Secondary Employment and the 48-Hour Week

Staff rights & career · Published 16 August 2026 · Last updated 16 August 2026

The 48-hour limit in brief

Under regulation 4 of the Working Time Regulations 1998, adult workers must not work more than an average of 48 hours a week, normally averaged over a 17-week reference period. The limit exists for health and safety reasons: tired workers make mistakes, and in care work those mistakes can harm the people you support as well as you.

The official overview is at gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours.

The limit applies to all your jobs added together

This is the point care staff most often miss. The 48-hour average applies to your total working time, not to each job separately. If you work 30 hours for a care home and regularly pick up 25 hours of agency shifts, you are over the limit even though neither job alone comes close to it.

Working time generally includes:

• time spent working at your employer's disposal and carrying out your duties, including handovers
• job-related training
• working travel, such as travel between home care visits (though not your ordinary commute)

It does not usually include unpaid rest breaks or time you are entirely free to use as your own.

What each employer must do

Each of your employers must take all reasonable steps to make sure the 48-hour limit is complied with for you. That is why many care contracts require you to tell your employer about secondary employment and to get agreement before taking another job or regular bank work elsewhere. This is not just paperwork:

• Employers cannot manage the limit without knowing your total hours, so honesty protects everyone, including your registration and reputation if something goes wrong on shift.
• An employer can reasonably refuse or limit secondary work where your combined hours would breach the limit or create fatigue risks, but it should act proportionately.
• Hiding a second job when your contract requires disclosure can be a disciplinary matter, so it is always better to declare it.

The opt-out: your choice, not your employer's

Regulation 5 allows you to opt out of the 48-hour limit by signing a written agreement. Key points:

• The opt-out must be voluntary and individual. It cannot be buried in a staff handbook and imposed on everyone, and you cannot be forced to sign one as a condition of getting shifts.
• You can cancel it at any time by giving notice. The default notice is 7 days; your agreement can set a longer period, but no more than 3 months.
• Your employer must not dismiss you or subject you to a detriment (such as dropping your shifts) because you refuse to opt out or you cancel an opt-out. You would have tribunal claims if this happened.
• An opt-out removes the 48-hour cap, but it does not remove your rest rights, and it does not make endless hours safe. Fatigue remains a professional and safeguarding issue.

Rights you cannot opt out of

Whatever you sign, you keep the right to:

• 11 hours' rest in each 24-hour period
• 24 hours' uninterrupted rest each week (or 48 hours each fortnight)
• a 20-minute rest break when working more than 6 hours
• limits on night work, normally an average of 8 hours in 24 for night workers, plus free health assessments

In residential care and similar continuous services, employers can sometimes vary the timing of rest under the special-case rules, but they must then give you equivalent compensatory rest. Back-to-back shifts across two employers can quietly destroy your daily rest, which is another reason total hours need to be visible to someone.

Young workers

If you are under 18, stricter rules apply: normally no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week across all jobs, with no adult-style opt-out available, plus longer rest entitlements.

Practical steps if your hours are a problem

1. Add up your average weekly hours across every job over the last 17 weeks.
2. If you are over 48 and have not opted out, tell your employers. They must help bring your hours down; you should not simply be blamed.
3. If you have opted out but the hours are harming your health, cancel the opt-out in writing and keep a copy.
4. If you suffer a detriment for refusing to opt out, get advice quickly, as tribunal time limits are short.

Where to get help

• Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 for advice on working time, opt-outs and rest rights, or see the working hours guidance at acas.org.uk.
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which enforces the working time limits (as opposed to rest entitlements, which you enforce through a tribunal).
• Your trade union for support challenging rotas or pressure to opt out.
• Citizens Advice for free help if excessive hours are tied up with pay or contract problems.