Working hours directive

Working hours directive The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) was adopted in 1993, and came into force in the UK under the Working Time Regulations 1998 as a safety measure, because of the recognised negative effects on health and safety of excessively long working hours. It also provides for statutory minimum rest-break entitlements, annual leave and working arrangements for night workers. The EWTD is also designed to help work life balance by limiting long hours, which is both stressful and harmful to health. For example, some research has shown that driving while tired provided similar results to driving after having drunk alcohol. The EWTD regulations place a legal requirement on employers, which means that if it is not implemented, national governments will be liable for payment of heavy financial penalties and potentially sanctions from the European Union (EU). There are no rights to work long hours, but there is legal protection to protect workers rights to reasonable working environment and conditions, and to family life. The main features of the EWTD are; no more than 48 hours work per week; 11 hours continuous rest in 24 hours; 24 hours continuous rest in seven days (or 48 hours in 14 days); a 20 minute break in work periods of over 6 hours; four weeks annual leave; and for night workers, an average of no more than 8 hours work in 24 hours over the reference period. The EWTD was considered by the UK Government as an issue of working conditions, not as a health and safety issue. As a result, in 1993, the UK negotiated an opt-out clause, which allows Member States not to apply the limit to working hours under certain conditions, such as: prior agreement of the individual, no negative fall out from refusing to opt-out, and records kept of working hours of those that have opted out. The European Commission announced on 23rd September 2004 its controversial proposal to update the 1993 Working Time Directive. This will most likely mean the UK will have to abandon its opt-out clause. If this is the case, and working hours are restricted, there will be many advantages and disadvantages for both employees and employers. The advantages and disadvantages range from health and safety issues to financial issues. The advantages for employees are; firstly, no longer shall employees be pressured into signing a contract with an opt-out clause stating if required, they must work extra time. This will also stop a lot of employers blackmailing potential and/or current employees, which can be often the case. For example, an employer may say to a potential employee, that if they do not sign the opt-out clause contract then they cannot have the job. Health and safety issues will improve for employees, because when they are forced to work longer than what they want/can, then they will inevitably feel ill. For example it is very common for workers to have headaches, muscular problems, stomachaches, stress, sleeping problems and irritability from just simply working too much. Not only improving your health, being limited to a maximum of 48 hour week, will vastly improve a workers family life who had previously been working 60 hours a week. Having a four-week holiday will also be beneficial, as apposed to a lesser holiday the employee most likely used to have. Also, as a result of being more healthy and less stressed, this should improve the workers actual efficiency/quality of work, because the worker will not feel as tired or overloaded with work. Employees who are over worked, often find it very hard to manage their financial issues, due to lack of time. So by limiting employees to a maximum of 48 hours work a week, will help prevent them overlooking their financial matters. One main advantage for women in particular, is the clear link between the lack of women in managerial positions and long working hours. The culture of long working hours in higher professional and managerial jobs is an obstacle to the upward mobility of women, and sustains gender segregation in the work place. Therefore by limiting the working hours of a week will vastly improve the chances for women to improve their status. Flexible working time patterns and part time work have an important impact in this area as well. The disadvantages for employees are mainly financial, because they will no longer be able to earn as much over-time pay as what that may like. This will be especially frustrating for employees who are willing to do extra work in order to save money for their future/family etc. As a result, this could have an advert affect on their moral, because they may find themselves with nothing to do, when they could be quite easily doing more work in order to earn more money. The advantages for employers are; that their employees will be more efficient and motivated; therefore the employees should be more productive than before, thus helping deadlines to be achieved etc. Having a more relaxed workforce will also lead to a better work relationship between the employer and his subordinates (as well as between the employees and themselves), which will therefore improve the communication within the workplace. Given that the employees will be more relaxed and healthy, as a result they will be less absent from work due to illness. So therefore, again the employers objectives will be more likely to be completed, and the productivity of the employees should increase. The disadvantages for employers are that in the past, they would be able to say to their employees that they wanted a certain objective completed by a certain time, for example ‘by the end of the day. This will no longer be an option for employers, as employees will not be able to work longer than 48 hours (or whatever their contract states) a week. Employers may find they will have to hire extra staff in order to get more work done, or pay for employees to do overtime (those that can!) This could end up costing a substantial amount of money; more than what the employer spent in the past on his workforce. As a result budgets will need to be rethought in the future, and also possibly cutbacks will be made if money is an issue. Employers will not like this fact, especially as in the past, they were often getting their employees to put in extra hours of work for free! The situation in the UK, is that the main characteristics of the system governing working time have not really changed since the Directive was introduced. This is largely due to the opt-out clause. Latest figures show that about 16% of the workforce currently works more that 48 hours per week, compared with a figure of 15% at the beginning of the 1990s. About 8% of the workforce say they work over 55 hours per week, 3.2% over 60 hours per week and 1% over 70 hours per week. The UK is the only Member States where weekly working time has increased over the last decade. Approximately 46% of people that say they work over 48 hours a week, are in managerial positions and are covered by the exemption relating to managers. Looking at other countries, ranked by collectively agreed working hours, Germany idles in the bottom third in the EU. In 2003 the contractual annual working time in West Germany was 1,643 hours (East Germany 1,722). The EU-15 average was 1,708. In Germany working time is a problem, particularly for manufacturing. In some sectors, such as metal and engineering or printing, the 35-hour week is standard for a large proportion of the workforce, even for employees salaried above the collectively agreed pay scale. Overall, the collectively agreed working week in West Germany averages 37.5 hours. However, the actual time worked is approximately 6% longer than the collectively agreed hours, and is close to the EU-15 average. This is due to overtime and the fact that an increasing proportion of the workforce, especially in small and medium sized businesses, already work longer than collectively agreed. In the SIMAP and Jaeger cases, the rulings of the European Court of Justice had major financial and organisational implications for the health sector in the EU and following the rulings, France and Germany applied the opt-out to their health sectors. Measures were also put in place to allow opting-out in the hotel and catering industry. However until recently, the UK was the only Member State to have a generalised opt-out clause (Cyprus and Malta took up the option last May), and it is clearly in the firing line of the European Commission who claims that there is evidence that the opt-out is being misapplied, in particular that workers are being pressured into opting-out. The debate has been furious in the UK, fuelled by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), who claims that it should be every workers choice to decide on how long he/she works, and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) who argue that it spreads an unjustified long hours culture. Regardless of the fact, people are working much more than recommended, (which you would assume was in order to save more money), according to the latest research people are squandering away their earnings on treats to reward themselves for their hard work. A quarter of people say they regularly work more than their contracted hours, however almost half admit they often waste money on treats they do not need, with 30 percent of workers wasting away at least  £100 a month. As a direct result, people are usually too busy to try to keep track of their finances, and get a shock when their statements arrive. People are spending so much of their time working, it seems a shame they are not planning for their future and making the most of their money. I think Britain should be compelled by the EU to abandon its opt-out clause under the EWTD, and thus restrict its workings hours, because people are working for far too long nowadays and as a result not only does their health suffer, but their work suffers as well. At the moment, with the current opt-out clause in Britain, almost one in four men in England and Wales are working more than 48 hours a week! The longest hours are worked in the City of London, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, according to Britains General Union, who say nearly a quarter of men are exceeding the 48-hour limit set by the EU. Therefore, as a result, the UK businessmen are hindering British productivity by working the kind of hours that burn out their enthusiasm, creativity, innovation and forward planning. You simply cannot be at your best if you are continually working more than 48 hours a week. Not only are they hindering the British productivity, but also by persisting in allowing people to work longer than they are capable of they are holding back on the UKs competitiveness with Europe. The Government is burning out Britain by practically encouraging longer working hours. They argue that more than a million people would lose out on paid overtime if they had to stop working extra hours. Or is the Government just worried about the amount of revenue they will loose out on?

Essay --

In 1877, Elias moved to California, when he met his wife flora, in 1890 they moved to Chicago, they had 5 children, Herbert Arthur, Raymond Arnold, Roy Oliver, Walter "Walt" Elias Disney, and Ruth Flora Disney. Walt was born in Chicago in 1901, 4 years later his parents moved to Marceline, which was the most important phase in his life, it was his hometown, and they lived on a farm. Walt had special feelings towards animals. The first time I heard Walt Disney’s story, was in this class, and it was told in a creative way by my professor. At the beginning of each class, our instructor played us a minute or two of Walt Disney’s songs, which brought back happy and comforting memories of my childhood. Walt lived in Marceline, a perfect small town. He attended the town’s school where he showed interest in things that other kids didn’t. As soon as he learned how to use a pencil, he fell in love with drawing. He also liked acting; the first role he played was Peter Pan, who then became an inspiration to him. When Walt was ten years old, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri. His father Elias had sold his farm for 5175$ and bought a distributorship for the morning Times and the Star newspaper. Walt and his brother then started working for their father. They used to wake up early in the morning and deliver papers before going to school. In 1917, Elias moved his family back to Chicago. Walt went to high school there and became the cartoonist for the school’s paper. During his lecture, our instructor showed us a small part of Walt’s documentary movie, how he used to make cartoons come to life, as well as techniques he had used. Walt wanted to go to Europe and join the army, but his father was against his idea and was refusing to si... ...come source, he met with the head of Universal picture; this man gave him an idea about re-releasing his old films, like Snow White, it was re-released almost 10 times. Walt Disney was a true inspiration to children as well as adults, he made dreams come true, and every single one of his films was a success. He built an empire following his dreams, and achieved his main goal, which was entertaining people all over the world. Walt Disney was one of the most successful men in our era. He built an Empire following his dream; entertaining people. His achievements made him an inspiration for children as well as adults to never give up on their dreams. Unfortunately his addiction to nicotine, lead to a tumor in his lungs that took over his life on December 15th 1966 when he was only 65 years old. Although he’s passed away one can’t deny that he’s still a living legacy.

Asperger’s Autism and The Classroom Setting Essay -- Education

I am very interested in high at risk student populations in traditional schools. While many students labeled as high at risk exist in ever-increasing numbers, there is little in the field that demonstrates the remediation of the student. There have been successful ventures in some instances, however, the greater question of what works and what does not work exists in piece meal fashion (Grenier, 2010). The high at-risk population I am interested in is the special needs child. I have spent numerous years working with autistic children in school settings. The enduring social emotional issues and the mechanics of social interaction have made me contemplate the question of what works best for these children to learn. I have worked in schools where special needs children were the sole students, and in schools that mainstreamed. Towards my EdD, I am looking at the pragmatic results of inclusion versus mainstreaming versus self-contained classrooms. All three offer different learning envir onments and are based upon public law 94-142, now called the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (Demonte, 2010). Until 1975, schools simply had to describe the student as different to either exclude the student from school or tell the parent to institutionalize the student (p.158). When the IDEA came into being, schools acknowledged special needs students who previously they would not accept into their school (p.165). I remember distinctly in 1969, that separate classrooms housed and educated students with disabilities. It was the beginning of my journey in working with at risk populations. Mr. Papanek was the special education teacher and I remember his compassion and commitment to these children. I often volunteered to use my study hall cl... ....proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/750493608?accountid=28180 Higbee, J.L., Katz, R.E., & Schultz, J.L. (2010). Disability in higher education: Redefining mainstreaming. Journal of Diversity Management, 5(2), 7-16. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/506637577?accountid=28180 Litvack, M.S., Ritchie, K.C., & Shore, B.M. (2011) High- and average-achieving students' perceptions of disabilities and of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Exceptional Children, 77(4), 474-487. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/877027165?accountid=28180 Loefgren, E. (2011). The missing piece of the autism jigsaw puzzle: How the IDEA should better address discipline problems. Law & Psychology Review, 35(1), 225-238. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/896739171?accountid=28180

Robert Frost :: essays research papers

Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco. His father was William Frost, a Harvard graduate who was on his way westward when he stopped to teach at Bucknell Academy in Pennsylvania for extra money. His mother, Isabelle Moodie began teaching math at Bucknell while William was there, and they got married and moved to San Francisco. They were constantly changing houses, and William went from job to job as a journalist. About a year after moving to San Francisco, they had Robert. They named him Robert Lee Frost, after William's childhood hero, Robert E. Lee. Frost's father died from tuberculosis at age thirty-four, in 1885. Isabelle took Robert and his sister back east to Massachusetts. Soon they moved to Salem, New Hampshire, where there was a teaching opening. Robert began to go to school and sit in on his mother’s classes. He soon learned to love language, and eventually went to Lawrence High School, where he wrote the words to the school hymn, and graduated as c o-valedictorian. Frost read rabidly of Dickens, Tennyson, Longfellow, and many others. Frost was then sent to Dartmouth college by his controlling grandfather, who saw it as the proper place for him to train to become a businessman. Frost read even more in college, and learned that he loved poetry. His poetry had little success getting published, and he had to work various jobs to make a living, such as a shoemaker, a country schoolteacher, and a farmer. In 1912 Frost gave up his teaching job, sold his farm, and moved to England. He received aid from poets suck as Edward Thomas and Rupert Brooke, and published his first two volumes of poetry, A Boy's Will in 1913, and North of Boston in 1914. These works were well received not only in England, but also in America. Frost returned to America in 1915 and continued writing his poetry. He produced many volumes of poetry, among which are Mountain Interval (1916), West-Running Brook (1928), A Further Range (1936), A Masque of Reason (1945) , and In the Clearing (1962). Frost received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times (1924, 1931, 1937, 1943) and became the first poet to read a poem at the presidential inauguration of John F. Kennedy. His poetry was based mainly on life and scenery in rural New England, and reflected many values of American society.

Power of Dance in Music Videos :: Performance Arts Dancing Essays

Power of Dance in Music Videos When VH1 got a panel of â€Å"music industry experts† together to decide on a list of the greatest music videos ever, it was Fatboy Slim’s â€Å"Weapon of Choice† that was the video of choice. Close behind on the list were videos for songs such as Madonna’s â€Å"Vogue† and Jackson’s â€Å"Thriller.† It seems to me that there is a significant theme all of these videos share†¦DANCE! Berkeley had it right. If you want a song to catch on, put it with a moving body. And if the body happens to be the king or queen of pop, that doesn’t hurt. So what if the dancer is a certain Hollywood bad boy wearing TAP SHOES? The equation between Walken and Fatboy Slim’s song results in one of the most thought provoking and fresh musical video ideas ever. There is such a strong power that lies within the combination of the music and dance, especially when it is caught artistically within the eye of a camera. The â€Å"Weapon of Choice† video begins with a normal middle-aged man, Walken, sitting in a hotel lobby. Once the music fades in, the scene comes to life with motion. From then on all rules of expectation are broken. As Michael Abernethy notes, â€Å"It is a fantasy many of us have had, to dance abandon in an environment that screams for civilized behavior†(1). This scene, although not impossible in our everyday lives, is very rare. Once Walken takes his hoofing steps right on out to the balcony and into mid-air this is when the camera begins to works its magic. The camera enables the character to bound across the screen and back again, which gives Walken an unexpected power. The simple concept of fantastically and unexpectedly losing control in a civilized environment is shown in a complex and artistic manner. So, you see, dance choreographed for the camera is a powerful form of expression.

Canadian Blood Services IMC Essay

INTRODUCTION â€Å"Oscar Wilde once said that youth is wasted on the young. But investing in the future, the leaders of tomorrow, is more than just good business sense – it’s a necessity for survival and success† – Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services (Pulse Magazine, 2012). Canadian Blood Services is a not-for-profit organization that operates across Canada, excluding Quebec. The objective of Canadian Blood Services is to encourage and receive blood donations through safe and secure methods to help Canadians who need blood transfusions (Canadian Blood Services, 2013). There is an increasing need for blood and blood donations across Canada. Of the current Canadian population, â€Å"the baby boomer generation remains the most loyal in terms of donating blood, while younger generations are significantly less likely to donate on a frequent basis† (Renwick-Shields, 2013). As the baby boomers age, Canadian Blood Services must find new ways to reach the you nger generations, including the fastest growing segment, the Millennials. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION How can Canadian Blood Services increase the number of BC Millennial whole blood donors by 20,000 by March 31, 2015? The target number of donors is based on the previous years’ statistics of Millennial donations (age 17-34), according the Canadian Blood Services data provided (Bird, 2014a). The target number is a percentage of half the total Millennial population of BC in 2012, as typically only half the population is eligible to donate (Renwick-Shields, 2013). The problem statement is specific to BC as a test market. The timeline is based on Canadian Blood Services’ fiscal year, beginning April 1, 2014 and ending March 31, 2015. KEY FINDINGS According to Canadian Blood Services, on average, every 60 seconds, someone in Canada requires blood or a blood product (2013). The demand for blood is not subsiding, increasing at a steady rate of 2% per year (Canadian Blood Services, 2013). To be an eligible donor, volunteers must meet many stringent requirements, including a minimum age of 17, sufficient levels of iron and hemoglobin in blood, and disclosure of health and travel history.

Unit 201- Child and Young Person Development

Unit 201- Child and young person development 3. 1 Identify the transitions experienced by most children and young people 3. 2 Identify transitions that only some children and young people may experience e. g. bereavement 3. 3 Describe with examples how transitions may affect children and young people’s behaviour and development Most children and young people will experience the following transitions: * Starting Nursery or reception * Going from part time to full time education * Going from infant to junior to secondary school * Starting to arrive or leave school alone Starting puberty * Exams * Starting college or higher education Some Children and young people may experience the following transitions: * Divorce * New partners * Step siblings * New siblings * New pets * Family members dying * Pets dying * Contracting, or recovering from, illness * Going into care * Moving house and changing schools * Abuse * Moving countries * Older siblings moving out of home * Injuries * Bec oming disabled * Becoming a carer All of these things will have an effect on a child or young person’s development and behaviour. Ways that a child’s development or behaviour could be affected include: * Being traumatised- A child may block an event from memory and in rare cases, can block out the whole world. This can lead to psychologically becoming blind, deaf and mute. * Becoming attention seeking- If a child has experienced a transition that means they get less attention they may act out in ways they would not normally act, breaking things, shouting, swearing etc because they crave attention and know they will get a reaction from adults * Uncharacteristic behaviour- using actions and language they would not normally use, not always to get attention. Children and young people may be looking for an escape, or a way into a new social circle. * Being anxious or nervous- Change in routine can affect a child because disrupting their normal day to day life brings in uncertainties, things they cannot control and new people who they do not yet trust. * Becoming withdrawn- children can often become withdrawn after any kind of transition, they can be found sitting alone, playing alone, and are less responsive, if they respond at all. It is important to try to get the child to interact with other children as well as adults. * Self harm- Not to be confused with attention seeking, if a child has had a dramatic transition, they may turn to self harm to help them feel better. Most people who self harm are never found out, because they do not want to be found out. This usually only happens in extreme situations, and is very unlikely to happen to anyone younger than 12. It is important to report any concerns about a child that may be self harming.