BECTU takes on the government

BECTU is to mount a legal challenge to the UK government's interpretation of the European Working Time Directive annual leave provisions.

The union argues that the current UK Working Time Regulations do not comply with the EU Directive, with the result that many freelance BECTU members effectively have no leave rights under UK legislation.

The union will be seeking judicial review of the Regulations in the UK High Court.

The UK Regulations give all workers the right to three weeks annual leave in 1998, increasing to four in 1999, but only after a qualifying period of 13 weeks continuous employment. These Regulations should comply with the European Working Time Directive - however there is no qualifying period detailed in Directive.

Many BECTU freelance members work year in, year out, without working on a contract for 13 weeks - such workers currently have no legally enforceable annual leave in the UK. The union argues the intention of the EU Directive is to give all workers, regardless of their employment status, an entitlement to leave.

BECTU General Secretary Roger Bolton says this issue goes to the heart of the manner in which the government legislates on workers' rights: "The trade union movement has survived 18 years of Conservative rule when almost all of the legislation introduced by the Conservative government was to damage the interests of workers or to translate European directives into UK law in the most diluted form possible.

"The Prime Minister has on many occasions spoken about the flexibility of the UK labour force. Our freelance members are the ultimate flexible workforce. It is unfair and unjust that they should be punished for their flexibility."

During the consultation period on the UK Working Time Regulations, BECTU's response included the warning that the question of leave was such a significant issue for the union's members that if the Regulations remained unamended "we will have no alternative but to give serious consideration to a legal challenge on this point."

The union will now be carrying out legal action on the grounds that Regulation 13 of the UK Working Time Regulations does not comply with Article 7 of the EU Working Time Directive.