Furthermore, public authorities must act compatibly with the Convention rights, unless prevented from doing so by a provision in primary legislation. The Working Time Regulations came into force on1 October last year following a European Directive. Intended to improve health and safety, they give rights to workers not to work long hours, to have breaks during the working day and week, and to have paid holidays. However, the Regulations have been criticised as a watering-down of what was intended by Europe. That is, many sectors are excluded, amongst them some that are most at risk, such as trainee doctors and possibly security guards.
Workers can also opt out of most of the provisions by way of agreements with their employers.
A high degree of technicality is also bound to lead to disputes over their interpretation. We don t yet know when it will come into force. These are the major changes to individual employment rights. A right to be accompanied at a serious disciplinary or grievance hearing by a trade union representative or workplace colleague even if your employer doesn t recognise a union. The dismissal of an employee during the first eight weeks of official industrial action will be automatically unfair.