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Calculating average working hours is very simple, as this post will make clear.

Average Working Hours Per Week

To discover the average number of hours you work in a week, divide the number of hours you have worked over a period of time by the number of weeks in that period (excluding rest days). For most adult workers, this period should be 17 weeks and the average number of working hours in a week should not exceed 48.

Average Working Hours Per Day

To discover the average number of hours you work in a day, divide the number of hours you have worked over a set period of time by the number of days you were required to work during that that period. As a night worker, this period should be 119 days (17 weeks) and the average number of working hours in a day should not exceed 8.

Working Hours within Shift Cycles

To discover your average working hours from shift cycles requires a little more effort.

To start with, divide the number of days in a period of time by the total number of days in your shift cycle to discover how many cycles you have worked in that period. Then multiply the number of hours you work in a cycle by the number of cycles you have worked and add any overtime – this will be the total number of hours you have worked in the period of time.

Subtract the number of rest days to which you are entitled from the total number of days in the period and, finally, divide the number of hours you have worked by the number of days you have been required to work. The resulting number is the average number of hours worked in a day which, for night workers, should not exceed 8.

Nights workers have various different rights to day workers, including the right to regular free health assessments, due to the health risks associated with working at night. This includes mobile workers and road transport workers, who are otherwise exempt from night working limits. Should a doctor diagnose night-work-related health problems in an employee, their employer must transfer them to daytime work where possible.
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Night workers are those who work for at least three hours during the night on regular days, most working days or an proportion of days agreed with their employer and trade union. Within employment law, night must be at least seven hours long, including the period between 00:00 and 05:00. Normally this is defined as the period between 23:00 and 06:00, though employees and employers can agree to change this period.
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Most adult workers cannot be forced to work for longer than 48 hours per week and young workers (under 18) should not work longer than 40 hours a week. However, there are still some workers to whom this working time limit does not apply, including the armed forces, sea transport workers, domestic servants and workers who freely choose how long they work.
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Overtime is something with which we are all familiar. However, it may interest you to read that employees have no right to extra pay for working extra hours; nor is there a minimum amount of overtime pay, as long as the employee’s average pay rate doesn’t fall below minimum wage.
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Part-time work not only allows employees extra time for alternative commitments or hobbies, it also helps them reduce their stress levels, spend time with their family and look after any dependents. An important thing to bear in mind is that employees do not have to work a set number of hours before they gain employment rights; part-time employees may work less hours than full-time employees, but they have the same statutory employment rights. This includes the same rights to pay as full-time employees, as well as the same training opportunities, career-breaks and pro-rata holiday entitlement. Employers are also not allowed to discriminate against part-time employees when selecting employees for redundancy.

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Employment contracts are binding agreements to rights and responsibilities, but they can be changed. Employers may need to make changes to employment contracts because of changes in the law, market or economy; they may need to move the company, shut down or expand part of the company or even add a new element to the company. In these cases, employees may see their contracts change to reflect different rate of pay, different responsibilities for both employer and employee and even changes in the location of their job.

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Some employers choose to use a pay scheme that is directly related to the performance of their employees. In these cases, the better an employee performs, the more they are paid by their employer. Naturally, with differences in pay between employees, this is a highly delicate process that must be thoroughly considered. Although there is an element of discretion allowed, such decisions should be handled very carefully.

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An employment contract doesn’t necessarily have to be a written document in order to exist. As soon as somebody accepts a job offer and starts working for an employer, they become an employee with an employment contract and employment rights. The employee is, however, entitled to a written contract within two months of starting work, even if they are not going to be employed for that long. The contract, whether it is written down or not, constitutes an agreement between the employer and employee, in which there is a mutual understanding of one-another’s rights and responsibilities.

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A home-worker is somebody who only works from home. These people usually have practical jobs, though telecommunications and web-related jobs are also often conducted from home. There are advantages and disadvantages to working from home and the rights a home-worker has are entirely dependent on whether they are employed, self-employed or workers.

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