14 February 2012

Employer entitled to refuse overtime to employee who refused to sign opt out from Working Time Regulations

Employer entitled to refuse overtime to employee who refused to sign opt out from Working Time Regulations

Arriva London South Ltd v Nicolaou concerned a bus driver who complained that his employers were imposing an unlawful detriment when they withdrew rest day overtime from him. The decision was made under a policy of only giving overtime to those workers who had agreed to opt out of the 48 hour maximum working week. The policy was designed to ensure compliance with the rule on maximum working hours under the Working Time regulations.

The EAT applied the test that it was necessary to establish the "reason why" an employer had acted in the way it had. In this case, the reason why the detriment was imposed was not the bus driver's refusal to sign the opt out, but rather in order to comply with health and safety regulation, and it was therefore lawful.