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Is it legal to work over the weekend?

Is it legally to work in the weekend? One of the employees contract said’You will be expected to perform your duties for 40hours per week, carried out during normal Woking hours. You will be expected to work such additional hours as are necessary to fulfil your duties properly, including on weekends.’

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  • Yes it’s legal. Lots of people work weekends!

    It’s a matter mainly for contract

    The two provisos are

    Pay can’t dip below NMW so if the additional hours are “unpaid”this needs to be checked

    And the minimum breaks/ leave including one day off a week in the WTR needs to be maintained.

    Welcome to the communities.
  • People drive buses, trains, etc. on a Sunday. Shops are open on Sundays.

    If your contract states your hours of work may include Sundays then its what you have agreed to do - so its legal.
  • Hi Keith, thank you for your reply. If the contract subjected to work from Mondays to Fridays, it still legal to work during the weekends?
  • In reply to Zijun:

    Hi Zijun

    You are quoting typical salaried / managerial terms and conditions that state normal working hours eg 9-5 Monday to Friday but any additional hours necessary to do the job outside normal hours, including weekends, with no contractual right to any additional payments if worked - not even at 'plain time' for the actual additional hours let alone at premium rates for overtime and / or weekend working. The specified rate of annual salary is deemed to cover everything - unlike eg employees paid according to actual hours worked each week or month or whatever.

    Employment contracts must be 'reasonable' and not breach 'mutual trust and confidence', so in extremis a job that consistently demanded working eg 10 -12 hours a day every day including weekends might breach these implied terms but it's unusual to see legal challenges to 'excessive' job demands - probably because of the high salaries and responsibility levels etc usually involved
  • In reply to Zijun:

    The contract says "You will be expected to work such additional hours as are necessary to fulfil your duties properly, including on weekends.’" so its wider than just stipulating Monday to Friday. It would be subject to the usual reasonableness requirements etc.

    Can you go into a little more detail of what the actual issue is here.