§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employees in his Department have(a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available. [178377]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienA staff survey taken earlier this year showed a total of 77 UK-based staff have signed an opt-out.
No exemptions from the Working Time Directive apply to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff. The directive applies to all workers in EU countries. It does therefore apply to FCO local staff in EU countries as well as to UK-based staff. It does not apply to FCO local staff in non-EU countries. We do not keep records centrally of hours recorded in excess of the maximum allowed under the directive.
The FCO is committed to meeting the standards of the directive; line managers are responsible for ensuring that any excess hours worked are kept to an absolute minimum.