Working Time Directive 2003

Directive 2003/88/EC

European Union directive
Title	Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time
Made by	European Parliament & Council of the EU
Made under	Art. 137(2)
Journal reference	L 299, 2003-11-18, p. 9
History
Date made	2003-11-04
Preparative texts
EESC opinion	C 61, 2003-03-14, p. 123
EP opinion	2002-12-17
Current legislation

The Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC is a European Union law Directive and a key part of European labour law. It gives EU workers the right to:

• at least 28 days (four weeks) in paid holidays each year;
• rest breaks of 20 minutes in a 6-hour period;
• daily rest of at least 11 hours in any 24 hours;
• restricts excessive night work;
• at least 24 hours rest in a 7-day period; and
• a right to work no more than 48 hours per week, unless the member state enables individual opt-outs.

It was issued as an update on earlier versions from 22 June 2000 and 23 November 1993.^[1] Since excessive working time is cited as a major cause of stress, depression, and illness, the purpose of the directive is to protect people's health and safety. A landmark study conducted by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization found that exposure to long working hours is common globally at 8.9%, and according to these United Nations estimates the occupational risk factor with the largest attributable burden of disease, i.e. an estimated 745,000 fatalities from ischemic heart disease and stroke events alone in 2016.^[2] This evidence has given renewed impetus for maximum limits on working time to protect human life and health.