A new Olympic legacy? BBC coverage, UK employment law & the French connection

The Olympics are set to officially get underway this evening (26/04/2024) with the opening ceremony in Paris. In the build-up to this year’s Olympics, there have been reports in the media about how the BBC’s coverage of the Olympics has been impacted by France’s strict employment laws with particular attention on how high-profile presenters Gabby Logan and Clare Balding are unable to appear in both the mornings and the evenings.

Gabby Logan and Clare Balding to face BBC presenting restrictions at Paris Olympics | The Independent

Gold medals for shirking! Workshy France's labour laws mean BBC stars including Clare Balding and Gabby Logan will be BANNED from doing their normal dawn-till-dusk presenting at the Olympics (and the crews will have to put their feet up too) | Daily Mail Online

When these articles are read in conjunction with the coverage of the New Labour government’s plans in certain elements of the media about how it wants to introduce French-style employment laws, it gives the impression that similarly restrictive employment laws are on the horizon in the UK.

Therefore, it is worth establishing what the law currently is in the UK and what (if anything) the Labour government are looking to change.

What is the law in the UK?

The focus here is the right to a daily rest period. The media articles’ coverage gives a misleading impression that the French laws on this topic are fundamentally different to those in the UK when in reality they are derived from the same source: the European Union’s Working Time Directive. That means that, for most workers in the UK, the letter of the law is not dissimilar to its French equivalent with workers in both countries being entitled to a daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period.

So, what then is the difference? Why were BBC presenters not faced with similar restrictions at the London Olympics back in 2012? This is because the UK’s approach differs in a couple of important ways.

Firstly, much of the misconception here stems from the fact that there are sectors and occupations in the UK where there is a need for ‘continuity of service or production’ that are special cases and are therefore subject to different rules. This includes agriculture, hospitals, postal services, prisons, public utilities and, of particular relevance here, the media.

When it is necessary, those working in these sectors are exempt from the requirements, and if they are required to work through their normal rest, they must receive compensatory rest instead, meaning that they should get an equivalent amount of rest at a later date.

This means that if the Olympics were being held in the UK, the BBC coverage would fall under the exemption for media and it would therefore have no issues with its presenters, or indeed other staff, working in both the evenings and the mornings if it so desired.

The second, and most significant, difference is in enforcement. France takes a much more proactive approach to enforcing employment rights than the UK, particularly with respect to rights relating to working time. In the UK, there is no governmental body that is proactively looking to enforce workers’ rights to a daily rest period or indeed any other rights relating to working time.

Furthermore, in France, the right to a daily rest period is unconditional, whereas in the UK there is a body of case law that suggests that a worker’s right to a daily rest period cannot be breached unless and until the worker complains about it (although this is not a settled point as there is conflicting case law).

The effect of all of this is that where a worker consents to not having an 11-hour break between shifts, there is little for the employer to be concerned about from an employment law perspective.

Is change on the horizon?

In terms of the law itself, the answer is no. Whilst the new Labour government has pledged to make sweeping changes to employment law with its Employment Rights Bill, there is nothing we have seen to suggest that it is looking to change the daily rest period or the wider working time rules. The law as things stand on daily rest periods and the various exceptions are contained in the Working Time Regulations which were introduced by Tony Blair’s Labour government in 1998 and have only ever been amended subsequently by a Labour government. It therefore seems unlikely that the current Labour government will be looking to make any changes to the law itself.

Where change could be on the horizon is in the enforcement of these laws, although that is still unlikely. The new Labour government has pledged to introduce a Single Enforcement Body to enforce workers’ rights with the powers needed to undertake targeted and proactive enforcement work and bring civil proceedings upholding employment rights. What is unclear is which rights this body will be focussed on enforcing.

The previous Conservative government also pledged to introduce a single enforcement body in its 2019 manifesto, but that did not see the light of day. Its consultations suggested that the new body would be more concerned with holiday pay, statutory sick pay, unpaid employment tribunal awards and minimum wage violations, rather than breaches of the laws around working time, and more specifically daily rest periods.

It remains to be seen exactly what the Labour government plans to change with its upcoming Employment Rights Bill. Our Employment Team at Leathes Prior will keep you updated on the changes and what they mean for you as things develop in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, enjoy the Olympics!

If you have any employment-related issues or would like advice our specialist team would be happy to assist you further. Please email info@leathesprior.co.uk or call us on 01603 281153.

Note: The content of this article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Specific legal advice should be taken in any specific circumstance.