The European Commission has launched a consultation into Britain's opt-out clause of the Working Time Directive which limits the working week to 48 hours, revealed a report.
Our recent survey on insurancetimes.co.uk revealed that more than a third of workers in the British insurance industry do between five and ten hours of unpaid overtime each week.
Our survey also found that 22% did between 10 and 15 hours of unpaid work, with 16.9% doing more than 15 hours of unpaid overtime each week.
According to the report, the commission is worried that bosses are abusing the opt-out by forcing staff to agree to work more than 48 hours a week. The UK is the only country in the EU with an op-out from the Directive.
According to the report, the commission is particularly concerned that some companies are forcing staff to sign away their right to a 48-hour week as a condition of employment.
