Working time directive should go

The coalition Government has been urged to support the repeal of the Working Time Directive, which aims to limit workers' hours, because of its "negligible" value in tackling unhealthy workplace behaviour.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said employers were not convinced about the merits of the directive, which was intended to limit working hours to 48 a week.

Many workers opted out of the directive, while surveys consistently show that the UK continues to have a long hours working culture. The CIPD said the directive should be repealed under a review currently being undertaken by the European Commission.

A survey of 800 employers by the CIPD found that one in four gave no paid paternity leave above the statutory minimum, with only two out of five offering two weeks pay. This would have direct impact on employment and family law issues.

Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the CIPD, said: "While employers are supportive of the national minimum wage and a plethora of equality rights, they are yet to be convinced about the merits of the Agency Workers Directive and the Working Time Directive.

"The CIPD believes that the Working Time Regulations in particular have negligible value in limiting unhealthy workplace behaviour. We are, therefore, calling for its repeal in the context of the review currently being undertaken by the European Commission.

"The more intractable challenge to both the Government and employers lies in encouraging more working fathers to take up their entitlements to paid paternity leave. If flexible parental leave is going to become a reality, we need a step-change in the reward policies of UK organisations that encourages more fathers to take their statutory rights.

"This is something that will only be achieved through cultural change – and legislation is emphatically not the answer. The new Government will have to think imaginatively if it is to nudge and lead this change."