NFU Scotland has expressed its concern at the vote today by MEPs which will remove the ability for workers to opt out of the Working Time Directive.

Under the proposals voted for by MEPs, workers could not work more than an average of 48 hours a week. The opt-out option available to member states and used by the UK, which allows workers and employers to agree on longer working hours, would be scrapped.

NFUS has welcomed the proposal to average the 48 hour week over 12 months, extended from the Directive's current four month calculation. This allows full-time workers to work longer hours for brief periods providing they stay within the 48 hours average over a year. However, the Union has stressed that this does not address the significant numbers of seasonal staff employed on farms across Scotland who will only be on short-term contracts during the busiest times of year, such as lambing and the cereal, fruit and vegetable harvests.

NFUS President John Kinnaird said:

“Scotland's farms and their staff need the flexibility to work longer hours during the busy times of the year. Last year's weather problems highlighted the need for longer hours to be worked to save crops. The 12-month averaging proposal will help the situation for those with full-time contracts.

“However, the fruit, vegetable and horticultural sectors in particular hire staff on a seasonal basis during the busy times such as harvest and before the Christmas period. Under these proposals, the flexibility for staff to agree to work longer hours is denied. In a country where seasonal labour is already in shortage, this is a real concern.

“I know that UK Ministers are supportive of our call for flexibility and it is important that the Council recognise this. Employees will still quite rightly have the option of saying no to longer hours, but farmers need the option of asking and workers should have the option of benefitting financially as a result.”