This Sunday (26 March), some night workers will technically work an hour less in their shift as the clocks go forward at 1am as part of Daylight Savings – the official start of British Summer Time.
An employee working an eight-hour shift due to finish at say, 7am, would automatically finish an hour earlier at what would have been 6am, as the clocks go forward.
Pay on daylight savings time
In terms of the law around whether you can deduct an hour’s pay from anyone working the night shift during daylight savings time will depend on the wording in the employment contract:
- If the contract simply states the start and finish times of the shift (for example 11pm – 7am) then their pay will simply remain the same, and they will be able to get back to bed an hour earlier.
- However, if the contract states the actual hours that have to be worked on a shift – for example, an eight-hour shift, then those workers will have to clock off an hour later than usual (without actually having worked more hours than normal).
What happens in practice?
In practice, it is up to employers to decide whether they want their employees to work an extra hour to compensate for the lost time as a result of daylight savings time, or whether to let this go given that it only happens one night a year, and the opposite effect happens in October when the clocks go back!
How can we help?
If you would like any advice or information in relation to the subject discussed in this article, then please contact a member of our expert Employment Law team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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