Excessive hours and work accident claims

Any worker who is forced by their employer to work an excessive number of hours is at an increased risk of suffering a workplace accident and, consequently, is more likely to find it necessary to make a work accident claim.

In Britain, the chances of overworked employees needing to make work accident claims are, theoretically, reduced by the Working Time Regulations.

This set of regulations outline maximum number of hours an employee can be obliged to work currently 48 in a week or 13 in a single day.

However, the UK has caused controversy within the EU by allowing employers to include an opt-out clause in their contracts with employees.

This opt-out clause means that employers are allowed to ask workers to work more than the stipulated 48 hour week, provided they obtain their employee's consent in writing.

There are very good reasons why the EU have introduced the Working Time Regulations.

Working too many hours can make workers weary, causing them to lose concentration, something that has a strong association with work accidents and work injury claims.

Jobs where excessive hours pose a very high risk
There are a number of different jobs where working excessive hours can pose a real hazard to workers.

Mostly, these are labour intensive jobs, where any physical or mental exhaustion exacerbates an already hazardous environment.

For example, those working in the construction industry often find themselves working from height, dealing with sharp or heavy materials and using hazardous machinery.

Some studies have made comparisons between the effects of tiredness and the effects of alcohol. These are valid comparisons, as exhaustion certainly has the consequence of slowing physical and cognitive processes.

For jobs that involve a large amount of time spent travelling on the UK's roads, it is also vitally important that employers and employees are strict about the number of hours worked.

The Department for Transport offer the following advice for those who drive for a living:

"No limit on attendance/shift time as such, but an average weekly working time limit of 48 hrs will apply. Sixty hours working time can be performed in a single week, if the average 48 hour week is not exceeded."

In this piece of advice the "average hour week" refers to the average number of weekly hours for each week as calculated over a seventeen week period.

Breaks
The rules on breaks are quite complicated. Generally, if a worker works more than six hours, he or she is entitled to an uninterrupted break of at least 20 minutes.

Young workers are entitled to 30 minute breaks for every four-and-a-half hours they work.

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that not adhering to these rules endangers the health of workers and can sometimes lead to work accident claims.

Making a no win, no fee work accident claim
If you have suffered personal injury in the workplace as the result of someone else's negligence, you may be entitled to claim work injury compensation.

Here at YouClaim, we have years of experience in helping people claim the work accident compensation they deserve.

Our panel of no win, no fee solicitors are widely considered to be the best in the UK. Win or lose, their services will cost you absolutely nothing.

In addition, we guarantee to protect you from any costs incurred by the opposing legal side and promise that no one will ever take a cut from your compensation award.

So why not contact us today?

To begin your work accident claim, simply fill out an online claim form, request a call back or discuss your claim using e-chat.

Alternatively, you may wish to speak to a skilled legal advisor now. If so, simply call 0800 10 757 95.