are still at work, and indeed some of them
become more acute when organisations want to ensure that their operational
time is as effectively deployed as possible. So there have been many
interesting developments, as this issue can illustrate.
“Constraints on costs have led to the consideration of new ways, which
seemed impossible to achieve in the past. The government of Bavaria has for
instance decided to prolong the weekly working time of all its civil servants
to 40 hours per week without increasing their salaries. Some companies have
decided to introduce part-time work for all workers to avoid dismissals”
(Knauth and Hornberger, 1993).
Flexibility and pluriformity
Van Hilst and Jansen (1994) report that “against a background of increasing
competition, diminishing operating profits, redundancies and business
closures, the call for structural changes in the labour market and in working
conditions has become increasingly urgent. A significant moment in this
respect came in the autumn of 1993 when employers and employees arrived
at a central agreement on ‘structural alterations’ within the Dutch economy.
Employers in particular were quick to allude to this agreement in terms such
as ‘cheaper’ and ‘more flexible’. A more varied pattern of working hours,
extended employment times and extended business hours were put forward as
examples of change.
“The topicality of working hours also featured in the discussions on early
retirement and flexible pension arrangements in connection, among other
things, with the interests of older employees. Arguments were put forward
from a number of different angles for a greater and more differentiated use of
employees over the age of 55.
“A third point which is an eternal ‘hot issue’ is part-time work. The Central
Bureau for Statistics (CBS) calculated that there was an increase of 660,000
8
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 9
jobs in the Netherlands between 1987 and 1992, of which 350,000 – more
than half – were part-time.
“In the summer of 1993, employers and employees in the Joint Industrial
Labour Council agreed that a conditional right to part-time work would be
included in their regulations. Two reasons for this agreement are as follows:
1. A large number of existing full-time workers aspire to a part-time job.
Research by the Organisation for Strategic Labour Market Studies shows
that this trend will continue.
2. It is felt that an active part-time policy can have a substantial effect on
job availability.”
The European directive on the organisation of working time
This long-awaited directive was finally approved by the Council on 23
November 1993, and is known officially as Council Directive 93/104/EC,
published in the Official Journal on 13 December 1993. The full text is
reproduced in Appendix A.
It was approved by a majority under Article 118a of the Treaty of Rome,
which deals with health and safety. The UK government, arguing that it is
more of a social measure, and so should have required unanimous approval,
has not accepted it, and will argue the case at the European Court. This will
be an important hearing, both for the impact of the decision as well as for
airing arguments about the scientific evidence on whether restrictions on
working hours can be effective for improving health and safety. Indeed, there
have been some doubts expressed about the need for its implementation in
other countries if the UK government wins the case. This may be a wholly
theoretical argument in many countries, as their law in this area was ripe for
reform anyway, and has been given a clear impetus by the new directive.
What does the directive require?
(1) The basic rights
The core provisions of the directive are simple and clear:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours in 24
A rest break if the working day is longer than 6 hours
One 35-hour period off every 7 days: i.e. 24 hours + 11 hours
Maximum working hours of 48 per week
Four weeks paid annual leave a year
Average 8 hours in 24 for night workers
Maximum 8 hours for night workers in hazardous or physically or mentally
straining jobs
Health assessment for night workers before starting and at regular
intervals
Transfer for night workers suffering from relevant health problems
Appropriate safety and health protection for night and shift workers
Protection and prevention services and facilities for safety and health for
night and shift workers equivalent to other times.
(2) The exceptions
This basic framework is then extensively qualified by:
1. reference periods, i.e. time periods over which the limits in the directive
must, on average, be achieved. These are essentially 14 days for the
9
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 10
weekly rest period, 4 months for maximum weekly working time, and, for
length of night work, “a reference period defined after consultation of the
two sides of industry or by collective agreements or agreement concluded
between the two sides of industry at national or regional level.”
2. derogations, or permissible exceptions, which appear to apply to almost
everything except the health checks and the provision of safety and
health facilities, on a wide variety of grounds related to jobs (e.g. security
guards), industries (e.g. press, radio, television), or circumstances (e.g.
“each time the worker changes shift and cannot take daily and/or weekly
rest periods between the end of one shift and the start of the next one”).
3. delays. Not only is there a 3-year period for the introduction of national
laws, but some of the provisions (e.g. 4 weeks’ paid annual holiday leave)
can be further delayed up to 1999.
Clearly the framework that has been established is an important step in
setting common minimum standards in the organisation of working time.
Some of the provisions, such as the initial and regular health assessment in
Article 9, are not uncontroversial, because they will cost real money (and
incidentally lay the foundation for much clearer long-term tracking of the
medical effects of shiftwork, as is now done widely by audiometry services for
hearing loss). This does not appear to be subject to any derogations.
(3) The outcome in practice
In many European countries, the directive has been a stimulus for the
revision of existing national laws. This is important because what the
directive ultimately means in practice will become clearer as these national
laws are finally formulated and implemented, as relevant collective
agreements are negotiated, and then as case law is developed by appeals to
the European Court. Chapter 2 explains how the early stages of this process
were developing in some of the countries of the European Union in 1993.
New research on shiftwork
Research on many different aspects of shiftwork continues at an increasing
rate all over the world, and it can be extremely difficult for a practitioner to
keep abreast with it, as it tends to be published in a wide variety of journals.
One international focus for research is the series of international symposia on
night- and shiftwork, organised by the scientific committee on shiftwork of
the International Commission on Occupational Health. These have been
normally held every two years since 1969, and the most recent ones were the
XIth in early 1994 in Melbourne, Australia, and the XIIth in June 1995 in
Connecticut, USA.
The best of the 1994 papers from the XIth symposium were published in a
special double edition of the journal “Work and Stress”, volume 9, nos. 2 and
3 (1995).
A book of one-page summaries of the 120 papers from the XIIth symposium
was published in May 1995, as a special edition of the Shiftwork
International Newsletter. Some spare copies are still available for US$50 from
the organiser of the symposium:
10
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 11
Professor Don I. Tepas
Department of Psychology
University of Connecticut
Box U-20, 406 Babbidge Road
Storrs, CT 06269-1020
USA
The Shiftwork International Newsletter is obtainable for an annual
subscription of US$30 from its editor:
Dr Timothy H. Monk
Western Psychiatric Institute
3811 O’Hara Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
USA
It frequently contains a listing of recent research from the many journals in
which the research reports appear, which can be difficult for researchers and
practitioners to find.
11
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 12
Chapter 2: PREPARING FOR CHANGES IN
THE LAW
Draft of the new German law on working hours
In Germany, a new law on working hours was finally passed in early 1995, but
its development was still in process when Knauth and Hornberger wrote their
commentary. This report is retained below as it was written then, as this is a
social description of how the legal framework was changing, rather than a
technical description of the latest legal position.
“The old law on working time (‘Arbeitszeitordnung’, or AZO) was created in
1938. A new law on working time has been developed for the following
reasons: Certain paragraphs of the old ‘AZO’ are not compatible with the
basic constitutional law (e.g. the prohibition of nightwork for women);
working time on Sundays and holidays is regulated in another law
(‘Gewerbeordnung’); certain paragraphs in the law on working time in the
eastern part of Germany differ from the version used in West Germany; and
the old law allows only a limited scope for negotiations between the
employers’ federations and the unions.
“The new draft mainly deviates from the old working time law in the
following ways:
A. Daily working time and rest periods between shifts without work
(§§ 3-8)
– Prolongation of daily working time up to 10 hours per day only, if an
average of 8 hours per day is reached within 6 months (or 24 weeks)
– Breaks for men and women:
• at least 30 minutes in connection with 6-9 hours’ work per day;
• at least 45 minutes in connection with more than 9 hours’ work per day
– Definitions of night-time (23.00 – 06.00), nightwork (more than 2 hours
during the night) and nightworker (regular nightwork in alternating shift
systems or nightwork on 48 days per year)
– Nightwork is no longer prohibited for women
– Working time for night- and shiftworkers should be designed according to
proven ergonomic knowledge
– Prolongation of the daily working time of nightworkers up to 10 hours per
day only, if on average 8 hours/day are reached within 1 month (or 4
weeks)
– Nightworkers are entitled to medical examinations before starting
nightwork and to further examinations at intervals of three years, and
every year for those over 50
– Duty of the employer to enable nightworkers, who are ill or who have to
take care of children (< 12 years) or relatives in need of great care and
attention, to change to a working place with daywork, if internal
company requirements so permit
– Several deviations from the planned law are possible, if the employers’
federations and unions come to an agreement (e. g. concerning daily
working times > 10 hours, breaks shorter than 30 minutes, shortening of
the rest period between two shifts).
12
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 13
B. Work on Sundays and bank holidays (§§ 9-13)
– the regulations concerning exceptions from the general prohibition of
work on Sundays and bank holidays are extended with regard to several
aspects. Two examples illustrate this:
1) Production workers may work on Sundays and bank holidays, if an
interruption in production would require more workers for
maintenance, cleaning and so on
2) The supervisory authority has to permit work on Sundays and bank
holidays, if competitiveness in comparison with foreign countries is
affected and if employment can be secured by work on Sundays and
bank holidays
– one Sunday per month has to be free of work
– several deviations from the planned law are possible, if the employers’
federations and the unions come to an agreement (e.g. concerning free
Sundays or daily working time on Sundays)” (Knauth and Hornberger,
1993).
New law in the Netherlands on working hours
Van Hilst and Jansen (1994) included in their report a commentary on the
development of the new law on working hours in the Netherlands. As in
Germany, the opportunity was being taken to make other reforms to old laws,
as well as taking account of the European Directive.
“For some time now, consultations have been in progress about replacing the
Factories Act 1919 with the new Law on Working Hours (ATW). In 1989 the
National Economic Development Council was asked to advise on proposals
for this law. In 1992, the Council – composed of representatives of employers’
and employees’ organisations as well as independent members – gave very
divided advice to the Secretary of State for Social Affairs in a number of
areas, including deviant work and break regulations. Faced with this
conflicting advice, the Ministry of Social Affairs had to judge the different
interests. At the same time, socio-economic and social developments were
demanding more prominent attention in constructing the new Law on
Working Hours. These developments consisted of a need for flexibility and
pluriformity, deregulation and individualisation. The Council Directive
93/104/EC of 23 November 1993 on the organisation of working time
contributed on a European level to the further construction of the ATW.
“In making the final proposal, due to the developments outlined, the
government did not simply strike the average of different norms as these were
proposed by the employees’ and employers’ organisations and independent
members (a ‘random compromise’). Instead, the government made a proposal
based more on rational choices, which were derived from the primary
objective of the bill – ‘the protection of safety, health and welfare in relation
to working hours and breaks’ – and some other considerations, such as:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
leaving more room for social partners to put in their own ideas;
meeting the notions of modern employee participation principles;
harmonizing with government policy on the emancipation of women;
meeting the wish for more flexibility;
not interfering with participation in social life;
adapting to the economic functioning of the company; and
accomplishing a minimum of administrative obligations.
13
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 14
Table 2.1 : Norms for standard and consultational ruling (bill)
Norms: employees over 18 years
resting time
*weekly rest
*daily rest
*Sunday rest
working time (structural)
*working time per shift
*working time per week
*working time per 4 weeks
*working time per 13 weeks
supplementary rules for nightshifts
(work that falls wholly or partly
between 00.00 and 06.00)
*rest after a nightshift which
ends after 0200
*rest after a series of 3 or more
successive night shifts
*working time per NS
*working time per 13 weeks
*number of nightshifts
Standard ruling
Consultational ruling
*either min. 36 hrs in each
period of 7x24 hrs, or min. 60
hrs in each period of 9x24 hrs
(1 min. rest of 32 hrs allowed
per 5 wks.)
*min.11 hrs in each period of 24
hrs (1 min. rest of 8 hrs allowed
per 7x24 hrs)
*min. 4 free Sundays per 13 wks.
Work on Sunday is only allowed
when necessary
*either min. 36 hrs in each
period of 7x24 hrs, or min. 60
hrs in each period of 9x24 hrs
(1 min. rest of 32 hrs allowed
per 5 wks.)
*min.11 hrs in each period of 24
hrs (1 min. rest of 8 hrs allowed
per 7x24 hrs. )
*min. 13 free Sundays per 52
weeks. Work on Sunday is only
allowed when necessary
*max. 9 hours
*max. 45 hours
*—
*max. 520 hours (av. 40 hrs p/w)
*max. 10 hours
* —
*max. 200 hrs (av.50 hrs p/w)
*max. 585 hrs (av.45 hrs p/w)
*min. 14 hours
*min. 14 hours (1 min. rest of 8
hrs allowed per 7x24 hrs.)
*min. 48 hours
*min. 48 hours
*max. 8 hours
*max. 520 hours (av 40 hrs p/w)
*max. 10 shifts per 4 wks and 25
shifts per 13 wks (max. 16 per 4
wks if the nightshifts end before
or at 02.00)
*max. 5 shifts (max. 6 if
the nightshifts end before or
at 02.00)
*max. 9 hours
*max. 520 hrs (av. 40 hrs p/w)
*max. 28 shifts per 13 wks (max.
52 per 13 wks if the nightshifts
end before or at 02.00)
*max. 11 hours
*max. 54 hours
*max. 585 hours (av. 45 hours
p/w)
*max. 12 hours
*max. 60 hours
*max. 624 hours (av. 48 hours
p/w)
supplementary rules for overtime in
nightshift
*max. 10 hours
*working time per NS
*max. 520 hours (av. 40 hours
*working time per 13 weeks
p/w)
*max. 11 hours
*max. 520 hours (av. 40 hours
p/w)
*number of consecutive
nightshifts in a series
overtime (incidental)
*working time per shift
*working time per week
*working time per 13 weeks
break
*working time > 5.5 hours
*working time > 8 hours
*working time > 10 hours
*min. 30 minutes continuous
*min. 45 minutes, of which 30
minutes must be continuous
*min. 60 minutes, of which 30
minutes must be continuous
*max. 7 shifts
*30 minutes, to be split in 2x15
minutes
*30 minutes, to be split in 2x15
minutes
*30 minutes, to be split in 2x15
minutes
Note: av= average; p/w = per week; NS = nightshift.
“The scheme in Table 2.1 presents a summary with norms on working time
and breaks in the new law. Besides a structure of standard legal norms, the
new law will provide a fabric of broader norms on work and breaks (the socalled consultational ruling). Within these broader norms, labour
organisations can implement working patterns that fall outside the standard
14
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 15
norms, on condition that agreement has been reached via collective
consultation (for example, via negotiations with collective bargaining
bodies).
“A first analysis of the bill makes it clear that the government has left
substantial space for the social partners. Employers are given substantial space
for realising their desired developments in working and business hours; for the
employees, in particular concerning physical aspects, the necessary protection
is built in.
“The ATW was enacted on 1 January 1996. However, a transition period has
been established until 1 January 1997, as collective bargaining agreements
between trade unions and employers or employers’ associations are still in
force during part of 1996. All new collective agreements must comply with
the new norms of the ATW. Existing collective agreements ending after
January 1997 must be amended accordingly by the trade unions and/or work
councils and the employers or employers’ associations. Exceptions to the
ATW are (1) the transportation sector (e.g. trucks, coaches) and (2) the
public health service.”
New legislative conditions governing working time in France
In France, some changes in the law on working time were already in progress
– which is not surprising in view of the number of years that the European
Directive in various forms has been on the horizon. Gadbois (1994) gave an
account of this development.
“A new five-year law on employment and professional training, passed in
France on 20 December 1993, included several measures relating to working
time. These measures relate principally to the concept of the flexible work
year (flexiyear) combined with a reduction in its length. Their aim is twofold: to increase flexibility in the organisation and operation of companies,
and to promote the taking on of employees and combat unemployment.
“Since the passing of a law in 1987, weekly hours (which cannot, on average,
exceed certain limits) can be varied over part or all of the year. The new law
creates the basis for a novel flexiyear concept through introduction of more
flexible procedures. This can be achieved through agreements negotiated by
company divisions, professions or companies. The agreement will set the
extent of reduction in yearly hours and the methods of distribution of
working time over the year and a reference average working week. The upper
limits for a working day (10 h) and week (48 h for one week, and 46 h on
average over 12 consecutive weeks) are set by law. Hours worked in excess of
the reference working week are compensated by increased salary or by
carrying over credit hours.
“A framework is provided to encourage negotiated reductions in working
time: the state provides public aid for three years in the form of partial
compensation for company social security contributions, on the basis of an
agreement between company and government. This aid is contingent on a
reduction in working time of at least 15% and the taking on within six
months of new staff equivalent to at least 10% of the company’s mean annual
workforce.
“The possibility of a flexiyear (without reduction) tailored to individuals,
outside any collective agreement, is introduced for employees with children
in their care.
15
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 16
“Flexiyear concepts are also possible with part-time employment, the
employees alternating periods of work and time off. The pattern of these
periods – defined in the work contract – can be altered by the employer at
one week’s notice. The work contract can provide for the smoothing of the
salary over the year, the monthly wage being the same, independently of the
actual time worked during the month in question.
“The methods of compensation for overtime are modified so as to penalise its
use and encourage the replacement of remuneration by extra time off.
“Two new exceptions to the principle of Sunday closing are included:
premises used for exhibitions intended for professionals, and areas devoted to
touristic or cultural activities. Retail shops will be able to open on five
Sundays a year (instead of three). In the industrial sector, continuous work
will henceforth be instituted by simple agreement within the company.
“The coming into effect of this law calls for publication of application orders.
These orders are now the subject of dialogue between the government and
the trade unions, which are strongly opposed to them. One of the major
points of contention is the plan to re-examine the maximum working day (10
h) in the light of the European directive providing for its replacement by a
minimum daily rest period of 11 hours” (Gadbois, 1994).
Parental leave in the Netherlands
Social issues outside the direct control of working time also have an effect on
working time. Van Hilst and Jansen (1994) explain how this has developed
in the Netherlands around the issue of parental leave.
“Some time ago the Law on Parental Leave came into effect. This law
controls the right to unpaid partial leave whereby parenting tasks can be
combined with paid work. Without losing touch with the work environment,
both parents or carers can work fewer hours each week, for a maximum of six
months. Employees who can make use of the arrangement, on a voluntary
basis of course, must have been in the service of an employer for over one
year and be looking after a child up to four years old. The leave can be taken
for a maximum period of six consecutive months, with at least 20 hours being
worked each week. This unpaid partial leave can be taken up once for each
child up to four years of age, and both men and women are entitled to use it.
If there is a child aged three and a baby of a few months, for example, there is
a right to two periods of parental leave.
“The rules governing the arrangement are aimed, among other things, at
timely and satisfactory organisational preparation and execution. The
legislation has had a stimulating effect on CLA regulations. The period from
1990 to 1991 was particularly notable in that agreements were reached on
this matter during collective bargaining, with cases frequently being more
beneficial than under the official legislation. This is expressed in the scope of
leave arrangements, for example, and in salary adjustments that are not fully
proportional” (Van Hilst and Jansen, 1994).
16
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 17
Chapter 3: TRENDS IN GENERAL HOURS OF
WORK
Usual weekly hours in Europe (1) United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has often been thought to be quite distinctive in its
pattern of working hours from the rest of Europe, because of the low number
of employees who work a standard working week, and the high number who
work more than 48 hours. Two tables extracted from a published article
(Watson 1992) illustrate this very clearly.
The first (Table 3.1, shown in full in Appendix B) shows the percentage of
employees with different lengths of working week in different countries of the
European Union. The peak, around the size of the standard working week,
varies from country to country (from 30.4% in Germany to 83% in
Luxembourg), but in the United Kingdom is remarkably low at 12.6%.
Table 3.1 : Employees’ usual weekly hours: peaks 1990†
Hours
B
DK
F
G
GR
NL
IRL
I
LU
P
E
UK
E12
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
11.9
7.5
8.1
6.9
24.8
17.3
0-34
33.3 14.6
35-37
38
11.5
48.7 48.6
39
30.4
14.8
49.8
12.0
40
49.4
48.6
48.3
83.4
71.0
41-44
26.2
12.6
45-48
41.7
5.1
6.6
49-50
2.5
51-59
1.9
60-69
1.6
70+
0.8
100%
million‡ 2.9
S.D.
7.9
2.4
18.4
25.8
1.9
5.5
0.9
15.2
0.14
8.3
9.2
23.0 108.7
10.8
8.6
9.3
7.7
12.2
9.7
7.6
7.0
3.3
6.7
14.0
10.3
Source: Watson (1992) using EUROSTAT 1990 data.
Bold added to highest percentage in each column.
Notes: * cell size too small to provide a reliable estimate.
† Hours include paid and unpaid overtime but exclude travel time and meal breaks.
‡ All employees total includes those with variable hours and those who did not state their hours.
As Watson (1992) wrote, “With the exception of the UK, every other
country has a heavy concentration of employees working within a narrow
range of hours, and in some countries nearly half of all employees work
within a single hour band”. The effect would be even sharper if only male
employees were included, as the spread at the lower end of usual working
hours is largely accounted for by females. Watson concludes that “What the
data clearly show is the extent and influence of labour market regulation on
17
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 18
the hours worked by employees. With the exception of the UK, and to some
extent Ireland and Denmark, all other EC states have wide-ranging
regulation of their labour markets, either through direct legislation or through
legally binding collective agreements. It is this which no doubt explains in
part the concentration of working time within these countries.”
The second table, 3.2, shows the percentage of employees working less than
16 and more than 48 hours a week – the threshold recognised in the
European Directive. Here, too, the United Kingdom is clearly the odd man
out.
Table 3.2: Percentage of employees working less than 16 and more than
48 hours a week
B
DK
F
G
GR
NL
IRL
I
LU
P
E
UK
E12
Hours
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
< 16
2.1
9.5
2.6
4.2
0.8
15.1 2.8
1.7
1.4
1.6
1.5
9.7
5.0
>48
2.3
4.5
5.3
4.8
4.6
1.7
3.5
*
4.7
4.9
16
6.8
8.3
Source: Watson (1992) using EUROSTAT 1990 data.
Table 3.2 and Figure 3.1 show that, in 1990, the UK had about twice as many
employees as any other country working more than 48 hours in a normal
week. If the table had been restricted to male employees, the proportion
would certainly be higher, as most women tend to work “normal” or “parttime” (less than average) hours.
Figure 3.1: Percentage of employees working less than 16 and more
than 48 hours a week (Europe 1990)
Hours
< 16
> 48
20
%10
0
B
DK
F
G
GR NL IRL
I
LU
P
E
UK Av
Overtime : the trend over the years in the UK
The amount of overtime worked tends to grow and shrink with the economic
cycle. It is also counter-balanced by the amount of short-time worked, i.e. by
employees whose normal working week has been shortened temporarily
because of adverse economic conditions.
This fluctuation shows up clearly in a bar-graph published by IDS (1994),
adapted in Figure 3.2. This uses data from monthly figures published by the
Employment Department for overtime working by manufacturing operatives.
18
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 19
Figure 3.2 : Per cent working overtime (UK: 1977-1993)
39
37
35
33
% 31
29
27
25
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
As well as showing the peaks and troughs of the economy, there are two
other notable points about overtime in the UK:
(1) Even at the trough of the economy, over 9 million hours of overtime are
worked each week, enough to employ 225,000 more people if everyone
worked a standard 40-hour working week. Trade union leaders often
emphasise this point. Of course, this depends on the labour force being of
the right type and in the right place, and also being willing to share the
work, as employers’ leaders point out. Another reason why it is not so
simple is that some of the high overtime jobs have a low basic wage, and
depend for their recruitment on the promise of overtime earnings, which
may be the best explanation of why overtime persists during recessions.
(2) More recently, the trend looks as if it might be different. The percentage
of manufacturing employees who are working overtime has not fallen as
much as in the 1981 recession. The average hours of overtime worked by
employees who work overtime is relatively high (see Figure 3.3), but on a
smaller base; i.e. there were 7.1 million workers in manufacturing in 1979,
but only 4.2 million in 1994. IDS (1994) argues that “overtime may not
regain its former importance.”
Figure 3.3 : Average hours of overtime worked per operative (UK: 1977-1993)
10
9.5
9
Hours 8.5
8
7.5
7
’77
’79
’81
’83
’85
’87
’89
’91
’93
Source: Adapted from IDS (1994)
Much of the manufacturing industry that has disappeared was of the older
and “heavier” kind, where overtime would be more physically tiring. It may
also be the case that “slimming” exercises have removed less physically fit
employees, so that those who remain are more able to work long hours.
Moreover, there are two other trends which may tend to reduce overtime
levels: an increase in the number of annual hours agreements, and the
growing levels of part-time workers. These can both be considered as aspects
of “flexibility”.
19
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 20
Flexibility in the work force in the UK
Several types of working arrangement can be described under the broad
heading of “flexibility”, and one recent report describes their prevalence in
the UK (Watson 1994). Watson points out that the “flexible workforce” in
the UK, defined as those who are not full-time permanent employees, has
increased by 1.25 million since 1986, and by 1993 accounted for 38% of all
people in employment (27% of men, and 52% of women). He notes that the
percentage for women has stayed fairly constant at around 50%, but for men
it has increased from 18% in 1981 to 27% in 1993.
Table 3.3 : Traditional and flexible workforce (UK 1993)
Men
Women
ALL
%
%
%
73.2
47.9
61.8
Full-time temporary employees
2.8
2.3
2.6
Part-time permanent employees
3.7
36.7
18.6
Part-time temporary employees
1.2
3.9
2.5
Full-time self-employed
15.6
3.7
10.2
Part-time self-employed
1.4
3.4
2.3
Government training schemes
1.7
1.1
1.4
Unpaid family workers
0.3
1.0
0.6
Traditional workforce
Full-time permanent employees
Flexible workforce
TOTAL All in employment (millions)
13.934m
11.446m
25.381m
Source: Watson (1994) from Labour Force Survey estimates, spring 1993
Watson points out that the proportion of temporary employees has remained
fairly constant at 5% to 6% of all employees since 1985, when these data were
first collected by the LFS, and 1993, while the proportion of part-time
employees has tended to grow fairly steadily: and he quotes a forthcoming
analysis which shows that between 1981 and 1991, nearly three-quarters of
the growth of part-time employment could be accounted for by changes in the
industrial composition of the economy (Beatson 1994).
Watson lists seven kinds of work that can be defined as “flexible”:
• flexible working hours (or flexitime)
• annualised hours contracts
• term-time working
• job-sharing
• nine-day fortnights
• four-and-a-half-day weeks, and
• shiftwork.
He describes these as follows:
Flexible working hours (flexitime)
This has expanded enormously since it was first conceived in Germany in
1967, and now covers 1 in 8 of the workforce. Other tables in Watson (1994)
show that it is particularly prevalent among full-time women in large offices
in public administration and the financial services sector.
20
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 21
Annualised hours
Annual hours now cover 9% of the population. In occupational terms, this is
particularly common among teachers, and is equally common in the service
sector as in manufacturing. Although it is more common among shiftworkers
(23.8% of annual hours employees work shifts, compared with the national
average of 18.1%), it is also common outside shiftwork (Watson 1994).
The latest Incomes Data Services Study on annual hours (IDS 1993a) reports
in some detail on the schemes operated in 24 organisations. The oldest
scheme they report goes back to 1980, but half were introduced in the 1990s.
The main motivation for employers is increased flexibility, both to match
hours to operational requirements, and to accommodate reductions in the
working week. Seasonal working can also be pre-planned without overtime
payments. In some companies, short-term changes to shift rotas, with
advance notice of only a week or a month, are part of the system.
Many companies adopt annual hours as part of a major restructuring
agreement to give a steady salary, and to eliminate an overtime culture, with
some compensation for those who work average overtime. Hours are kept
back in reserve banks (sometimes separated into quarters or thirds of the
year), and, in the most convincing anti-overtime arrangements, not all the
pre-paid banked hours are used, taking away the incentive to “manufacture”
overtime. Banks are used to cover absence and holidays, as well as increases
in demand. The size of the banks in the IDS study varies from 16 to 204.5
hours. Usage of the reserve banks varies from 35% to 100%, and some
organisations have provisions for “buying” additional committed hours if
needed. Other organisations have different levels of annual hour contracts for
individuals to choose from: e.g. standard at 1,836 hours, standard plus at
2,044 hours, and intermediate at 2,214 at Independent Television News.
The variety of ways of organising working time covered by the broad title of
annual (or annualised) hours is great, and the IDS study is extremely useful
for giving practical variations in named companies.
Term-time working
This is obviously common among workers in the educational sector, from
which it gets its base, but also has great appeal to parents who have to
provide more child-care during school holidays. Excluding education, Watson
(1994) shows that just over 1% of all employees use this pattern, particularly
women working in the public sector, or in retail, hotels and catering. The
jobs of term-time workers are often covered by students during school
holidays, where the training level permits it.
Job-sharing
This has attracted great interest, but relatively little has been known about its
prevalence. 94% of the part-time workers who job-share are women, and
other tables show that they are mainly concentrated in clerical and
secretarial occupations. Half of them work in public administration,
education, health and other public services. (A slight oddity in table 3.4 is
that 0.2% of full-time men and 0.3% of full-time women report that they jobshare, a total of 43,000 people. Watson suggests in a footnote that they must
have misinterpreted the question, perhaps as referring to sharing tasks with
colleagues, i.e. functional flexibility. It may also be that they job-share by
taking turns at working full-time, and were doing this during the reference
periods of the surveys.)
21
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 22
Compressed working weeks
These are achieved by working longer hours over four and a half days a week,
or nine days a fortnight, and are also believed to have become more
widespread, often introduced in parallel with a shorter working week. They
are most concentrated in craft and related occupations and in manufacturing
industry.
Table 3.4 : Working hours patterns by sex and full/part-time status (UK 1993)
Men
Women
ALL
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
%
%
%
%
%
10.5
9.1
16.5
9.8
11.9
Annualised hours contract
8.6
6.7
10.3
8.5
9.0
Term-time working
1.8
5.7
6.2
11.8
5.3
Job-sharing
0.2
1.6
0.3
3.9
1.1
Nine-day fortnight
0.9
*
0.5
*
0.6
Four-and-a-half-day week
3.6
*
3.6
0.8
2.9
Shiftwork
21.8
15.7
15.1
13.6
18.1
TOTAL All persons (mills)
10.60
Flexitime
0.69
5.74
4.66
21.69
Source: Watson (1994) from Labour Force Survey estimates, spring 1993.
* Below 10,000: estimate not shown.
Watson also lists other forms of flexibility that he does not cover, such as
labour mobility, functional flexibility across job demarcations, and flexible
work places (telework and traditional homeworking).
Usual weekly hours in Europe (2) France
At the end of 1993, the Ministère du Travail published the findings of a 1991
national survey of working patterns (“Work Conditions”) which updated data
from previous surveys (1978, 1984) on the same subject, and which was based
on a national survey of 21,000 employees (Dussert & Vinck, 1993).
Fixed schedules are clearly declining. In 1978, 65% of employees worked the
same hours every day. In 1984, the proportion had dropped to 59%, and to
52% in 1991. This trend applies to all sectors of activity and all socioprofessional categories. The proportion of employees working flexitime
(preferred work schedule or pure flexible schedule) is higher in the upper
echelons of the hierarchy (executives 57%, white-collar employees 39%,
blue-collar employees 19%, workers 16%).
Flexitime
This growth in flexitime benefits both men and women (preferred schedule:
7.8% of men, 10.2% of women; pure flexible schedule: 16.2% of men, 11.7%
of women). The use of flexitime has decreased slightly (1984: 16.8%; 1991:
15.6%).
Time checks – “clocking in”
Half of the workforce are not submitted to any check on hours worked. One
quarter are checked by their superiors, 16% by clocking in, and 5% by signing
in or by use of a timetable. This pattern has remained virtually unchanged
22
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 23
since 1984, whereas from 1978 to 1984 there was an increase (from 45% to
52%) in the number of employees not undergoing any check.
The situation is similar for men and women, but there is an age-related
difference, with fewer people being checked in the older age-bands: the
proportion of men not undergoing checking is 40% below 25 years of age,
50% from 25 to 44, and 55-60% above 45. In the case of women, the
proportion is 40% below 20 years, 45% between 20 and 24, 52% from 25 to
39, and 55-60% above 40 years.
Flexiweeks
Compared with 1984, more employees are now working a variable number of
days each week: 15.5% versus 11.8% for men; 13.9% versus 10.3% for
women.
The maximum number of days worked has increased for men: 81% of men
now work at least six days a week, compared with 74% in 1984; for women
the respective values are 63.6% and 61%. Travelling time has not changed
much between 1984 and 1991.
The working day now starts slightly later: fewer start before 7 a.m. (10% to
9.4%), fewer between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. (29.4% to 23.3%), and no real
change between 8 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. There has been a marked increase in
working days starting between 8.30 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. The starting times
differ greatly between the sexes: in 1991, 40% of men and only 22% of
women started work before 8 a.m.
Fewer employees now end their working day between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
(-7.4%), but more now finish work between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. (+3.1%) and
between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. (+1.9%).
In the short run, it is difficult to separate out the effects of economic boom
and slump from real changes in hours of work. The French statistics, based on
a large sample, suggest trends that can only be checked out completely in the
long run.
The state of collective negotiations in companies
Working time negotiations in companies increased regularly between 1989
and 1991, and then fell off in 1992. The number of signed agreements rose
from 2,096 to 2,481 and then to 2,739, but in 1992 dropped to 2,622
(i.e. -4.6%), no doubt due to a slowing down of the economy. Negotiations
on salaries also decreased, whereas those on employment increased by 26%.
The agreements on working patterns signed in 1992 involved 1,200,000
employees.
Table 3.5 : Subjects of agreements on working time in France
Subject
Per cent of agreements on working time
Modules
14%
Shiftwork
13%
Flexible hours
7%
Weekend shifts
7%
Carrying over credit hours
6%
Part-time work
4%
Women on nightwork
Intermittent work
< 2%
1%
23
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 24
The main trend apparent at the end of 1992 was an increase in the various
flexible working patterns and stagnation (in absolute terms) in arrangements
allowing increases in the duration of use of equipment (cf. 1990: +20% for
modules, +40% for flexible hours, +60% for part-time).
Part-time work : new divisional agreements
In the self-service Do It Yourself (DIY) sector, in shops with a surface area
greater than 400 m2 (350,000 employees), the agreed minimum basic week is
22 hours (i.e. 95 h 33 min per month). The daily minimum is set at 3 hours
when there is just one work period, and at 6 hours when there are two.
Possibilities for credit and debit hours over the year are defined.
In the food distribution sector (300,000 employees, one quarter of whom
work part-time), an agreement signed on 19 February 1993 fixes the
minimum working week at 16 to 22 hours (i.e. 95 h 7 min per month) for
part-time employees, for whom it also defines flexiyear systems.
For airline ground crews (45,000 employees), an agreement signed on 30 July
1993 sets the minimum working day at 2 hours and limits overtime to
one-third of the contractual duration.
New formulas: part-time work matching the school year
A framework agreement signed by the insurance group AXA (6,200
employees) provides for the introduction of two new yearly formulas allowing
employees to match their working time to the school year (formulas for daily
or weekly part-time work already existed). In terms of this agreement, the
employees work full-time during the school terms and take extra vacation (in
addition to the usual 25-day summer holiday) during term time:
– either 4 x 5 days at Christmas, in February, at Easter, and All Saints,
– or 4 x 10 days at the same periods.
The Société Mosellane de Mécanique (700 employees, including 150 women)
has implemented a working pattern based on the school year with two
formulas:
a) working time reduced to 74% by the taking of 87 days of vacation
distributed according to the school holidays (30 days in summer, 39
Wednesdays during term time, 5 days at Christmas, in February, at Easter,
and at All Saints);
b) working time reduced to 63% by the taking of 113 days of vacation
distributed according to the school holidays (41 days in summer, 39
Wednesdays during term time, 10 days at Christmas, in February, at
Easter, and 6 at All Saints).
Usual weekly hours in Europe (3) Germany
Shorter hours
The tendency to shorten average working time towards 35 hours per week,
which has occurred since the mid-1980s, seems to have stopped. In certain
large branches of industry (e.g. in the printing and metal industries) the
average working time amounts to 36 hours per week. Thus, Germany is one
of the European countries with the shortest working hours.
Flexitime
The tendency in Germany to extend flexitime possibilities for employees, in
order to uncouple working and operational time, has remained behind
24
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 25
developments in some other European countries. An international study of
the European Community on the extension of operational time showed that,
with 53 hours per week, Germany has the shortest operational time of all 12
EC countries in the study (the EC average was 66 hours per week).
Weekend working
Weekend working seems to be more a problem of current working time law
(“Arbeitszeitordnung”) and/or of politics than of the employees themselves.
The results of a study in North Rhine-Westphalia showed that more than
half of the employees questioned would not mind working on Saturdays,
almost half of them could imagine working shifts, 25 % would accept
nightshifts and 20 % would work on Sundays.
Reduced (4-day) working weeks
Some German companies have worked out concepts on how to manage the
problems connected with the current economic recession without dismissing
their employees or working short time. These concepts are based on reducing
weekly working time to 4 working days per week, mostly without reducing
operational time.
For instance, an electrical concern reduced working time in an experimental
group in one of its factories in Bavaria from 36 hours to 33 hours per week
(but only reduced their incomes to the equivalent of 35 hours). Another
concern in the car industry agreed to reduce working time from 36 to 28.8
hours per week and to introduce a 4-day working week (with an income
reduction, however, of about 11 %).
Developments in flexible working time arrangements
In the last 2 years, flexible working time arrangements have made a
significant development. Core time has proved to be unsuitable, firstly
because it often does not provide sufficient communication time, and
secondly because, in accordance with the reduction in working time in
general, core time should also be reduced. Therefore, there has been a
tendency to replace the old core time by a longer service time (e.g. a working
group guarantees that at least one of its members is always present).
Usual weekly hours in Europe (4) The Netherlands
In this section a number of tables will provide insight into the changes in the
volume of irregular working hours and shift work in the Netherlands. Each
table shows the changes over the years from 1989 to 1991 for a relevant
sector. (Refer to issue 6 of BEST for a description of the situation in 1989.)
Employees’ preference and actual working hours situation
The trend report, Work Availability 1993, prepared by the OSA
(Organisation for Strategic Labour Market Studies), examines the
relationship between actual working hours and those preferred by employees.
The figures in the following two tables provide insight into how the wish and
the reality “fit” together, and how this “fit” developed in 1992, as compared
to 1990.
25
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 26
Table 3.6 : Agreed working hours v. desired working hours 1992 : Netherlands
Agreed
Desired
0 - 19
20 - 34
35 - 44
45+
0 - 19
0.8 %
-
-
-
20 - 34
–
5.6 %
1.4 %
–
35 - 44
–
12.8 %
70.8 %
6.8 %
45+
–
–
0.4 %
0.8 %
0 - 19
19.4 %
6.1 %
0.6 %
–
20 - 34
1.7 %
31.3 %
3.1 %
–
35 - 44
–
12.8 %
24.1 %
–
45+
–
–
–
–
Men
Women
Source: OSA Trend Report 1993
Overall, 21% of the men and almost 25% of the women would prefer
different working hours (Table 3.6).
If we examine the fit for men, we notice that 20% in more or less full-time
employment (35-44 hours) would prefer a change. Two-thirds of the full-time
workers would prefer to work shorter hours (20-34 hours), while
approximately 20% of the men with part-time jobs of 20-34 hours would
prefer full-time work.
Among women, almost 25% would prefer different working hours.
Approximately 26% of the women with a small part-time job (0-19 hours)
would like to work more hours, and predominantly in the part-time category
of 20-34 hours. The relationship between the wish and the reality is closest
among women with a job of between 20-34 hours. Over 13% would like
different working hours, two-thirds preferring more work (full-time). On the
other hand, a high percentage of women (35%) who are in full-time
employment would prefer to work between 20 and 34 hours.
The trend report also examines the desired number of hours in 1990 and the
actual hours in 1992. Among the men, roughly 37% preferred a change, with
about 65% of those wanting shorter working hours. 3% of the 37% received
the desired change, but in most cases the change in hours was not the one
desired: 24% actually have a job with more hours than they wanted in 1990,
while about 14% work fewer hours than they wanted in 1990.
Among the women, about 40% wished to change, with (similarly to the
men) 65% desiring fewer hours. 9.3% achieved this aim but, again, in most
cases the change received was not that desired: over 28% work more hours,
and about 15% work fewer hours, than they wanted in 1990.
Usual weekly hours in Europe (5) Italy
The debate on the reduction of working hours
A great debate on the reduction of working hours has been developing in
recent years, according to Costa (1994).
26
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 27
A generalised reduction of working hours is motivated by the following main
reasons:
a) because increased levels of productivity by companies has created the
basis for a possible sensible reduction of working hours;
b) because the stress experienced by workers due to the fast work pace
connected with technological changes requires an answer in terms of
reduced working hours;
c) because the process of technological and organisational innovations will
increasingly require the utilisation of working time as a tool to reduce
unemployment; and
d) because the question of the relation between working time and living
time is becoming increasingly important in terms of both social
organisation and quality of life.
However, the difficulty of combining themes connected with the reduction of
working hours in one picture is due to the fact that working time has
different meanings depending on the different aspects taken into
consideration. For example:
e) from the productivity point of view, working time is one of the
institutional factors that controls working activity;
f) from the occupational point of view, it is the ratio between the number of
hours required for production and the number of workers involved;
g) from the individual point of view, it is the main factor influencing daily
activities, even outside the workplace; while
h) from the social point of view, working time is a factor that largely
influences the organisation and enjoyment of social times, both in a
positive and a negative way (e.g. public services, shops, etc.).
Employers are most interested in points e) and f): the innovations which
have occurred in production processes (and the consequent costs for renewal
and acquisition of new technologies), increasing domestic and international
competition, and the fragmentation and unpredictability of demand all force
enterprises to look for higher flexibility in work relations. This flexibility
should concern both a reduced number of contractual obligations for hiring
and firing workers (external flexibility) and a higher possibility of adjusting
manpower to production needs (internal flexibility).
On the other hand, from the employees’ point of view, point f) is very
important to counteract unemployment, as are points g) and h) in focusing
on the emerging ways of organising the relation between working and nonworking times.
The present situation
Italy has been particularly affected by the present economic recession. In
1993, more than 250,000 jobs have been lost, and the trend has not yet
stopped. The average level of unemployment grew from 9.76% at the end of
1992 to 11.96% at the end of 1993, and it is generally above 20% in South
Italy. There has been an especially notable increase in unemployment among
the young.
The social consequences of this phenomenon are easily foreseen; therefore,
government, employers and employees’ unions have identified policies of
working hours as one possible structural response to this problem.
27
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 28
Flexibility
In Italy, too, flexibility of the work force and of working times are two of the
main tools that are considered capable of facing this particular situation while
waiting for the recession to end.
Flexibility of working time can have many different meanings, but the main
interpretations that are taken into consideration at the present time are two:
a) a higher possibility of varying and arranging working times to face the
fluctuations of market demands;
b) a reduction of working time in order to save jobs and reduce
unemployment among young people.
Reduction of working time can be seen as a strategic temporary measure to
counteract the economic crisis. Many people also consider it an opportunity
to increase the quality of life.
Many different possibilities of reduction of working time are available both in
the short- and long-term (see Table 3.7); their application depends on the
prevailing factors that at different times influence political choices in work
and social organisation.
Because of the stagnation in production, no significant changes have
occurred in the trend of working time (which has been characterised by a
general stability around a weekly duration of 36-39 hours), although there has
been a progressive increase of shiftwork, both in the tertiary sector and
among women, and a slight recourse to part-time work. These themes have
been referred to in previous issues of the bulletin (see BEST 1, BEST 2,
BEST 6 and BEST 8 in particular).
There are three other significant aspects, of both working time and social
time, that are worth mentioning:
• the adoption of the so-called “solidarity contracts”;
• the increased recognition of women’s rights ; and
• the consequent introduction of some elements of flexibility of working times
in terms of part-time work, working hours and leave for personal needs.
Usual weekly hours in Europe (6) Belgium
The 38-hour week has become the norm in almost all areas. Since 1986,
negotiations in the sectors of wood and the manufacture of furniture have
resulted in a reduction in the week to 37 1/3 hours.
28
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 29
Table 3.7 : Possible interventions in working hours
TYPE OF
INTERVENTION
PERIOD
DAY
WEEK
YEAR
LIFE
Reduction of
working hours at
the same level of
salary
Same reduction of
the length of each
working day
Concentration of
work on fewer
working days
Reduction in some
periods of the year
(e.g. 1 week of
holiday more)
Delayed starting of
working life.
Earlier retirement.
Periods of planned
interruption by
accumulating leave
Search for
flexibility of
working hours
without modifying
the number of
hours and at the
same level of
salary
Possibility of
choosing among
different timetables
of start and end of
the duty period
Possibility of
concentrating the
work period in
fewer days by
prolonging the
daily duty period
Staggering of
holidays.
Possibility of
making use of an
annual bank of
hours
Flexibility of
starting and ending
the working life.
Periods of
recoverable
interruption
Part-time work
with reduced
salary
Reduction of daily
working time
Reduction of
weekly working
days
Seasonal work.
Temporary work.
Job sharing
(solidarity
contracts)
Part-time for some
periods of the life.
Job sharing.
Periods of nonrecoverable
interruption
29
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 30
Chapter 4 : DEVELOPMENTS IN SHIFTWORK
Shiftwork in the Netherlands
In 1991, the total number of people involved in shiftwork was 238,000. Table
4.1 shows the figures for men and women respectively.
Table 4.1 : Numbers of people involved in shiftwork: Netherlands
1988
Men
Women
Total
1990
1991
Absolute
%
Absolute
%
Absolute
%
205,000
6.6
218,724
6.6
219,000
6.6
13,600
0.8
21,681
1.1
19,000
0.9
219,500
4.5
240,405
4.5
238,000
4.4
Source: CBS
There is a notable increase in the numbers of people in shiftwork during the
period from 1988 to 1990 – an increase affecting both men and women – and
a slight reduction among women in 1991. The percentage of shiftworkers as a
proportion of the total numbers employed remains practically unchanged.
There were over 450,000 people working in irregular shifts in 1988, and this
rose in 1991 to 518,600 (representing 9.6% of the working population),
divided into 229,500 men and 289,100 women. The following table shows
developments during recent years up to 1991.
Table 4.2 : Men and women in irregular shiftwork from 1989 to 1991 :
Netherlands
1988
1990
1991
Absolute
%
Absolute
%
Absolute
%
Men
207,100
6.6
222,000
6.7
229,500
6.9
Women
243,000
14.1
274,000
13.9
289,100
14.1
Total
450,100
9.3
496,000
9.4
518,600
9.6
Source: CBS
It is clear that irregular shiftwork has become more prevalent among both
men and women, but especially among the latter, who account for two-thirds
of the 68,500 additional workers on irregular shifts during the period 19881991.
A more detailed comparison by commercial branch gives the following
picture.
30
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 31
Table 4.3 : Percentage of men/women with irregular shifts in each
commercial sector
1988
1991
Men
Women
Men
Women
Agriculture and Fisheries
0.9
5.5
0.6
1.2
Industry
0.9
0.8
0.9
0.6
Public Utilities
1.6
-
1.8
-
-
0.2
0.4
0.6
Commercial, Hotel and
Restaurant Industries, Repair
Companies for User Goods
1.1
1.3
2.3
3.8
Transport, Storage and
Communications Companies
36.9
34.2
33.9
34.1
Banking, Insurance and
Business Services Companies
3.6
3.2
5.4
4.2
Other Services
9.7
23.2
10.4
23.0
Total
6.6
14.1
6.9
14.1
Construction industry and
Contractors
Source: CBS
The following sectors show an increase in the proportion of irregular shifts:
Trade and Commerce, the Hotel and Restaurant Industry, Repair and
Maintenance of User Goods, Banking and Insurance Companies, Business
Services and Other Services. In the sector for Agriculture and Fisheries, the
proportion is decreasing significantly, especially among women.
Types of shiftwork in the Netherlands
The following table gives a breakdown of these numbers for the various types
of shiftwork.
Table 4.4 : Numbers of men and women per type of shift
Men
2-shift schedule
3-shift schedule
other
Women
2-shift schedule
3-shift schedule
other
1988
1990
1991
40.0%
40.4%
40.6%
(82,300)
(88,000)
(89,000)
28.0%
29.4%
28.3%
(57,600)
(64,000)
(62,000)
32.0%
30.2%
31.1%
(66,000)
(66,000)
(68,000)
66.2%
54.5%
66.7%
(9,000)
(12,000)
(13,000)
21.3%
41.0%
27.8%
(2,900)
(9,000)
(5,000)
12.5%
4.5%
5.5%
(1,700)
(1,000)
(1,000)
The figures in brackets represent absolute numbers.
Source: CBS
31
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 32
‘Other’ includes mainly the 4-shift and 5-shift schedules. The table shows
that the 2-shift pattern is the most prevalent among both women and men.
In absolute terms, there is an increase of 8.4% in the number of men and
women in shiftwork. There has been a large increase – almost 40% – in the
number of women, which can be almost entirely attributed to the 2-shift and
3-shift schedules, where the increase in the number of women is 44% and
72%, respectively.
A closer analysis of the figures, broken down into commercial branch and
sex, gives us the following table.
Table 4.5 : Percentage of men/women in shiftwork in different branches
of industry
1988
1991
Men
Women
Men
Women
-
-
1.2
-
Industry
20.0
4.2
20.4
4.9
Public Utilities
3.6
0.3
4.3
-
Construction industry and
Contractors
0.1
-
0.2
-
Commercial, Hotel and
Restaurant Industries, Repair
Companies for User Goods
0.9
0.5
1.0
0.4
Transport, Storage and
Communications Companies
9.4
3.9
8.5
2.7
Banking, Insurance and
Business Services Companies
2.9
0.9
3.1
1.4
Other Services
0.4
0.1
0.4
0.2
Total
6.6
0.8
6.6
0.9
Agriculture and Fisheries
Source: CBS
The greatest proportion of shiftwork is still found in Industry, with the
Transport sector coming a close second. The percentage of men in Industry
working in shifts rose slightly in 1991 from 20.0% to 20.4%, while that of
women in that sector rose from 4.2% to 4.9%.
Shiftwork in France
Overall, shiftwork has increased very slightly in frequency, and rather more in
the case of 2-shift systems (5.1 to 5.6%) than 3-shift systems (2.8 to 3.1%).
The trend differs between industry and the tertiary sector: more employees
work alternating shifts (5.1% increase), whereas those working identical
hours every day have decreased (by 5.5%). Company-agreed flexitime has
decreased by 3.5%, whereas pure flexible scheduling has increased by 3.9%.
Among men, small decreases have occurred in alternating shiftwork (by
0.2%) and company-agreed flexitime (from 13.1 to 12.2%), and increased use
has been made of pure flexible scheduling (from 3.7 to 5.6%) and preferred
work scheduling (from 1.8 to 3.6%).
Women on nightwork in French industry (from Gadbois, 1994)
Although French laws prohibiting nightwork for women in industry are still
in force, they have in practice been inapplicable since the European Court of
32
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 33
Justice order of 25 July 1991 declared that they constituted unjustifiable
discrimination. As a result, there is no longer, in practice, any real ban, and
the only limits are those defined in company agreements. A survey carried
out in 1991-92 (Bué & Roux-Rossi, 1993), which examined 100 such
agreements and included a direct survey of ten enterprises, found that
companies using women in nightwork vary greatly in economic status, sector,
and male/female employee patterns.
Nightwork for women is essentially perceived as a tool for flexibility. It is
often associated with other work patterns, and in some cases the participation
of women in nightwork is more flexible than that of men. The argument of
professional equality in fact corresponds to a need for equal job opportunities.
Companies employing women in nightwork are often isolated in their region
or sector, and are generally conservative about its use. The women concerned
are usually few in number, and not all the departments are involved. In these
enterprises, the unions are in an uncertain position and seek to reconcile the
employers’ view of the companies’ interests, the defence of jobs, the wishes of
the women employees, and the principles of trade union confederations.
Their stance is much influenced by the employment situation and by internal
relations.
The decision to implement nightwork for women almost invariably stems
from an initiative of the employer, and is presented either as an alternative to
layoffs of women employees or as a prerequisite for the taking on of women.
The unions’ hands are tied by this employment conundrum. Before
negotiation, talks with the women employees are almost always informal. In
each company, women employees declared themselves “volunteers”, and the
unions legitimised their acceptance of the deal in terms of the existence of
these volunteers and the defence of jobs.
Decentralisation of negotiation within the company results in great diversity
in the agreements in nightwork for women, although all agreements provide
for the following terms and conditions:
–
–
–
–
–
voluntary participation,
possibility of a return to daywork,
a trial period,
medical surveillance,
change in work patterns in the event of pregnancy (in two agreements,
this is the only difference compared with men),
– the principle of professional equality, and
– the type of contract for women.
Additional advantages are rarely accorded women in nightwork (e.g. paid
holidays, safety of travel). Certain agreements implement a veritable statute
of nightwork for women, in which special rights are accorded, notably the
voluntary code.
In all the situations analysed, the work performed by women on nightshift
was identical to that done during the day, particularly with respect to the
need for qualifications. Nightwork for women has no direct effect on
qualifications but may have an indirect positive or negative influence
(depending on any differences in technical requirements between day and
night tasks).
33
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 34
Women accept nightwork mainly because of the pay and a desire to keep
their job, or to acquire one. Motivations outside work are secondary. The
balance that women must find between work and home life has little effect
on their decision to work nights. Most women questioned had come to terms
with the situation, without having sought or entirely accepted it.
Among companies employing women in nightwork, some apply alternating
shift systems and others fixed night shifts. Alternating systems offer equitable
conditions and remuneration, but have two major drawbacks: they are more
arduous, and hence a source of misunderstanding between volunteers and
non-volunteers; and they foster exclusion (some women have a home life
incompatible with nightwork). Fixed shift systems have the advantage of
stability, are perceived as less perturbing and tiring, are better paid and allow
the choice between night- and daywork. In this context, the voluntary aspect
is no longer real. However, an unequal statute is established between dayand nightworkers, and the latter run the risk of isolation since they are not
always able to participate in daytime meetings, training, and so forth.
Voluntary access to nightwork means different things to women already
working for the company before implementation of nightwork, and women
recruited for the newly established nightwork option. The newcomers are
likely to find subsequently that it is difficult to obtain daywork, inasmuch as
many agreements do not include a clause relating to a return to daytime
working.
The authors of the survey conclude that, overall, nightwork for women in
industry is favourable for the employment of women, either directly through
planned extension of nightwork, by creation of additional shifts or the
extension of existing shifts, or indirectly when it avoids dismissal of women
and recruitment of men to replace them. However, it is accompanied by the
appearance of a new discrimination between volunteer and non-volunteer
women.
Shiftwork in Belgium (from Léonard 1994)
Extended work week with longer shifts : General Motors Antwerp
A 5-year agreement signed by General Motors in Antwerp in 1988 affected
9,000 workers, who were consulted by a referendum. The employer had
wanted to obtain a greater return on capital investment and also to extend
the utilisation time for machinery.
Instead of using two crews each working 7 hours 40 m for five days (Monday
to Friday), it was decided to have two crews working 10 hours per day for 11
days, including one Saturday (for only one crew). This work period is
followed by 10 days off. This new work system functions over a three-week
period.
Shiftwork in the United Kingdom
Watson’s 1994 report breaks down self-reported shiftwork by occupation,
industry, and size of workplace. It should be remembered, as BEST 6 pointed
out, that some nights-only and evenings-only workers do not report
themselves as shiftworkers, although in broader definitions of shiftwork they
would be included.
34
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 35
Table 4.6 : Shiftwork by occupational group by gender : UK 1993
Occupational Group
Men
Women
All
%
%
%
1. Managers and administrators
8.9
7.0
8.3
2. Professional
6.9
3.9
5.6
3. Associate professional and technical
15.7
36.2
26.3
4. Clerical and secretarial
15.7
5.7
8.1
5. Craft and related
20.5
6.9
18.7
6. Personal, protective
60.6
31.9
41.7
8.2
11.1
10.2
8. Plant and machine operatives
38.1
20.3
34.1
9. Other
26.4
10.5
17.8
TOTAL (100%) millions
11.28
10.40
21.69
All Occupations average
21.4%
14.4%
18.1%
7. Sales
Source: Watson (1994) from spring 1993 LFS estimates
There is a wide variation of shiftwork between occupations, topped by males
in Personal and protective operations, with Plant and machine operatives
next. For women, Associate professional and technical comes ahead of both
these categories.
Table 4.7 : Shiftworking by industry division by gender : UK 1993
Industry Division
Men
Women
All
%
%
%
6.7
*
5.9
1 Energy and water supply
27.2
*
22.6
2 Minerals, ores, metals, chemicals
32.3
11.9
27.1
3 Metal goods, engineering, vehicles
21.3
9.2
18.6
4 Other manufacturing industries
28.4
9.4
21.2
0 Agriculture, forestry, fishing
5 Construction
7.6
*
6.7
6 Distribution, hotels & catering, repairs
16.0
13.8
14.7
7 Transport and communication
39.5
16.5
33.8
7.3
3.5
5.3
9 Other services
23.9
19.7
21.1
TOTAL (100%) millions
11.28
10.4
21.69
All Occupations average
21.4%
14.4%
18.1%
8 Banking, financial & business services
Source: Watson (1994) from spring 1993 LFS estimates
* Below 10,000: estimate not shown
Transport and communication have the highest prevalence of shiftwork,
closely followed by Minerals etc., and then by Other manufacturing
industries. For women, the greatest prevalence is in Other services.
35
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 36
Table 4.8 : Prevalence of shiftworking by size of workplace : UK 1993
Workplace size
%
1-10 employees
8.3
11-19 employees
13.1
20-24 employees
13.2
Don’t know, but under 25
15.9
25-49
15.8
Don’t know, but over 24
14.4
50 or more
23.6
TOTAL (100%) millions
3.92
All workplaces
18.1
Source: Watson (1994) from spring 1993 LFS estimates
Shiftworking is more prevalent in larger workplaces, in what seems to be
quite a systematic way.
Another recent analysis (Bosworth, 1994), looking at longer-term trends from
various sources, estimates that many sub-categories of shiftwork prevalent in
the UK peaked in the mid-1980s, and have tended to decline subsequently.
The exception is in the manufacturing sector, where the latest incidence
figures used (from 1989) are also the highest, at 16.5% generally and 23.7%
for manual workers (Figure 4.1). This is based on data from the New Earnings
Survey (NES), which only records those who receive a specific payment for
shiftwork. The LFS data for 1987 show figures about 3% higher for these
categories than the NES, according to Bosworth.
Figure 4.1 : Growth of shiftwork in manufacturing (UK 1973-1989)
Year
All
Manual
Bosworth also reports figures for the incidence of different types of shiftwork
by age group for 1987. This shows a peak for all shiftwork in the 25-29 year
age group (but different peaks for different types of shiftwork), a general
decline in the proportion of shiftworkers with increasing age, but a strange
rise in the general line for the oldest 60-64 year age group (Table 4.9 and
Figure 4.2). This may be due to more senior workers in some establishments
36
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 37
being given first choice of working pattern, and their choice falling on the
one that is most likely to benefit their pension arrangements. Given several
studies that show that shiftwork becomes harder to tolerate with increasing
age, this is an unfortunate result.
Table 4.9 : Percentage of shiftworkers by age groups : UK 1987
Age group
16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
% shiftworkers
8.6
14.1
15.7
13.8
13.4
12.3
12
10.7
10.1
11.7
Source: Adapted from Bosworth (1994)
Figure 4.2 : Shiftwork by age (UK 1987)
20
15
%
10
5
0
16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
Age-groups (years)
Changes in patterns of shiftwork
A survey of 76 companies for Incomes Data Services (IDS 1993b) emphasises
the great variety of responses it received. Even within the same sector, such as
vehicle manufacturing, one firm may be laying off shiftworkers because of the
recession while another firm is increasing shiftwork for the production of new
models. Similarly, the contracting out from the core workforce of non-shift
jobs such as catering and cleaning may increase the percentage of
shiftworkers without a change in the absolute numbers, or a real change in
the situation. The application of new technology can be seen to work both
ways, e.g. reducing shiftworking in the water industry, while producing a
marked increase in consumer electronic firms.
Anticipation of the European Directive on working time also appeared to be
influencing shiftwork arrangements, although it seems likely that the UK
government would use the three-year implementation period to engage in
extensive consultation, rather than jump into instant legislation.
While not claiming to be a fully representative survey, the report notes some
apparent trends in shiftworking patterns:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
an increase in backwards rotation, i.e. nights/afternoons/days
an increase in five-crew working
some six-crew operations appearing, associated with 36 hour weeks
an increase in rapid rotation, of only 2 or 3 of each shift at a time
great varieties in 12-hour shifts, often with extended breaks
some rotation at weekly, fortnightly or four-weekly intervals
some weekend-only shifts.
The report also provides details of shiftwork compensation arrangements,
which vary widely and have to be studied in close consultation with the
details of the shift system. There are brief accounts of the full arrangements
in the record section of the report.
37
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 38
More and less 12-hour shifts
An informal survey of some UK subscribers to BEST (who cannot be taken
to be necessarily representative) shows a substantial move towards 12-hour
shift systems, which provide for fewer (but longer) working days, and a higher
number of complete days off. There also appears to have been some
simultaneous movement away from 12-hour shifts, and the best guess is that,
after a trial, it was found to be unsuitable. This is not really surprising, as
historical studies of changes in hours of work have tended to document fairly
slow and gradual effects, usually towards a slower pace of work if the hours are
longer (in the same way that a marathon runner does not normally start at
the pace of a 1500-metre athlete). It is also difficult to specify clearly what
amount of physical or mental exertion is compatible with extended hours (or
the compressed working week, as it is often called), and effects may only be
perceived after a trial period.
Good and bad firms
Observations of the current situation suggest that, while many firms do plan
sensible periods of time off for their workforce, others are inclined to take a
more open approach. Thus, there are accounts of people working 30
consecutive days of 12-hour shifts, as well as others working 4 days followed
by 6 days off. Stories of “doublers”, where an employee covers an absence by
working an extra shift without notice, are still commonplace; these stories are
substantiated publicly only if such a case involves a reluctant or unwilling
worker, leads to a dismissal that is challenged for being unfair, or results in an
accident. “Bad” firms are much less likely to respond to unofficial surveys.
Traditional patterns
Traditional patterns of shiftwork are still commonly found (IDS and BEST
surveys). For example, the new vehicle manufacture plant of Toyota in Derby
has adopted a “fortnight about” shift system, which rotates between shifts
after two weeks on the basis of this being a traditional pattern in the industry.
Conclusion
Not surprisingly, the lack of legal restrictions in the UK on almost all matters
relating to working hours has produced a huge variety of arrangements, which
are still changing as firms and their employees seek to find the best pattern.
There is remarkably little objective evidence available to people who are
making this search.
While the prospect of the arrival of the European Directive has apparently
influenced some of these changes, it is also true that the evolution of the
Directive through different variations over the past few years has led to many
misunderstandings about what will be required. The opposition of the UK
government to the directive is not seen as a permanent protection, because
the government can be changed in an election, which must occur by 1997;
and the European Court hearing of the case about the applicability of Article
118a of the Treaty of Rome, because of the Health and Safety nature of this
Directive, will be decided at some point, and then – if the UK case is lost –
will be framed in UK legislation. As, when and if that time comes, it can be
expected that considerable pressure will be applied to make full use of the
available derogations, simply to avoid having to change existing patterns of
working time.
38
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 39
Chapter 5: COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS
(CLAs)
CLAs and working hours : Netherlands (from Van Hilst & Jansen, 1994)
In 1991 and 1992, negotiations on working conditions in the Netherlands
were about salary restraint and increased work participation. A deterioration
in economic development and increasingly high numbers of unemployed and
employment-disabled people formed a sombre setting for the negotiations.
Things were fairly quiet in the area of working hours. The developments
which occurred can be characterised as follows.
Working hours on a weekly and annual basis : Netherlands
As is apparent from the table below, there was a stabilisation of average
weekly working hours in the period from 1990 to 1992.
Table 5.1 : Average working hours during the period 1990-1992 : Netherlands
Working Hours
1990
1991
1992
Compulsory free days
76.5
79.4
78.4
1,984.5
1,979.7
1,980.2
190.8
191.4
192.2
49.3
50.8
51.5
1,744.3
1,737.5
1,736.5
38.0
37.9
37.9
Annually agreed working hours
Holiday hours
Paid public holiday hours
Basic annual working hours
Average weekly working hours
In a number of CLAs there was a redistribution of the various time
components. Compulsory free days, for example, were transposed into a direct
reduction in the average working week. Another example is the exchange of
one or more compulsory free days for holiday days. We can assume that the
often problematical organisational control aspects of the “package” of
compulsory free days played a role in this development.
The distribution of average working times reveals that almost 70% of
employees (under CLAs) work for between 38 and 38.5 hours a week; almost
10% of employees work longer hours than this, and about 20% work fewer
hours. Half of those in the latter category work fewer than 36.5 hours
(including the dairy industry and the printing/graphics industry).
Some examples of more specific changes in CLAs that are worthy of note are:
• the extension of leave facilities for older employees;
• the possibility of different ways of taking the annual shorter working hours
allowance, such as compulsory free days or saving for one’s old age;
• agreements to study the four-day week on an experimental basis;
• the further introduction of 4-shift and 5-shift periods (including the
textile industry and AKZO);
• interpreting the broader possibilities of the Shop Hours Act within the
CLA, among companies in the chain store business.
39
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 40
Working hours on a lifetime basis
If working hours are placed in the perspective of a lifetime, certain important
trends can be seen in relation to the position of the older employee. Only a
small proportion of older employees actually work through to retirement age,
mainly because of leaving employment due to disability and taking advantage
of voluntary early retirement schemes (VUT). For the collective bargaining
bodies, this low working percentage among older employees and the
corresponding future problems (costs of schemes, scarcity of specialised staff)
are a stimulus to provide a solution via an active age policy. Examples of
some of the topics involved are extra free time, flexible pension
arrangements, improved working conditions, no compulsory shift work and
adjustments to the VUT arrangements.
The main focus is aimed at the VUT scheme. These early retirement
arrangements – originally intended as a temporary measure in the early 80’s
to help young people into work – have grown into a unilateral acquired right
of the employee. There was a change in the rigidity of this scheme in 1992 in
response to the older employee problem. The table below shows a downward
trend in the average early retirement age in the period up to 1991, inclusive,
which stabilised in 1992.
Table 5.2 : Average early retirement age from 1985-1992 : Netherlands
Early Retirement
Age
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
Structural
61.6
Including one time 61.0
60.8
60.2
60.6
60.2
60.4
60.0
60.3
60.0
60.2
60.0
59.9
59.8
59.9
59.8
Almost 70% of employees who fall under a CLA have a structural early
retirement age of 60, while 17% can retire at 59, and 9% at 61. There are
two cases where early retirement can be taken at age 58 (contract catering
companies and the hotel and catering industries).
CLAs and early retirement
A number of CLAs have agreed to explore the future of early retirement
more closely. A few CLAs have agreed to raise the VUT age from 59 to 60 in
1994 and 1995, for reasons of affordability.
There is also increased interest in part-time early retirement. Employees
continue to work for a part of their normal hours, claiming the remaining
hours under the relevant VUT arrangements.
Firm agreements have been reached under the AKZO CLA aimed at the
complete run-down of early retirement schemes; this should be completed by
the year 2005. There is an interim arrangement until then whereby the VUT
age will be increased every two years by half a year, starting in 1997. A third
of the savings thus achieved will be used for an active age policy, and
two-thirds will go directly towards benefiting the employees.
What were the policy goals of the CLA parties at the national level on the
topic of working hours, for the period concerned? The primary goal of the
trades unions was a 36-hour working week. There should at least be general
agreements towards this goal from 1992, and the details of further cuts in
working hours can be arranged on a decentralised basis according to need.
The employers’ organisations were intent on blocking sweeping collective
40
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 41
cuts in working hours on the one hand, and on instigating more work
flexibility on the other.
A comparison between these spearhead views and actual developments in
1991 and 1992 points to a status quo in the matter of working hours.
The explosive further growth in unemployment during 1993 brings the
problem of low employment participation into sharp focus. As already
mentioned in the introduction to this paper, in the autumn of 1993
employees reached a central agreement on ‘structural alterations in the Dutch
economy’. The redistribution of work, greater pluriformity of working
patterns and extended business hours are examples of recurring key topics.
There is a shared realisation of the fact that the seriousness of the economic
situation demands lasting changes: the road to simple and socially attractive
regulations such as that leading to the VUT now seems closed. Creative and
decisive ways of achieving change are needed.
“Solidarity contracts” : Italy (from Costa, 1994)
In Italy, “solidarity contracts” were introduced by the Act 863/1984 with the
aim of favouring youth employment or avoiding collective dismissals from
enterprises facing productive difficulties, by giving some incentives from the
State in terms of financial support to wages.
These contracts can be of two types:
1. “internal”: a reduction of working hours for employees in order to prevent
a reduction of personnel (job-sharing). This is the more popular type;
2. “external”: a reduction of working hours for the engagement of new
personnel.
For many years these contracts did not have great success, being viewed with
hostility both by employers (due to the high costs of the social contributions)
and unions (due to their intention of preserving full employment for the
workers). In this perspective, solidarity contracts received a new impetus from
both social partners after a modification of the law by the Government,
aimed at reducing social costs for companies and increasing flexibility in work
contracts and working times.
In fact the modifications to the Law no. 863/1984 made by the recent Law
no. 236/1993 were aimed at stimulating the adoption of such contracts as an
alternative to dismissals, by increasing flexibility in working times and benefit
for companies. Those modifications deal with the following aspects in
particular:
• The reduction of working hours can be defined on a daily, weekly,
monthly or annual basis.
• Companies that adopt solidarity contracts with a reduction of working
hours of over 20% of the contractual hours have a 25% (30% in the
South) reduction in social security contributions. If the reduction of
working hours is over 30%, the contributions are reduced by 35% (40% in
the South).
• The contracts can be stipulated at factory level and can last for a
maximum of 24 months, with the possibility of being extended for
another 24 months (that can become 36 in South Italy).
• The workers receive a supplement to their salary equal to 50% (60% in
the South) of the pay lost for the reduction of working time. This
41
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 42
supplement is tax free, and, moreover, the period of the solidarity contract
is recognised as counting for pension rights.
• Companies that use solidarity contracts to avoid recourse to the Wage
Supplement Fund (“Cassa Integrazione”) in the period January 1993 –
December 1995 will receive from the Government a further subsidy equal
to 25% of the wages not due for the reduction of working hours, whereas
the workers will receive 75% of the salary lost.
• In cases of reorganisation, there is the possibility of reducing working
hours by a maximum of 30% of contractual working hours (not more than
12 hours per week) in order to avoid reduction of personnel.
According to an enquiry by the FILTEA-CGIL Trade Union in the textile
sector, during the first 10 months of 1993 about 10,000 workers were
involved in solidarity contracts which resulted in a reduction of 25-30% of
working hours, but which created 2,500 new work places. Table 5.3 shows
that these contracts are mainly agreed in the companies of northern Italy due
to its greater industrialisation, and to the greater impact of the recession in
this area. On the other hand, southern Italy faces higher unemployment that
is in part compensated by government subsidies.
Table 5.3 : Solidarity contracts in the textile sector : Italy
Region
No. contracts
No. workers
North
85
7777
Centre
27
1932
South
1
80
113
9789
Total
Source: FILTEA, 1993, provisional data
In a large mechanical company in Northern Italy, about 600 workers were
involved in the application of solidarity contracts, with a reduction of 10
hours on average in their weekly working hours (from 40 to 30 hours),
obtained according to the following work schedules:
• blue collar workers: 8 hours/day from Monday to Thursday for 3 weeks (32
hours/week) and from Monday to Wednesday in the fourth week (24
hours);
• white collar workers: weeks of full work (40 hours) alternating with weeks
of forced rest.
The most widely adopted measure (in many mechanical, electronic and
textile companies) was the reduction of 10 hours per week, obtained by
reducing the duty period by 2 hours each day.
Flexibility of working hours
When considering the need for increasing competitiveness in terms of work
efficiency and quality, and for improving the relationship between working
hours and occupational levels, it is necessary, on the one hand, to adapt the
work done to market flexibility and timing and, on the other hand, to reduce
as much as possible recourse to overtime in order to avoid damaging the
economic position of the workforce and company.
42
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 43
In one of the most important Italian telecommunication companies,
management and unions agreed recently on these possible interventions:
• Recovery of overtime by a compensating reduction of working hours, or
by extra rest days in a three-month period; otherwise, it will be paid.
• A 24-month experiment in the flexibility of weekly working hours in
order to better cope with the variability of market demand. This is
obtained by lengthening (up to a maximum of 8 hours) or by shortening
(to a maximum of 6 hours) weekly working hours. They must be
compensated by a corresponding shortening or lengthening of the
following working weeks in a 6-month period.
In a large, international textile company, management and unions recently
agreed on a flexible passage from normal day work to 2-shift work (morning
7-14, afternoon 14-21) to meet market demand. As a countermeasure the
workers receive a 25% increase of salary, a 15-minute rest pause in each shift
and a private bus service for transport from home to work. In cases of work
peaks, weekly overtime must not exceed 5 hours per week (1 hour more per
day or 5 hours on Saturday) and 96 hours per year altogether, and salary will
be increased by 40%.
Moreover, a larger amount of paid leave has been obtained: i.e.
a) in cases of illness of children under 6 years of age (previously under 3
years) either to mother or father;
b) up to 5 days at the time of children starting kindergarten or nursery
school;
c) 1 day in the case of the death of a close relative (for the next of kin) and
in the case of the birth of a child.
Some examples of agreements on working time recently registered in
various work sectors in Italy
Banks
• limits for part-time work (7% of total personnel working full-time; 2% of
new employees).
Chemical
• acknowledgement of the possible utilisation of part-time work;
• a period of unpaid leave allowed for personal needs to workers having
more than 5 years of length of service;
• unpaid leave allowed to take care of relatives with severe diseases or drug
addiction and handicap.
Railway
• unpaid leave for personal needs (depending on proved reasons) allowed
for a maximum period of 18 months in 5 years;
• part-time work, both horizontal and vertical, can be equal to 1/2 or,
depending on production needs and on workers’ specific requests, to 2/3 of
full-time work; it can last indefinitely or for limited periods of time, but
not less than 6 months;
• transfer from full-time to part-time work should be compatible with work
reasons and applications should be accepted in at least 10% of cases.
43
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 44
Radio-TV broadcasting
• priority for transfer from full-time to part-time work to workers with study
or family reasons in the following order: a) with children under 3 years of
age; b) student workers; c) other family reasons;
• unpaid leave for justified private reasons for up to one year.
Tourism
• paid (reduced) leave allowed up to 6 months during the first year of life of
the child and in cases of illness during its first 3 years; this right is also
recognised for the father in cases of the mother’s incapacity.
A number of other examples can be found in Costa (1994).
Obviously, such possibilities concern both women and men, but women profit
more from them, because of, on the one hand, their higher vulnerability in
the labour market and, on the other hand, their difficulties in combining
work and social times, mainly due to family duties.
Volkswagen negotiations in 1995
In 1994, Volkswagen in Germany came to an agreement with IG Metall to
reduce the working week for its 100,000 domestic employees in exchange for
a guarantee that jobs would not be cut (at a time when low demand meant
30,000 of those jobs were not needed). According to newspaper reports in
August 1995, personnel chief Peter Hartz was not willing to renew this
agreement beyond the next two years, and was making counter-demands for
Saturday work without overtime payments, and to increase the working week
of 28.8 hours by 3.2 hours without a corresponding pay rise (Scotsman,
28.8.95). As this announcement was made during the negotiation process,
this may not be the end of the story. It does, however, demonstrate the
tensions between efficiency and job security that colour the climate in
negotiations about working time in many countries.
44
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 45
Chapter 6: PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF NEW
SYSTEMS
Practical flexible arrangements in Germany (from Knauth & Hornberger,
1994)
In a company in the car industry, the following flexible working time
arrangements have been set up:
Figure 6.1 : Shift modules in the German car industry
prolonged morning shift
morning shift
evening shift
prolonged evening shift
shifted permanent night shift
permanent night shift
5:30
6:00
14:30
22:00
22:30
5:30
6:00
Source: Knauth and Hornberger (1994)
1. The shift planning is done by combining various shifts with different start
and end time points and partially different durations. The most frequent
combination is that of the 2-shift system, although 3-shift combinations
can be found in some capital-intensive sectors.
2. In the same company, flexitime for 2-shift workers was achieved in the
form of individual shift changes. Within the 15-minute flexitime span,
work can be handed over between shift groups.
In the computer centre of this company, where a 3-shift rotating system is
worked, flexitime is available for all these shifts.
3. Progressive retirement is achieved in three steps, in which working time is
reduced to 80 %, 60 % and 40 %, while salaries are reduced to 90 %, 80 %
and 70 % correspondingly.
In a concern in the service industry, the need for personnel varies during the
year. The volume of working time is brought into line with the changing
volume of tasks by means of flexitime, which enables each employee to work
6 to 10 hours per day. Time credits or debits can be transferred to the next
month. According to the job volume and wishes of the employees, the
monthly time accounts can be overdrawn. However, at the end of the year no
more than 30 hours of credit or debit should be on the time account.
45
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 46
In the computer industry, a company offers individual annual hours
agreements, i.e. the worker may extend or reduce his working time (per day,
per week or per month). The lower limit is 50 % of the normal working time
per week.
In an insurance company, the average working time of employees is 36.25
hours per week, working 4 days a week on average. The flexible working time
arrangement permits an operational time from Monday to Friday. The time
span of work is between 6.30 and 19.00 hours, and after 18.00 hours the
presence of an employee can only be voluntary. During the core time from
9.00 to 15.00 hours, 50 % of the working group must be present, whereas
between 15.00 and 18.00 only one employee per department is required. On
Fridays and days before bank holidays, working time is shorter and the
required presence of employees is even less.
A software firm of a German airline company offers its employees a choice
every year about the length of working time between 30 and 40 hours per
week as an average per year (the normal working time is 38.5 hours per
week). At the same time, the amount of leave can be chosen between 20 and
40 days per year (normally 30 days). The only restriction is that the average
working time of all the employees in one office must not, on average, be less
than 37 hours per week in 1993, 36 hours in 1994 and 35 hours in 1995. The
minimum attendance time per day is calculated as 50 % of the chosen weekly
working time, divided by 5 and rounded up to the next half-hour.
A customer-oriented shift plan was set up in the airport office of a travel
agency (Figure 6.2). The work demand for personnel was as follows:
Monday to Friday
Saturday
Sunday
8.00
9.00
18.00
8.00
10.00
–
–
–
–
–
9.00
18.00
20.00
15.00
14.00
1 employee
3 employees
1 employee
2 employees
1 employee
The average working time is 38 hours per week.
Figure 6.2 : Customer-oriented shift system in the airport office of a travel
agency
time
week 1
week 2
week 3
week 4
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
working
hours
breaks
working
time per
week
8
1
8
1
8
1
8
1
8
1
10 10
1
1
40
Source: Knauth and Hornberger (1994)
46
10 6.5
1
36.5
0.5
10 10
1
1
39.5
9 6.5 4
9
9
9
1 0.5 –
1
1
1
9
1
36
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 47
The absence of an employee during the holidays is solved by dropping the
first week in the shift system. The personnel demand is thus reduced from 4
to 3 employees, the demand for personnel between 9.00 and 18.00 from 3 to
2 employees, and the weekly working time from 38 to 37.33 hours.
Flexible working time in the metal industry (in North-Wuerttemberg and North
Baden)
In 1992, the results of an extensive study were published concerning the
spread of flexible working times in the metal industry in North BadenWuerttemberg. These results showed that only 3 % of production workers
made use of part-time work, either because of organisational problems or the
opposition of the trade unions.
Since 1990, working time quotas have appeared in a flexible form. These
quotas make it possible to agree on a working time volume exceeding the
average 37 hours per week for up to 18 % of the employees. However, not
more than 40 hours per week are allowed, nor does the average working time
of 37 hours per week have to be reached.
Within this study, altogether 49 company agreements were analysed in order
to find variations in working time arrangements. It could be seen that about
90 % of the company agreements included arrangements regarding the
irregular distribution of working time, most of them concerning prolonged
weekends. Only 32 % of the agreements enabled working time to be adjusted
to capacity requirements. 39 % contain regulations regarding days off, and in
84 % of these decision-making is shared by employee and employer.
Agreements regarding regular work on Saturdays (8 %), part-time (12 %),
flexitime (2 %) and special shift systems (9 %) are seldom found.
The intra-mural care sector in the Netherlands (from Van Hilst & Jansen,
1994)
There is an increasing demand within the health care sector for more
attention to the quality of the work of staff members, which has been
prompted by various developments (e.g. dissatisfaction among colleagues,
complaints about the heavy work pressure, a high rate of absenteeism due to
sickness, and staff turnover). Also, since the care sector is increasingly
dominated by cost control, market-oriented work will become more and more
important.
The realisation is dawning that current practices in work and break times, or
shift rosters, can be causally linked to work pressure, absenteeism and staff
turnover. Many rosters, though apparently well-designed, turn out in practice
to be less than optimal, or even bad.
The following point-by-point survey is not complete but does give an
impression of roster problems.
• At times, there is insufficient co-ordination between staffing and
workload. There may be a wide variety of reasons for this. There is
frequently an inadequate quantitative outlook on the amount of work or
the demand for care. Thus, insufficient staff are present at certain times
while too many staff are scheduled at others, leading to periods of either
excessive workload or under-utilisation. The wide variety of employment
contracts, and the fact that the deployment by roster of part-timers is
strongly based on that of full-timers, greatly increase the chances of
“misfits” between workload and staff availability.
47
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 48
• Many rosters do not meet with ergonomic (scientifically-based) roster
principles which take particular account of physical and social aspects.
Thus, “duty lists and free day schedules” are repeatedly characterised by:
– lack of structure or unpredictability;
– long blocks of shifts (it is not exceptional to have 7 – 8 consecutively);
– backward rotations, whereby the breaks between two shifts are very
short.
• Many duty rosters are continually changed, setting up a vicious circle:
personal holiday plans, a sudden demand for care, illness etc. often give
rise to staffing problems. This leads to ad hoc changes in the shifts
resulting in more inconvenient roster schedules. There is a resultant
increase in pressure, sick leave increases ... and the circle is complete.
On 1 January 1993, the Decree on Working Hours for Nursing or Care
Institutions and Youth Care (the WBVV) came into effect, followed in
February 1993 by a new Decree on Working Hours for medical practitioners
and midwives (the WBGV). The WBGV is practically the same as the
WBVV, though with broader opportunities for temporary deviation from the
basic rules.
The new Decree on Working Hours focuses on reducing work pressure and
arriving at a more uniform application of regulations. Some key points are
described in more detail.
• The equalisation of similar work
The scope of the Decree on Working Hours has now been extended to
related types of work and institutions (including homes for the elderly), to
which it did not originally apply.
• Changes in the provision of care
Different care and treatment methods lead to changes in the organisation of
work and duties (such as small units and team nursing) and in work times
and duty rosters. The “average” patient demands an increased workload,
while a shifting of tasks between the institutions themselves (such as from
nursing homes to homes for the elderly) means that there is a general
increase in work pressure across the care sector.
Interpretations of the new Decree on Working Hours attempt to address
these factors by balancing the need for flexibility in the provision of care
with that for tighter regulations for the protection of employees.
An important element in the new legislation is the introduction of the
concept of an on-duty period, including various measures in relation to the
institution/the work: these include working time, accessibility and attendance
shifts, time for taking essential courses, short “paid” rests and breaks lasting less
than 8 hours. This last point means that the length of an on-duty block can
be measured by looking for a consecutive break of at least 8 hours both
preceding and following it. At the same time, the maximum on-duty period
in a combination of “normal” services and a night attendance service
(frequently called a sleeping shift) is limited to 18 hours. Within this period,
a maximum of 11 hours can be worked. These rules make the common 24hour shift (8 hours working, 8 hours sleep and 8 hours working), with minor
variations, impossible.
This results in organisational problems for smaller working units in particular.
Moreover, the legal break entitlement (a minimum of a half-hour unpaid
48
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 49
break after a maximum of 5.5 hours work) causes problems with low-staffed
shifts. It goes without saying that the energetic involvement of workers’
organisations will be required to put these principles into practice.
Holland Casinos (from Van Hilst & Jansen, 1994)
The National Foundation for the Exploitation of Casino Activities in the
Netherlands, or Holland Casinos, offers games of chance in eight
establishments throughout the country. There are over 2,400 employees, of
whom about 90% work irregular shifts, or “alternating shifts” as these are
called at Holland Casinos. The Holland Casino management believes that a
good human resources management policy is one of the critical factors in
running a business successfully.
One of its initiatives is the design of a policy to address the needs of ageing
employees, which was based on a variety of factors. Investigations revealed
that, despite the relatively young age of staff, many felt they were under
heavy physical and psychological pressure. The relatively high level of
income combined with the unique functions compared to the rest of the
labour market lead to a low natural turnover, which means there will be
considerable staff ageing over the next 20 years. In view of the level of
pressure experienced, substantial measures were deemed necessary in relation
to both working hours and periods on and off duty.
Below are three components incorporated in this policy:
(1) The introduction of modern roster principles in combination with shorter
working hours, as follows:
• types of shift kept to as few as possible;
• a maximum of 5 or 6 consecutive shifts;
• a maximum of 3 or 4 consecutive shifts of the same type;
• a maximum of 10 consecutive on-duty hours (including 1 hour unpaid
break);
• roster cycle as short as possible;
• a minimum of 10 hours rest between two shifts in the case of short shift
blocks (maximum 4 consecutive shifts) and 11 or 12 hours between 5 and
6 consecutive shifts respectively;
• a reduction in the average weekly working hours from 40 to 36;
• extra free days for employees aged 50 and over.
This last point provides a further reduction in working hours, reducing
the pressure on older employees. The number of extra free days depends
on age and the type of working arrangement, and is granted to part-timers
on a pro-rata basis. The gradation varies from 4 days (day shifts for ages
50-54) to 30 days (alternating shifts for ages 60-64). These days should be
placed in the roster in such a way as to reduce the roster burden.
(2) A part-time facility for full-time employees, subsidised by the employer.
This makes it possible to reduce working time by 20% to 30% in exchange
for a gross pay reduction of 15% or 22.5 % respectively. Under this facility
the collective free days will be granted pro-rata. Pension rights are protected
by a continuing, unchanged pension accrual and (shared) premium payments.
49
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 50
(3) An early retirement option at the standard age of 62. The absence of
state pension (until the age of 65) is compensated. Employees can also opt to
retire at the age of 60.
Experimental use of new shiftwork concepts in the car industry : France
(from Gadbois 1994)
A third crew in a car manufacturing plant: partial nightshift at Renault-Flins
The Renault-Flins factory (with 10,000 employees in 1993, compared with
14,700 at the end of 1985) implemented a new type of shiftwork in April
1993: the addition of a partial nightshift to the semi-continuous two 8-hour
shift system practised till then. This nightshift is done by employees on fixed
shifts. They receive a 20% increase and work 32 hours a week, spread over
five consecutive nights: 4 nights of 5 h 45 min (8.18 p.m. to 2.03 a.m.,
Monday to Thursday) and one night of 9 hours (8.18 p.m. to 5.18 a.m. on
Fridays).
The production lines must stop operating for four hours every night to allow
maintenance of the paint-spray cabins. The introduction of this additional
crew is accompanied by an alteration of the hours of employees in two 8-hour
alternating shifts: the working week is reduced from 40 h 40 min of
attendance to 37 h of actual work and attendance (by a 10-minute reduction
per week in work time, transfer of time used for meal breaks and on-site
movement to the end of the workday, and a 10-minute reduction per week of
other break times). The daily work pattern is:
– morning shift: 5 a.m. to 12.20 p.m. or 5.30 a.m. to 12.42 p.m.
– afternoon shift: 12.20 p.m. to 7.48 p.m. or 12.42 p.m. to 8.18 p.m.
The introduction of this work pattern was tied to the start of manufacture of
a new model (Twingo), and was designed to increase output (from 1,550 to
2,150 cars daily) and the workforce (by an estimated 1,000). An agreement
on this project had been signed with the unions in March 1990, but was only
implemented two years later.
Four 10-hour shifts: two alternating 10-hour shifts four days a week, abandoned by
the Peugeot-Poissy car production plant
Four 10-hour shifts were implemented at the Peugeot-Poissy plant in 1990.
They allowed operation of the production lines for 20 hours per day, and for a
total of 96 h 15 min per week. In August 1993, with the automobile market
down an estimated 15%, an agreement was signed between management and
unions for the replacement of this system by another in which production
would be reduced to 77 h per week and output from 1,500 to 1,200 cars.
The work patterns are now based on a four-week cycle:
• two weeks of morning shifts, from 6.15 a.m. to 3.24 p.m. (i.e. 9 h 11 min
per day) for five days from Monday to Friday, followed by
• two weeks of afternoon shifts from 3.24 p.m. to 0.33 a.m. (i.e. 9 h 9 min
per day) for four days from Monday to Thursday.
The daily total includes a mealtime of 36 min.
The weekly work time is 42 h 45 min for 5-day weeks and 34 h 15 min for 4day weeks, i.e. an average week of 38 h 30 min over the whole cycle (this is
unchanged compared with the previous situation). Over one year, employees
have 23 three-day weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).
50
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 51
Women work the same hours as men, but are exempted from nightwork when
pregnant and, on request, after maternity leave, up to the child’s second
birthday.
Experiments with a reduction of worktime in Belgium (from Léonard
1994)
For companies with semi-continuous work formats, one re-arrangement of
work time involves accentuating the shift work through the integration of an
additional work crew. In the textile sector, a mill at Kortrijk conducted a reallocation involving some 80 of the 535 workers. This experiment took place
in an advanced technical department where the system now involves 4 crews
(working 6-hour shifts 6 days per week). The transition from 40 to 36 hours
per week (which was carried out without a loss in salary) plus the
implementation of an additional work day (Saturdays) allowed for the
integration of a fourth work crew. This system, motivated by economic
reasons, was acceptable thanks to certain humanising changes (e.g.
productivity bonuses, additional days off, improvement of working
conditions); work on Saturday deprives people of taking part in many
activities outside the workplace which are especially concentrated at
weekends.
A company from Ghent in the textile industry experimented with a new
work-time system in the weaving department, involving 44 people out of 568.
The work week had been fixed at 8 hours Monday to Saturday. In order to
arrive at a 36-hour schedule, each of the 4 crews benefits from one week off
every three weeks, so that three shifts relieve each other day and night. The
former annual revenue is thus guaranteed. Although highly praised for
economic reasons, this system nevertheless poses certain problems. Vacation
days must be taken during the rotational time off, yet Belgian legislation
requires that two consecutive weeks of vacation be given. The employer
allowed workers to exchange places within the work crews in such a way so as
to ensure a few consecutive weeks off : in practice, in order to benefit from
two weeks off, the wage-earning worker will have to work 6 weeks in a row at
the rate of 48 hours per week! The impossibility of the entire staff
exchanging work shifts during the “normal” vacation period means that some
people no longer take their vacation at the same time as the rest of their
family. On the whole, the evaluation of this new system by the employees
tells us that only a small majority of workers prefer this system of 4 work
crews instead of the traditional 3, due to the free week in rotation. This
preference is less common among the men, and the loss of three Saturdays
out of four makes participation in communal life difficult.
In a continuous system, the development of a fifth work crew allowed a
transition from a 38- to a 36-hour week and an increase in the number of
days off between rotations (3-4 versus 2-3). In the same way, the length of
rotational posts diminished. Here are three examples :
(1) A factory in Ruisbroek producing phosphoric acids and fluoride salts and
employing 365 workers uses a five-crew three-shift system in the following
way: there is a morning shift, an afternoon shift, an evening shift, a
daytime “cover” crew whose sole responsibility is to ensure the
replacement of continuous workers who are absent, and a fifth crew that
is off duty. Four days of work are followed by a four-day period of rest,
which seems to reduce the workers’ state of fatigue, resulting in lower
absenteeism – which, in turn, results in less demand for replacements by
51
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 52
the cover crew, giving them a less tiring routine. Work is for 8 hours a day
with a weekly average of 36 hours.
(2) The second company, situated in the region of Ghent, employs 87 workers
and produces plastic film. Three shifts work in succession, with two other
work crews being off (8 hours/day, 36 hours/week). In order to compensate
for the 10% reduction in work time, it was decided to adjust salaries and
bonuses. Absenteeism was reduced due to a shorter work week, and the
increase in free time had a positive influence on family life, yet the
designation of vacation days by the administration made it difficult to
organise family or group activities. Generally, this reduction of work time
should have brought about a better arrangement of time for recreational
activities so as to encourage flexibility in the work schedule at the
company level.
(3) Yet another model is that of Continental Foods, which hires five new
workers for 5 hours per day every time that five existing workers agree to
stay just 5 hours instead of 8. Preference is given to family members who
are out of work, provided that they possess the necessary qualifications.
The government provides allowances that benefit both employer and
employee (e.g. reductions in employers’ social security contributions and
employees’ income tax deductions).
Telework and tele-learning (from Léonard 1994)
ABB’s experience of telecommuting
Since most insurance agents and brokers communicate with their home office
via information (telecommunication) systems, ABB – for a one-year trial
period, which has since been renewed – allowed four translators employed
through its office at Leuven to work at home for three days a week with
payment equivalent to the other workers on salary. The company provided
the financing to install the computers and telecommunications equipment at
their homes.
Telecommuting is not yet mentioned within our legislation. How can lighting
and hygiene standards be regulated for work at home? Should remuneration
be based on task, amount produced or time spent “at work”? It is not yet
known which is the best model for telework.
Home-based translators at Janssen Pharmaceutica
Translators have worked at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Beerse (in the Dutch
region) for ten years. Those who are French-speaking had to face the
dilemma of either integrating into the local population or coping with the
long, tiring journey between Brussels and Beerse. Management proposed that
they work in the company’s Brussels location, but as the offices would be too
small, telework was also suggested as a solution.
Under this work system, the translators receive and send back texts by
modem. Communications are very easy, and the volume of work is similar to
that at the office. They work when they want, day or night, although they
have to stay at home during office hours for messages, answers, and inquiries.
Every two months they go to the Beerse office.
Advantages for the workers :
• flexibility (very important for those with children)
• less stress
52
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 53
• more choice about where to live
• more freedom
Advantages for the company :
• better output
• geographically wider labour market.
However, there is no legislation for this situation in Belgium.
Teleworking references
An extensive review of teleworking was written by Huws, Korte and
Robinson in 1990, reporting on a 1987 survey of 14 managers and 119
teleworkers in the UK and Germany, but also containing a wide review of
many of the complex issues that are involved in telework. Huws has more
recently reported on a much larger survey in 1992 of 1003 employers in the
UK, 113 of whom employed some teleworkers (Huws, 1993). The European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has
published a series of booklets about telework, including a short practical
“European guide to teleworking” (Moorcroft & Bennett, 1994).
Telelearning
IBM Belgium offers its facility for use of AS/400 by modem.
This change in the accessibility of learning materials is predicted to expand
massively and greatly change patterns of education in the next ten years.
53
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 54
Chapter 7: SOCIAL ISSUES
Action for women in Italy (from Costa 1994)
In April 1991 the Italian Parliament passed Law n. 125 concerning “Positive
action for the realisation of the equality of treatment between men and
women in matters of employment”.
This law can justly be seen as one of the most important laws for the
achievement of a person’s rights. It recognises the disadvantage that women
suffer with regard to the workplace, professional training and, more generally,
social organisation. This disadvantage still persists in spite of the constant
increase in women’s education.
The main criteria inspiring the legislation are concerned with the promotion
of women’s resources, attitudes and characteristics, which are today more
available for use in the work organisation. In this context, the theme of
working hours must receive particular attention as it can be a restriction, but
also an opportunity, for women. Therefore, part-time work, rights to leave,
and flexibility of working hours are being increasingly negotiated at
contractual level.
These problems have been extensively debated in women’s committees for
equal opportunities at different contractual levels, and most renewed work
agreements are concerned with them to a greater or lesser extent.
The results are quite varied in different work sectors:
• Attitudes to part-time work range from the simple acknowledgement that
“it can be a useful tool both for companies and workers” (mechanical
sector) to the introduction of a “certain quota of part-time jobs within the
global limit of 3% of the work force” (textile sector).
• Unpaid leave can now apply to manual workers and not only to clerical
staff, as it was before. It can last from 3 months in some contracts, up to
18 months in others. In some cases it is allowed only in the case of “severe
and proved personal needs”. In all the contracts, however, temporary
special leave is allowed to parents of drug-addicted or handicapped
persons.
The governmental social project : Belgium (from Léonard 1994)
There are two main points of interest:
1. the redistribution of work;
2. the encouragement of part-time work through the reduction of salary costs
(so that two half-time positions cost less than one full-time position), and
a simplification of the status of part-time workers.
A reduction of total employer’s costs can be achieved by those companies
who put into effect a company-wide plan for the redistribution of work,
through which they bring about a clear-cut increase in their workforce.
For the public sector, the redistribution of work would be brought about
through part-time contracts, temporary contracts in succession, and
intermittent work.
As for the creation of jobs, the emphasis is placed on flexibility, including:
54
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 55
• the possibility of making successive contracts of limited duration;
• implementation of the law concerning intermittent work;
• fixing the global median length of work on an annual basis; and
• reduction of the extended period of notice due with length of service to
long-served employees.
Local employment services would be created in each community in order to
put the unemployed to work at jobs of general and social interest (caretakers,
orderlies, etc.).
Example : GAN insurance
GAN (Insurance Company in Belgium), which employed 350 men five years
ago, now employs 220 men. The management had the choice of dismissing
eight office workers or instituting a week of 32 hours (4 x 8 hours work
instead of 5 x 7 hours 23 minutes) for 40 volunteers from the office workers,
who would give up 10 % gross of their salary (5% net). Those on the lowest
salaries and the remuneration of trainees would remain unaffected. The
volunteers stay at home one day a week, but this free day changes every
quarter.
Since 1976, the problems of work-sharing have been superseded in Belgium
by a central political decision on the reduction of the working week, which
was then overtaken in 1983 by a strict limitation of overtime hours and the
obligation to recruit part-time workers in the public sector. In 1983, Belgium
was one of the countries with the shortest annual work length – 1510 hours,
in comparison to 2100 hours for Japan, 1650 hours for France and 1870 hours
for the United States.
This new organisation provides for extended time for utilisation of machinery
combined with a reduction of working time through additional work crews. If
the time for utilisation of machinery is extended, the usage cost of equipment
is reduced, leaving the problem of salary compensation (or omission) for the
workers’ reduced hours. Certain people believe that accepting a reduction in
pay constitutes good citizenship; others are willing to accept some
inconveniences in the schedule, provided they are compensated in salary.
Several recent projects and expert assessments attest to the diversity of the
solutions proposed.
Three conclusions can be made, which are further discussed below:
1) An increase in the number of crews (work divided between two or three
shifts) is the most efficient formula economically and the most acceptable
socially.
2) Extension of work to Sundays and at night, beyond the technical
restrictions for certain equipment, is rarely an efficient measure and is
often socially rejected.
3) Annualising working hours can achieve effective results in some cases.
1) On the first point, individualised schedules which open short work periods
at the beginning and end of work should be noted. Thus, an initial schedule
of 8.30 am – 5.30 pm (9 hours) could be expanded to 11 hours (8 am – 7 pm)
with two flexible work periods from 8-10 am and 4-7 pm, and a fixed period
from 10 am – 4 pm. There is an extension in the utilisation of capital without
a salary increase, and hence a greater amount of freedom in the employees’
schedule. This is more commonly found in the service sector, with its high
55
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 56
proportion of female workers, than in the industrial sector, where technical
constraints such as the use of material, or the necessary manning of a certain
type of machine, probably hinder its application. Automation will
progressively allow for a partial lifting of these constraints.
A second approach is to have overlapping work crews, which is a structured
form of individualised schedules and allows a capacity operation to produce
more, especially if this overlapping is accentuated. It is true that there is a
risk of an additional inconvenience for either an early morning schedule or a
very late one, but this inconvenience can be modified by a schedule
reduction. Thus, one company lengthens its operational time by two hours
but with seven-hour instead of eight-hour days. Instead of the 8.30 am –
12.30/1.30 pm – 5.30 pm schedule, one crew works 7.30 am – 12 noon/1 pm3.30 pm while another works 11.30 am – 1 pm/2 pm – 7.30 pm. If the market
expands, it can go directly to successive crews.
This kind of reorganisation could be extended to include the work periods of
6 – 7 am and 7 – 8 pm, using individuals who work shorter six- and sevenhour days. This is a possible alternative, short of the transition to two crews
using the traditional 2 x 8 working shifts.
The transition into three work crews is full of inconveniences. Also, some
have moved in favour of 3 crews for 32 hours, each working 8 hours for 4
days. One example has one crew working 6 am – 2 pm. from Monday to
Thursday : here, there is a morning burden, but then there are three and a
half days off. The second crew works 2 pm – 10 pm from Wednesday to
Saturday. The third crew works 6 am – 2 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 2
pm – 10 pm on Monday and Tuesday. For this third group, there are clearly
changes in habits that must be dealt with, but in compensation there is a
break of five days off. Of course, this is only possible in an extreme case
where the machinery can be run for 96 hours a week without encountering
any obvious inconvenience from night work or Sundays. From a financial
point of view, there are increased costs linked to this type of organisation.
2) There are sociological problems brought about by work on Sundays. An
interesting formula consists of four 9-hour shifts (4 x 9) from Monday to
Thursday, and three 9-hour shifts (3 x 9) from Friday to Sunday, each with
the same salary. The machinery functions for 63 hours per week for an
average weekly work length of 31.30 hours (36 + 27 divided by 2).
3) Annualisation of work does not necessarily lead to an expansion in the
utilisation time for machinery. For example, companies engaged in seasonal
employment can avoid both overtime hours during the season and
unemployment compensation in the off-season. An increase in the number of
crews could reduce the length of the off-season, but two points must be
considered:
• Experience has shown this system is often difficult to put into effect,
especially when personnel are not capable of moving from one job to
another.
• For regular employees, this extension does not mean a lengthening of
production time, but rather its distribution over a longer period. Because
of this, one variation is to hire a crew of temporary workers for a few
months. The utilisation time of machinery is improved, and later, if
required, these temporary workers can be hired outright by the company.
56
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 57
Chapter 8: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Diskus Classification: Lowering the barriers in planning problems (from
Van Hilst & Jansen, 1994)
Van Hilst and Jansen (1994) report fully about work by the Diskus
Foundation, which aims to support planners in preparing plans and rosters of
high quality. Appendix C contains a longer description of this work, which
has already generated roster systems in the health care sector.
Work has also been carried out on an “allowances matrix”, which aims to
deal with some of the problems arising from inflexibilities that appear to arise
from the commonly used systems of allowances for different work periods.
This has been extended into an “integrated matrix”, which tries to deal with
the fact that the baseline contracts of staff may be for varying numbers of
hours. See Appendix C for further details of this interesting development.
Allowances paid and inconvenience experienced – Balance between
workload and compensation
Parallel to developments in relation to flexibility and pluriformity in working
hours are trends which focus on the design of regulations governing working
hours seen from the perspective of safety, health and welfare at work.
Various signals point to there having been a considerable increase over recent
years in work pressure within organisations. One of these signals is statistical
evidence on sick leave and work disability, where the cause of absenteeism is
increasingly of a psychological or psychosomatic nature. Specific research
into work stress and work pressure reveals the same trend.
An important reason for the increase in work pressure would seem to be that
organisations are obliged to increase their productivity. In many cases this
means that the work tempo must be increased, that there are fewer people to
carry out more work, and that employees must work with newer and faster
methods and techniques which they need time to master. The reduction in
working hours during the 1980s is also held responsible for some of the
increased work pressure.
Regulations governing break times, overtime, and the numbers and quality of
staff are also relevant to the issue of work pressure.
There is also great concern in the Netherlands about sick leave and work
disability in relation to working conditions. This has recently led to a number
of new legal measures which aim to optimise working conditions under the
joint responsibility of both employer and employee. Working hours are a
particularly relevant topic here.
Recent research has examined the degree to which paid allowances for
inconvenient working hours correlate to the actual inconvenience
experienced during those working hours (Van Limborgh, 1993). This
correlation hardly seems to exist: the roster allowance paid is not the
expected reflection of the inconvenience experienced. According to this
research, evening shifts would seem to be far less stressful than the
compensation would suggest. At best, the compensation indicates what
employers and trade unions jointly believe to be the inconvenience of certain
working hours.
57
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 58
The characteristics of the roster are not in themselves, however, a major
factor in determining the level of the allowance. The research concentrates
on the weight that is felt should be accorded to inconvenience factors, how
these factors influence one another, and what increases, or what compensates
for, a specific degree of inconvenience.
In the current research, a restricted group of employees (555 people from five
organisations) were asked to allocate a score to rosters and their
characteristics, in terms of inconvenience. There are some interesting initial
results.
First of all, it seems that differences in commercial background, function
characteristics and conditions of employment have no influence on the scores
for comparable rosters. Further, it seems that allowance systems lean too
heavily on financial compensation for evening, night and weekend shifts.
Roster characteristics such as the length of a sequence of consecutive shifts in
one block and the number of shift switches within a sequence have an
influence on the perceived inconvenience, which is insufficiently reflected in
allowances at present. Furthermore, an interesting finding relates to the
compensational value of evening shifts: as the proportion of evening shifts
increases, the inconvenience of the roster decreases! This means that the
usual “ranking” of allowance levels for standard shifts would change
significantly.
Compared to the inconvenience factor of day shifts, which is set at 100, the
2-shift schedule has a very favourable score of 89.3 due to the “compensating”
effect of the evening shifts it contains. The 3-shift schedule, with a score of
103.8, should be hardly less favourable than the day shift in terms of
inconvenience experienced. The continuous 4-shift schedule is clearly the
most inconvenient at 132.9, which is the result of long shift sequences (2 per
sequence), only one weekend in four off, and the high working hours; the
continuous 5-shift schedule has a relatively favourable score at 111.5, because
of the short shift sequences, the greater number of free weekends and the
considerably lower working hours. Based on these initial results, the
researcher argues that the allowance levels applied in practice provide little
information about the degree of inconvenience experienced in the relevant
shift rosters. This research may be taken up again in a future edition of BEST.
Quality of life and quality of sleep in two different organisational modes
Léonard (1994) reports on a study his organisation has carried out which is of
some general interest, because of the problems addressed and because part of
the study took place in a factory where his organisation had installed
rotations two years previously. Thus, they were able to monitor the results of
the installation of short-term rotations.
Company A is made up of 193 people, and produces industrial and household
packaging. The study focused on the extrusion department, which consisted
of 5 crews of 4 workers plus a foreman.
The length of the work week is 37 hours. The machinery functions 24 hours
a day, with the exception of a 9-day complete break at the end of December.
Each worker performs 3 sessions of 2 days in a ten-day cycle (6 days of work
and 4 days of rest). This means, in theory, that each worker puts in 1688
hours (211 days + 8 hours) per year. In reality, the deficit of hours brought
about through the 5 crews is compensated by the submission of overtime
hours, which are not determinable in advance by the administration.
58
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 59
Schedule format: 2M – 2A – 2N – (4R). M=Mornings. A=Afternoons.
N=Nights. R=Rest.
The shifts are for 8 hours, beginning at 5 am, 1 pm and 9 pm. The researchers
had wanted, in vain, to change the hour at which the shifts begin, but ending
work at 1 pm when on morning shift (which offers a great number of
possibilities for free time) and going to bed at 5 am after night shift (when
there is less noise and the free time available after resting is useful) were both
attractive features to the company’s employees, who mostly reside in the
country. In order to allow staff to take 20 days of vacation time during the
summer, a sixth crew, coming from another department and made up of three
people, takes over. The schedule during this period is thus 4M – 2R – 4N –
1R – 4A – 1R, which was the schedule before the intervention. The new
system began on 1/1/91.
Company B makes polypropylene wrapping and employs 146 people. Of
these, 85 are employed in production on a schedule changing at 6 am, 2 pm,
and 10 pm, with an average work week of 37 hours. Schedule format is
5M – 2R – 5A – 2R – 5N – 6R; the machinery functions all year round.
The work cycle lasts 25 days (15 work days and 10 days of rest). During
vacation, one line is stopped and the number of crews changes from 5 to 4
(5M – 2R – 5A – 2R – 5N – 1R). The personnel samples are similar in their
format for other activities in the company. Muriel Swiderski Ulg, the director
of the study, issued two kinds of questionnaires: the first on the quality of
sleep, whose objective was to obtain information on how the subject
perceives his sleeping habits; and the other on the quality of life, whose
objective was to link the possibility of consecutive sleeping disorders within
the work schedule to the way in which the subject organises his life. These
surveys were first tested on a small group, and no significant difference was
found. This study should be complemented by an objective survey on sleep.
However, quality of life is perceived to be clearly better in short-term
rotations, with a high percentage of participation in other types of activities
and in interaction outside the company. The greater amount of flexibility
provided by Company A’s organisation could contribute to this better quality
of life, at least to some extent.
Shiftwork depends on the individual’s situation
Léonard (1994) comments on the results of a survey which tend to prove that
the effects of shiftwork are not exclusively contingent upon the schedule, the
cycle or the work routine; and that other factors such as the age or sex of the
worker (which indicate reduced endurance for shiftworkers) were important,
in that older workers were more inclined to short-term cycles than younger
ones.
He also found that single people were less well-adapted to shiftwork. In this
study, the work routine does not influence the distribution of activities
outside the workplace. The weight of social factors remains to be determined.
It could thus be said that it is more a question of the shiftworker than of
shiftwork.
59
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 60
References:
AXA (1993) Aménagements du temps de travail (Working time
arrangements). Liaisons sociales 6937.
BATTISTONI, L. and GILARDI, G. (1992) La parità tra consenso e conflitto
(Equality between agreement and conflict). Ediesse, Rome.
BEATSON, M. (1994) Labour market flexibility. Employment Department
Research Series. (London: Department of Employment.)
BOSWORTH, D. (1994) Shiftwork in the U.K.: evidence from the LFS.
Applied Economics, 26, 617-626.
BRICOLAGE (1993) Travail à temps partiel (Part-time work). Liaisons
sociales-Législation sociale, 6911.
BUÉ, J. and ROUX-ROSSI, D. (1993) Le travail de nuit des femmes dans
l’industrie: les enseignements d’une étude monographique (Night work by
women in industry). Travail et Emploi, 19-33.
CAO afspraken 1991 – 1992 (Collective Labour Agreements for 1991 – 1992).
Dienst Collectieve Arbeidsvoorwaarden (DCA), ’s Gravenhage: Vuga
uitgeverij, 1993.
CBS (1993) Centraal Bureau voor de Statistieken (CBS) (Central Bureau for
Statistics) ’s Gravenhage: SDU uitgeverij.
COSTA, G. (1994) News on working time in Italy. (Dublin: European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.)
CUCCHIARELLI, A. (1990) (ed): L’orario di lavoro in Italia e in Europa
(Working hours in Italy and Europe). Datanews, Roma.
DIRKX, J., JANSEN, B. and VAN GOUDOEVER, B. (1993/1994)
Verpleegkunde en Roosterdiensten (Nursing and Roster Shifts), Handboek
Verpleegkunde, België.
DUSSERT, F. and VINCK, L. (1993) Les horaires de travail en 1991 (Hours
of work in 1991). Dossiers statistiques du travail et de l’emploi 98-99, 1-245.
(Ministère du travail, Masson, Paris.)
FIM-CISL (1993) Contratti di solidarietà (Solidarity contracts). FIM
strumenti, 26. Milano.
GADBOIS, C. (1994) News and trends in working time in France. (Dublin:
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
Conditions.)
HUWS, U. (1993) Teleworking in Britain. Employment Department Research
Series No. 18. (Sheffield: Employment Department Research Management
Branch, Moorfoot, Sheffield S1 4PQ.)
HUWS, U., KORTE, W.B. and ROBINSON, S. (1990) Telework: Towards
the elusive office. (Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.)
IDS (1993a) Shiftworking. Incomes Data Services Study No. 526, March
1993.
IDS (1993b) Annual Hours. Incomes Data Services Study No. 544,
December 1993.
60
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 61
IDS (1994) Overtime. Incomes Data Services Study No. 559, August 1994.
JANSEN, B. (1992) Roosterontwerp bij Holland Casino’s: van theorie naar
praktijk (Roster design at Holland Casinos: from theory to practice). Cahiers
d’Ergonomic, nr. 6.
KNAUTH, P. and HORNBERGER, S. (1993) Trends in working time in
Germany. (Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and
Working Conditions.)
LÉONARD, R. (1994) Trends in working time in Belgium. (Dublin: European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.)
MINISTÈRE DU TRAVAIL (1990) Bilan de la négociation collective, Paris.
MINISTÈRE DU TRAVAIL (1991) Bilan de la négociation collective, Paris.
MINISTÈRE DU TRAVAIL (1992) Bilan de la négociation collective, Paris.
MOORCROFT, S. and BENNETT, V. (1994) European guide to teleworking: A
framework for action. (Dublin: European Foundation for Living and Working
Conditions.)
OSA (1993) OSA Trendrapport Aanbod van Arbeid 1993 (OSA Trend Report
Work Availability). ’s Gravenhage: SDU uitgeverij.
OUWEHAND, J.J. (1994) De beloning van flexibele werktijden (The
rewards for flexible working hours). Gids voor Personeelsmanagement, 1, 33 –
36.
SER (1992) Herziening Arbeidswet 1919 – 92/05 (Review of the Factories Law
1919 -92/05) ’s Gravenhage: Sociaal Economische Raad (SER).
VAN HILST, B. and JANSEN, B. (1994) Developments in working hours in the
Netherlands. (Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living
and Working Conditions.)
VAN LIMBORGH, C. (1993) Ploegentoeslag: de bezwaarlijkheid beloond
(Shift Allowances: Rewarding Inconvenience). Gids voor
Personeelsmanagement, 9, 23 – 27.
WATSON, Gary (1992) Hours of work in Great Britain and Europe:
evidence from the UK and European Labour Force Surveys. Employment
Gazette, 100, 11 (November 1992), 539-557.
WATSON, Gary (1994) The flexible workforce and patterns of working
hours in the UK. Employment Gazette, 102, 7, (July 1994), 239-247.
61
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 62
Appendix A: The final text of the European
Directive on the organisation of working time
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/104/EC
of 23 November 1993
concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing
the European Community, and in
particular Article 118a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the
Commission (1),
In cooperation with the European
Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the
Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas Article 118a of the Treaty
provides that the Council shall adopt, by
means of directives, minimum
requirements for encouraging
improvements, especially in the working
environment, to ensure a better level of
protection of the safety and health of
workers;
Whereas, under the terms of that Article,
those directives are to avoid imposing
administrative, financial and legal
constraints in a way which would hold
back the creation and development of
small and medium-sized undertakings;
Whereas the provisions of Council
Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989
on the introduction of measures to
encourage improvements in the safety
and health of workers at work (4) are fully
applicable to the areas covered by this
Directive without prejudice to more
stringent and/or specific provisions
contained therein;
Whereas the Community Charter of the
Fundamental Social Rights of Workers,
adopted at the meeting of the European
Council held at Strasbourg on 9
December 1989 by the Heads of State or
of Government of 11 Member States,
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
62
and in particular points 7, first
subparagraph, 8 and 19, first
subparagraph, thereof, declared that:
‘7. The completion of the internal
market must lead to an improvement
in the living and working conditions of
workers in the European Community.
This process must result from an
approximation of these conditions
while the improvement is being
maintained, as regards in particular the
duration and organization of working
time and forms of employment other
than open-ended contracts, such as
fixed-term contracts, part-time
working, temporary work and seasonal
work.
8. Every worker in the European
Community shall have a right to a
weekly rest period and to annual paid
leave, the duration of which must be
progressively harmonized in accordance
with national practices.
19. Every worker must enjoy
satisfactory health and safety
conditions in his working environment.
Appropriate measures must be taken in
order to achieve further harmonization
of conditions in this area while
maintaining the improvements made.’;
Whereas the improvement of workers’
safety, hygiene and health at work is an
objective which should not be
subordinated to purely economic
considerations;
Whereas this Directive is a practical
contribution towards creating the social
dimension of the internal market;
Whereas laying down minimum
requirements with regard to the
OJ No C 154, 9. 10. 1990, p. 4.
OJ No C 72, 18. 3. 1991, p. 95; and Decision of 27 October 1993 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
OJ No C 60, 8. 3. 1991, p. 26.
OJ No L 183, 29. 6. 1989, p. 1.
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 63
organization of working time is likely to
improve the working conditions of
workers in the Community;
Whereas, in order to ensure the safety
and health of Community workers, the
latter must be granted minimum daily,
weekly and annual periods of rest and
adequate breaks; whereas it is also
necessary in this context to place a
maximum limit on weekly working hours;
Whereas account should be taken of the
principles of the International Labour
Organization with regard to the
organization of working time, including
those relating to night work;
Whereas, with respect to the weekly rest
period, due account should be taken of
the diversity of cultural, ethnic, religious
and other factors in the Member States;
whereas, in particular, it is ultimately for
each Member State to decide whether
Sunday should be included in the weekly
rest period, and if so to what extent;
Whereas research has shown that the
human body is more sensitive at night to
environmental disturbances and also to
certain burdensome forms of work
organization and that long periods of
night work can be detrimental to the
health of workers and can endanger
safety at the workplace;
Whereas there is a need to limit the
duration of periods of night work,
including overtime, and to provide for
employers who regularly use night
workers to bring this information to the
attention of the competent authorities if
they so request;
Whereas it is important that night
workers should be entitled to a free
health assessment prior to their
assignment and thereafter at regular
intervals and that whenever possible they
should be transferred to day work for
which they are suited if they suffer from
health problems;
Whereas the situation of night and shift
workers requires that the level of safety
and health protection should be adapted
to the nature of their work and that the
organization and functioning of
protection and prevention services and
resources should be efficient;
Whereas specific working conditions may
have detrimental effects on the safety
and health of workers; whereas the
organization of work according to a
certain pattern must take account of the
general principle of adapting work to the
worker;
Whereas, given the specific nature of the
work concerned, it may be necessary to
adopt separate measures with regard to
the organization of working time in
certain sectors or activities which are
excluded from the scope of this
Directive;
Whereas, in view of the question likely
to be raised by the organization of
working time within an undertaking, it
appears desirable to provide for flexibility
in the application of certain provisions of
this Directive, whilst ensuring
compliance with the principles of
protecting the safety and health of
workers;
Whereas it is necessary to provide that
certain provisions may be subject to
derogations implemented, according to
the case, by the Member States or the
two sides of industry; whereas, as a
general rule, in the event of a derogation,
the workers concerned must be given
equivalent compensatory rest periods,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
SECTION 1
SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
Purpose and scope
1. This Directive lays down minimum
safety and health requirements for the
organization of working time.
2. This Directive applies to:
(a) minimum periods of daily rest,
weekly rest and annual leave, to
breaks and maximum weekly
working time; and
(b) certain aspects of night work,
shift work and patterns of work.
3. This Directive shall apply to all sectors
of activity, both public and private,
within the meaning of Article 2 of
Directive 89/391/EEC, without prejudice
to Article 17 of this Directive, with the
exception of air, rail, road, sea, inland
waterway and lake transport, sea fishing,
other work at sea and the activities of
doctors in training;
63
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 64
4. The provisions of Directive
89/391/EEC are fully applicable to the
matters referred to in paragraph 2,
without prejudice to more stringent
and/or specific provisions contained in
this Directive.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive, the
following definitions shall apply:
1. working time shall mean any period
during which the worker is working,
at the employer’s disposal and
carrying out his activity or duties, in
accordance with national laws and/or
practice;
2. rest period shall mean any period
which is not working time;
3. night time shall mean any period of
not less than seven hours, as defined
by national law, and which must
include in any case the period
between midnight and 5 a.m.;
4. night worker shall mean:
(a) on the one hand, any worker,
who, during night time, works at
least three hours of his daily
working time as a normal course;
and
(b) on the other hand, any worker
who is likely during night time to
work a certain proportion of his
annual working time, as defined
at the choice of the Member
State concerned:
(i) by national legislation,
following consultation with
the two sides of industry; or
(ii) by collective agreements or
agreements concluded
between the two sides of
industry at national or
regional level;
5. shift work shall mean any method of
organizing work in shifts whereby
workers succeed each other at the
same work stations according to a
certain pattern, including a rotating
pattern, and which may be
continuous or discontinuous,
entailing the need for workers to
work at different times over a given
period of days or weeks;
64
6. shift worker shall mean any worker
whose work schedule is part of shift
work.
SECTION II
MINIMUM REST PERIODS -OTHER ASPECTS OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF WORKING
TIME
Article 3
Daily rest
Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that every worker is
entitled to a minimum daily rest period
of 11 consecutive hours per 24-hour
period.
Article 4
Breaks
Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that, where the
working day is longer than six hours,
every worker is entitled to a rest break,
the details of which, including duration
and the terms on which it is granted,
shall be laid down in collective
agreements or agreements between the
two sides of industry or, failing that, by
national legislation.
Article 5
Weekly rest period
Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that, per each sevenday period, every worker is entitled to a
minimum uninterrupted rest period of 24
hours plus the 11 hours’ daily rest
referred to in Article 3.
The minimum rest period referred to in
the first subparagraph shall in principle
include Sunday.
If objective, technical or work
organization conditions so justify, a
minimum rest period of 24 hours may be
applied.
Article 6
Maximum weekly working time
Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that, in keeping with
the need to protect the safety and health
of workers:
1. the period of weekly working time is
limited by means of laws, regulations
or administrative provisions or by
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 65
collective agreements or agreements
between the two sides of industry;
2. the average working time for each
seven-day period, including overtime,
does not exceed 48 hours.
Article 7
Annual leave
1. Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that every worker is
entitled to paid annual leave of at least
four weeks in accordance with the
conditions for entitlement to, and
granting of, such leave laid down by
national legislation and/or practice.
2. The minimum period of paid annual
leave may not be replaced by an
allowance in lieu, except where the
employment relationship is terminated.
SECTION III
NIGHT WORK – SHIFT WORK –
PATTERNS OF WORK
Article 8
Length of night work
Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that:
1. normal hours of work for night
workers do not exceed an average of
eight hours in any 24-hour period;
2. night workers whose work involves
special hazards or heavy physical or
mental strain do not work more than
eight hours in any period of 24 hours
during which they perform night
work.
For the purposes of the aforementioned,
work involving special hazards or heavy
physical or mental strain shall be defined
by national legislation and/or practice or
by collective agreements or agreements
concluded between the two sides of
industry, taking account of the specific
effects and hazards of night work.
(b) night workers suffering from health
problems recognized as being
connected with the fact that they
perform night work are transferred
whenever possible to day work to
which they are suited.
2. The free health assessment referred to
in paragraph 1(a) must comply with
medical confidentiality.
3. The free health assessment referred to
in paragraph 1(a) may be conducted
within the national health system.
Article 10
Guarantees for night-time working
Member States may make the work of
certain categories of night workers
subject to certain guarantees, under
conditions laid down by national
legislation and/or practice, in the case of
workers who incur risks to their safety or
health linked to night-time working.
Article 11
Notification of regular use of night
workers
Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that an employer who
regularly uses night workers brings this
information to the attention of the
competent authorities if they so request.
Article 12
Safety and health protection
Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that:
1. night workers and shift workers have
safety and health protection
appropriate to the nature of their
work;
2. appropriate protection and
prevention services or facilities with
regard to the safety and health of
night workers and shift workers are
equivalent to those applicable to
other workers and are available at all
times.
Article 9
Article 13
Health assessment and transfer of night
workers to day work
Pattern of work
1. Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that:
(a) night workers are entitled to a free
health assessment before their
assignment and thereafter at regular
intervals;
Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that an employer who
intends to organize work according to a
certain pattern takes account of the
general principle of adapting work to the
worker, with a view, in particular, to
alleviating monotonous work and work
65
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 66
at a predetermined work-rate, depending
on the type of activity, and of safety and
health requirements, especially as regards
breaks during working time.
not be included in the calculation of
the average.
Article 17
Derogations
SECTION IV
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Article 14
More specific Community provisions
The provisions of this Directive shall not
apply where other Community
instruments contain more specific
requirements concerning certain
occupations or occupational activities.
Article 15
More favourable provisions
This Directive shall not affect Member
States’ right to apply or introduce laws,
regulations or administrative provisions
more favourable to the protection of the
safety and health of workers or to
facilitate or permit the application of
collective agreements or agreements
concluded between the two sides of
industry which are more favourable to
the protection of the safety and health of
workers.
Article 16
Reference periods
Member States may lay down:
1. for the application of Article 5
(weekly rest period), a reference
period not exceeding 14 days;
2. for the application of Article 6
(maximum weekly working time), a
reference period not exceeding four
months.
The periods of paid annual leave,
granted in accordance with Article 7,
and the periods of sick leave shall not
be included or shall be neutral in the
calculation of the average;
3. for the application of Article 8
(length of night work), a reference
period defined after consultation of
the two sides of industry or by
collective agreements or agreements
concluded between the two sides of
industry at national or regional level.
If the minimum weekly rest period of
24 hours required by Article 5 falls
within that reference period, it shall
66
1. With due regard for the general
principles of the protection of the safety
and health of workers, Member States
may derogate from Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
or 16 when, on account of the specific
characteristics of the activity concerned,
the duration of the working time is not
measured and/or predetermined or can be
determined by the workers themselves,
and particularly in the case of:
(a) managing executives or other persons
with autonomous decision-taking
powers;
(b) family workers; or
(c) workers officiating at religious
ceremonies in churches and religious
communities.
2. Derogations may be adopted by means
of laws, regulations or administrative
provisions or by means of collective
agreements or agreements between the
two sides of industry provided that the
workers concerned are afforded
equivalent periods of compensatory rest
or that, in exceptional cases in which it
is not possible, for objective reasons, to
grant such equivalent periods of
compensatory rest, the workers
concerned are afforded appropriate
protection:
2.1 from Articles 3, 4, 5, 8 and 16:
(a) in the case of activities where the
worker’s place of work and his place
of residence are distant from one
another or where the worker’s
different places of work are distant
from one another;
(b) in the case of security and
surveillance activities requiring a
permanent presence in order to
protect property and persons,
particularly security guards and
caretakers or security firms;
(c) in the case of activities involving the
need for continuity of service or
production, particularly:
(i) services relating to the reception,
treatment and/or care provided
by hospitals or similar
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 67
establishments, residential
institutions and prisons;
(ii) dock or airport workers;
(iii) press, radio, television,
cinematographic production,
postal and telecommunications
services, ambulance, fire and
civil protection services;
(iv) gas, water and electricity
production, transmission and
distribution, household refuse
collection and incineration
plants;
(v) industries in which work cannot
be interrupted on technical
grounds;
(vi) research and development
activities;
(vii) agriculture;
(d) where there is a foreseeable surge of
activity, particularly in:
(i) agriculture;
(ii) tourism;
(iii) postal services;
2.2. from Articles 3, 4, 5, 8 and 16:
(a) in the circumstances described in
Article 5 (4) of Directive
89/391/EEC;
(b) in cases of accident or imminent risk
of accident;
2.3. from Articles 3 and 5:
(a) in the case of shift work activities,
each time the worker changes shift
and cannot take daily and/or weekly
rest periods between the end of one
shift and the start of the next one;
(b) in the case of activities involving
periods of work split up over the day,
particularly those of cleaning staff.
3. Derogations may be made from
Articles 3, 4, 5, 8 and 16 by means of
collective agreements or agreements
concluded between the two sides of
industry at national or regional level or,
in conformity with the rules laid down by
them, by means of collective agreements
or agreements concluded between the
two sides of industry at a lower level.
Member States in which there is no
statutory system ensuring the conclusion
of collective agreements or agreements
concluded between the two sides of
industry at national or regional level, on
the matters covered by this Directive, or
those Member States in which there is a
specific legislative framework for this
purpose and within the limits thereof,
may, in accordance with national
legislation and/or practice, allow
derogations from Articles 3, 4, 5, 8 and
16 by way of collective agreements or
agreements concluded between the two
sides of industry at the appropriate
collective level.
The derogations provided for in the first
and second subparagraphs shall be
allowed on condition that equivalent
compensating rest periods are granted to
the workers concerned or, in exceptional
cases where it is not possible for objective
reasons to grant such periods, the workers
concerned are afforded appropriate
protection.
Member States may lay down rules:
–
for the application of this paragraph
by the two sides of industry, and
–
for the extension of the provisions of
collective agreements or agreements
concluded in conformity with this
paragraph to other workers in
accordance with national legislation
and/or practice.
4. The option to derogate from point 2 of
Article 16, provided in paragraph 2,
points 2.1. and 2.2. and in paragraph 3 of
this Article, may not result in the
establishment of a reference period
exceeding six months.
However, Member States shall have the
option, subject to compliance with the
general principles relating to the
protection of the safety and health of
workers, of allowing, for objective or
technical reasons or reasons concerning
the organization of work, collective
agreements or agreements concluded
between the two sides of industry to set
reference periods in no event exceeding
12 months.
Before the expiry of a period of seven
years from the date referred to in Article
18 (1) (a), the Council shall, on the basis
of a Commission proposal accompanied
by an appraisal report, re-examine the
provisions of this paragraph and decide
what action to take.
67
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 68
Article 18
Final provisions
1. (a) Member States shall adopt the
laws, regulations and administrative
provisions necessary to comply with
this Directive by 23 November
1996, or shall ensure by that date
that the two sides of industry
establish the necessary measures by
agreement, with Member States
being obliged to take any necessary
steps to enable them to guarantee
at all times that the provisions laid
down by this Directive are fulfilled.
(b) (i) However, a Member State shall
have the option not to apply
Article 6, while respecting the
general principles of the
protection of the safety and
health of workers, and provided
it takes the necessary measures
to ensure that:
– no employer requires a worker
to work more than 48 hours
over a seven-day period,
calculated as an average for the
reference period referred to in
point 2 of Article 16, unless he
has first obtained the worker’s
agreement to perform such
work,
– no worker is subjected to any
detriment by his employer
because he is not willing to give
his agreement to perform such
work,
– the employer keeps up-to-date
records of all workers who carry
out such work,
– the records are placed at the
disposal of the competent
authorities, which may, for
reasons connected with the
safety and/or health of workers,
prohibit or restrict the
possibility of exceeding the
maximum weekly working
hours,
– the employer provides the
competent authorities at their
request with information on
cases in which agreement has
been given by workers to
perform work exceeding 48
hours over a period of seven
68
days, calculated as an average
for the reference period referred
to in point 2 of Article 16.
Before the expiry of a period of
seven years from the date referred
to in (a), the Council shall, on the
basis of a Commission proposal
accompanied by an appraisal report,
re-examine the provisions of this
point (i) and decide on what action
to take.
(ii) Similarly, Member States shall
have the option, as regards the
application of Article 7, of
making use of a transitional
period of not more than three
years from the date referred to
in (a), provided that during that
transitional period:
– every worker receives three
weeks’ paid annual leave in
accordance with the conditions
for the entitlement to, and
granting of, such leave laid
down by national legislation
and/or practice, and
– the three-week period of paid
annual leave may not be
replaced by an allowance in
lieu, except where the
employment relationship is
terminated.
(c) Member States shall forthwith
inform the Commission thereof.
2. When Member States adopt the
measures referred to in paragraph 1, they
shall contain a reference to this Directive
or shall be accompanied by such
reference on the occasion of their official
publication. The methods of making such
a reference shall be laid down by the
Member States.
3. Without prejudice to the right of
Member States to develop, in the light of
changing circumstances, different
legislative, regulatory or contractual
provisions in the field of working time, as
long as the minimum requirements
provided for in this Directive are
complied with, implementation of this
Directive shall not constitute valid
grounds for reducing the general level of
protection afforded to workers.
4. Member States shall communicate to
the Commission the texts of the
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 69
provisions of national law already
adopted or being adopted in the field
governed by this Directive.
5. Member States shall report to the
Commission every five years on the
practical implementation of the
provisions of this Directive, indicating
the viewpoints of the two sides of
industry.
The Commission shall inform the
European Parliament, the Council, the
Economic and Social Committee and the
Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene
and Health Protection at Work thereof.
6. Every five years the Commission shall
submit to the European Parliament, the
Council and the Economic and Social
Committee a report on the application of
this Directive taking into account
paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Article 19
This Directive is addressed to the
Member States.
Done at Brussels, 23 November 1993.
For the Council
The President
M. SMET
69
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 70
Appendix B : Full text of Table 3.1 :
Employees’ total usual weekly hours : peaks 1990†
I
LU
P
E
%
%
%
%
0-34
18.7 25.2 16.2 15.4 10.9 33.3 14.6 11.9 7.5
8.1
6.9 24.8 17.3
35-37
9.2 11.1 5.6 12.7 5.3
*
13.2 5.7 11.5 11.5
3.5
*
1.7
3.7
7.7 14.8
1.0
*
0.2
0.3
6.4 12.0
Hours
38
B
DK
F
G
%
%
%
%
GR NL IRL
%
%
%
6.9 14.2 21.3
48.7 48.6 4.3 30.4 12.8 30.4 2.4
%
2.9
0.7 49.8 10.2 2.2
40
17
3.9 10.3 22.8 49.4 25.7 48.6 48.3 83.4 23.8 71.0 10.0 26.2
41-44
0.2
1.1
4.6
1.5
4.6
0.4
3.2
3.9
45-48
0.9
2.7
4.0
2.4
9.8
0.4
5.0
6.6
49-50
0.9
2.8
2.6
1.9
1.1
0.5
3.7
1.9
*
1.7
2.1
4.8
2.5
51-59
0.3
0.6
0.9
0.7
1.6
0.3
1.1
0.5
*
0.8
0.8
6.3
1.9
60-69
0.7
0.7
1.3
1.4
1.0
0.5
2.2
0.9
*
1.4
1.3
3.2
1.6
70+
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.8
0.9
0.4
1.3
0.2
*
0.8
0.7
1.7
0.8
2.4 18.4 25.8 1.9
5.5
0.9 15.2 0.14 8.3
S.D.
7.9 10.8 8.6
9.3
3.8
%
39
100% 2.9
million‡
1.1
UK E12
7.7 12.2 9.7
7.6
*
6.7
2.7 12.6 5.1
1.8 41.7 4.7 11.2 6.6
7.0
3.3
9.2 23.0 108.7
6.7 14.0 10.3
Source: Watson (1992) using EUROSTAT 1990 data.
Bold added to highest percentage in each column.
Notes: * cell size too small to provide a reliable estimate.
† Hours include paid and unpaid overtime but exclude travel time and meal
breaks.
‡ All employees total includes those with variable hours and those who did
not state their hours.
70
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 71
Appendix C: Diskus Classification: Lowering the
Barriers in Planning Problems (from Van Hilst & Jansen 1994)
The Diskus Foundation (for mutual co-operation between companies and
research institutions) aims to support planners and schedulers in preparing
plans and rosters of high quality. Dynamic and interactive information
systems are the tools appropriate for achieving this. Use is also made of
methods and techniques from Knowledge Engineering and Operations
Research. In order to achieve these goals, DISKUS researches and develops
prototypes of actual planning situations. The central concept is the
development of a general structure for scheduling applications, and a partially
generic and partially domain-specific realisation. This approach aims to
develop software modules which can be re-used in different situations. One of
these projects concerned the development of roster systems in the health care
sector. This resulted in a number of systems: for example, a system for
extramural health care, and a rostering system for nurses and doctors in a
hospital department. Based on the results, the activities are continued under
the DISKUS Project Classification. This aims to explore further and to
complement the knowledge of planning and scheduling of personnel rosters,
among other things.
Allowances Matrix
Existing regulations on working-hour allowances seem increasingly to be a
hindrance to personnel and organisational flexibility. Fixed shift allowances
in particular are the subject of discussion in this context. Organisations
which strive to have “the right person in the right place at the right time” are
experiencing an increasing need to adapt their conditions of employment to
fit in better with this goal. One way of doing this is with the so-called
Allowances Matrix, a system whereby the week is divided into 168 hours over
a number of time zones. Each time zone carries a specific allowance; one hour
worked gives an entitlement to the appropriate allowance on the (hourly)
pay relevant to that day and that working time.
In the case of a fixed roster, the matrix can help in calculating a simple
average roster allowance, as is usually done in practice. As long as the roster
is not changed, therefore, there is a “fixed” allowance.
If changes occur, even temporary ones, the allowance will need to be
calculated from the matrix again and the new average allowances will then
be applied for the duration of the changed roster.
Whether, in the case of a lower overall allowance, there can be any question
of a reduction arrangement or a guarantee is a matter that is usually discussed
separately. The matrix itself merely offers technical assistance in calculating
allowances over all types of working hours and rosters, without the need for
consultation. The above method – which is, in fact, far from new but is
clearly the focus of re-awakening interest – fails to resolve an important
matter relating to flexible working arrangements, namely, the problem of
differences in contractual full-time working hours.
Integrated Matrix
In the Netherlands today there are considerable differences in the hours
worked under so-called full-time contracts. While one person actually works
an average of less than 33.6 hours a week for a full-time salary (plus
71
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 72
allowances) in a continuous 5-shift schedule, another person on a day shift
within the same trade organisation could work 38 – 40 hours under a fulltime contract. In other words, depending on the type of shift schedule, roster
or department, an employee could work more or fewer hours for the same
full-time salary. In general, the heavier, more inconvenient shifts and working
hours not only carry higher allowances but also a time “allowance” in the
form of a reduction in working time, in other words shorter hours. A simple
roster change – a temporary transfer, or attending a course, for example –
raises the problem of how many hours the person in question is contractually
required to work in the other “work schedule”. Should the hours be increased
or reduced, based on the new roster?
One way of approaching this complication with flexible working
arrangements is to apply a matrix which integrates the effect of reduced
hours. It is then no longer necessary to estimate separately for each case how
many hours should be included in a roster – 33, 35, 37 or 38 hours – in order
to qualify for a full-time salary. The monthly or fixed-period salary is
calculated in the matrix on the basis of the full-time hourly rate for that
function. Put simply, an hour is an hour and, depending on the moment, a
specific allowance is also granted. The final pay is the sum of the actual hours
worked plus the allowances appropriate for those hours. What still needs to
be established are the minimum and maximum levels of the total pay per
month or period.
The minimum level ensures that the employee concerned can rely on
receiving a salary plus allowances, regardless of the actual rosters worked, that
will not fall below an agreed guaranteed amount (it is also possible, of course,
that a reduction arrangement is applied to the average allowance level).
Establishing a maximum level of the actual hours worked per payment period
serves both to prevent a roster from becoming too heavy and as an extra
protection for the employee, since the norms under employment law are not
very effective for this purpose.
The allowances in the various time zones of the integrated matrix are
considerably higher than in the normal allowances matrix, especially around
the weekend, because the shorter working hours of the heavier shifts occur
specifically in the types of shifts that include weekend duties. (This shows
also that industrial relations in the Netherlands provide extra compensation
in the form of reduced working hours not so much for physical
inconvenience, but more for the social inconvenience of weekend work.)
A Final Comment
The integrated matrix offers good, practical support for creating more
flexibility in working hours. Tackling the over-manning or under-utilisation
of functions and managing fluctuations in the work available are only a few
examples fuelling the belief that the need for this type of legislation will
increase in the future.
72
Best Master 30/3/00 9:41 pm Page 74
BEST is the Bulletin of European Studies on Time,
offering condensed and practical information on important
developments in the field of work organisation and shiftwork.
BEST is published twice yearly in English, French and
German.
Who is BEST?
A European network of experts, set up by the European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and
Working Conditions to monitor developments, is responsible
for the content of the bulletin.
Members of the network:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Giovanni COSTA
Charles GADBOIS
Ben JANSEN
Peter KNAUTH
Robert LÉONARD
Alexander WEDDERBURN
Whom does BEST
address?
The bulletin is aimed at those who are interested in
keeping abreast of developments in the field of work organisation
and shiftwork in the Member States of the Community. It
especially addresses: decision-makers at
policy level; organisations representing employers and
workers; managers and workers within firms.
Suggestions? Comments?
Enquiries? Further copies?
Write to:
Dimitrios POLITIS or Pascal PAOLI at the
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
Conditions, Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown,
Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: +353 1 204 3100.
or to:
Alexander WEDDERBURN, Department of Business
Organisation, School of Management, Heriot-Watt University,
Edinburgh EH14 4AT.
Tel: +44 131 449 5111. Fax: +44 131 451 3190.
The Bulletin of European Studies on Time is published under the auspices of the European Foundation
for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The opinions expressed in it are those of the
editorial board and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Foundation.
EF/96/22//EN
SY-AB-96-001-EN-C
BEST
What is BEST?