Excluded workers to get protected time off, health checks and breaks

Hundreds of thousands of people are set to benefit from the extension of the 48-hour week and other rights to sectors previously excluded from the Working Time Directive, say government estimates.

Those affected could see improvements to their rights to time off, work breaks, working time limits and health assessments as a result of the Horizontal Amending Directive, which must be implemented by 1 August 2003, according to a Department of Trade and Industry assessment.