The European Union’s Working Time Directive was incorporated into UK law in the Working Time Regulations 1998 (Statutory Instrument No 1883). They are both, of course, detailed and complex documents.

When they became law in the UK, the relevant industry agreements were amended as appropriate to reflect their requirements. If you contract the people who work for you under the terms of those agreements, and abide by their terms, you should therefore not fall foul of the Regulations and the Directive that they reflect.

The main points of the Regulations, as they affect the production of television programmes and films, are these:

Scope:

The terms of the Regulations apply to all employees, including apprentices and trainees, but they are less clear as to the extent to which they cover self-employed individuals — this will no doubt be tested by the courts as time goes on. In the meantime it would be prudent to assume that they cover everyone you engage to work on your production, whether under a contract of service or one for services. It is, however, clear that they do not apply to those who work on your production under a contract between you and a subcontractor: responsibility for observing the terms of the Regulations in relation to such people lies with the sub-contracting company.