Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/6665
Title: The impact of the working time directive on Malta : the legal framework and the policy making process
Authors: Cardona, Doreen
Keywords: Work-life balance
Hours of labor -- Law and legislation -- European Union countries
Employee rights -- European Union countries
Issue Date: 2015
Abstract: This research was conducted to study the implications of the Working Time Directive from its emergence some twenty years ago up to the more recent changes that have taken place in the contemporary economy and the world of work. Such changes have had an impact on various aspects of the organisation of working time. Taking into consideration these developments, this study reflects on the kind of working time legislation that the European Union and its individual Member States need in order to handle the current and future challenges of the 21st century. The main objective of the Working Time Directive is that employees should be able to achieve a balance between working life and private life. Working conditions, mostly rest periods and working time, have been disputed ever since the introduction of this directive. Since it is the right of every employee to have just and fair conditions of work, the protection of working time is attached to the protection provided under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In addition, there is a connection between the Working Time Directive and the Health and Safety Directive since the entire focus of the directives are to safeguard the health and safety of employees during working hours. Statistics show that employees working longer hours or skipping rest breaks have a higher risk of injuring themselves or others. At the same time, the Directive allows a number of opt-outs and derogations which stakeholders may not always agree with, but in today’s working patterns, amendments are continuously necessary to keep up with change. Such opt-outs and derogations were included in the Directive with the possibility of allowing more flexibility in applying certain provisions of the Directive while at the same time, providing health and safety at the workplace. Moreover, it provided flexibility to have the least negative effects on the economy. The Directive was adopted in 1993, has been amended in 2000, and further consultations are ongoing with the possibility of further amendments to reflect current conditions and concerns.
Description: B.WORK&H.R.(HONS)
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/6665
Appears in Collections:Dissertations - CenLS - 2015

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