Working time developments - 2004

This review of the length of working time in 2003 and 2004 finds that average collectively agreed weekly working time in the European Union as a whole remained at around 38.6 hours - 0.7 hours shorter in the old EU 15 (plus Norway), and 0.9 hours longer in the new Member States. Agreed normal annual working time averages around 1,740 hours - under 1,700 in the old EU 15 (plus Norway), and over 1,800 in the new Member States. Of three sectors examined, agreed weekly hours are highest in chemicals, followed by retail and the civil service. Average collectively agreed paid annual leave entitlement stood at 26.0 days in 2004.

Here we provide an overview of the duration of working time - as set by collective agreements and legislation - in the European Union, Norway and two candidate countries (Bulgaria and Romania) in 2004 (and 2003), based on contributions from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) national centres.

As with other areas of labour statistics, there are many difficulties in making international comparisons on the length of working time. Comparable data are not collected in all countries, while particular problems include:

• the existence of different ways of calculating working time, with annual, rather than weekly calculation increasingly common in some countries (TN0308101S);
• the fact that working time reductions in some countries have been introduced through extra days off or cuts in annual hours, leaving the normal working week relatively unchanged;
• the increasing use of schemes whereby weekly hours may vary considerably around an average over a reference period;
• the treatment of part-time workers; and
• the differing roles of collective bargaining and legislation, with the latter having an impact on actual hours in some countries, but setting only a maximum 'safety net' in others.

Normal weekly working hours figures are also problematic in terms of comparing working time between countries as they do not take matters such as overtime (TN0302101S) or the length of annual and other forms of leave into account.

The aim here is to provide some general data on the current situation and developments, while pointing out the pitfalls involved in comparisons. For reasons of space, and because our objective is not to provide a statistical guide, we do not provide full definitions of how the figures are arrived at for each country, but merely call attention to the problems. The figures provided should be treated with extreme caution, and the various notes and explanations read with care.

Average collectively agreed weekly hours

Collective bargaining plays a key role in determining the duration of working time in most of the countries considered here (though to a lesser extent in some of the new Member States and candidate countries). However, the nature of this role differs widely between the countries, with various bargaining levels (intersectoral, sectoral, company etc) playing different parts, and bargaining coverage varying considerably (though averaging around three-quarters of the workforce in the 'old' EU 15, and about four out of 10 in the new Member States). Furthermore, the importance of bargaining differs considerably between sectors of the economy and groups of workers. The relationship between bargaining and legislative provisions on working time also varies between countries. Figure 1 below sets out the average normal weekly working hours in 2004 for full-time workers as set by collective bargaining, across the whole economy, for the 28 countries examined.

Source: EIRO.

Figure 1 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Austria: figure is an estimate based on most important collective agreements.
• Belgium: figure refers to the statutory working week set by the intersectoral collective agreement.
• Bulgaria: figure refers to the normal week (which is also the statutory figure) set in the great majority of agreements.
• Cyprus: figure from Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO).
• Czech Republic: figure, from Information System on Working Conditions (ISWC) and the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (Českomoravská konfederace odborových svazů, ČMKOS), refer to hours set by enterprise-level collective agreements (the more prevalent bargaining level); according to ČMKOS, about 55% of higher-level collective agreements signed by its affiliates set normal hours at 37.5.
• Estonia: as set by law.
• Finland: figure is an estimate, based on typical provisions of sectoral agreements.
• France: since 1 January 2002, normal weekly hours must, by law, be set at 35 hours in all companies (those with fewer than 10 employees have an exemption scheme relating to overtime).
• Germany: figures cover whole of Germany; the figure for west Germany was 37.4 hours in both 2003 and 2004 and the figure for east Germany 39.0 hours in 2003 and 38.9 in 2004; data from the Institute for Economics and Social Science (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) collective agreement archive.
• Hungary: collective agreements usually lay down the statutory weekly working hours of 40 hours (although the Labour Code allows collective agreements to stipulate a shorter period, in practice deviations from the statutory hours are relatively rare).
• Italy: figure represents the mid-range of agreements which provide for 36-40 hours per week.
• Latvia: as set by law.
• Lithuania: as set by law.
• Luxembourg: figure is an estimate.
• Malta: while no statistical data exist, most collective agreements specify a normal weekly working time of 40 hours.
• Netherlands: figure from Labour Inspectorate (Arbeidsinspectie).
• Norway: figure represents 'normal working hours' for employees covered by collective agreements; employees working shifts (eg in metalworking) or at nights (eg in local government healthcare) work fewer weekly hours.
• Poland: as set by law.
• Portugal: figure, from Ministry of Labour and Solidarity's Department of Studies, Statistics and Planning (Departamento de Estudos Estatística e Planeamento, DEEP) employment survey, is for the first quarter of 2004.
• Romania: as set by the tripartite 'single national collective agreement', which provides a minimum basic framework for employment conditions (same figure is set by law).
• Slovakia: figure refers to workers in single-shift systems - equivalent figure for workers in two-shift systems was 35.5 hours; data from Trexima Bratislava information system on working conditions.
• Slovenia: figure based on norm in sectoral collective agreements (same figure is set by law).
• Spain: figure calculated from Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MTAS) collective bargaining statistics on average agreed annual hours (1,756.6 in November 2004), on the assumption of a six-day week and 274 working days a year.
• Sweden: 2003 figure from Mediation Authority (Medlingsinstitutet).
• UK: figures from Incomes Data Services (IDS) HR Study 274 on 'Hours and holidays' (October 2004), based on a study of 484 company and sector agreements; average for manual workers was just over 38 hours and for non-manual workers 36.8 hours.

Figure 1 gives figures only for 2004 - in most cases these are identical to those for 2003. The overall average weekly hours for the 'old' EU 15 Member States plus Norway remained virtually unchanged at 37.9 (38.0 for the EU 15 alone). There were no major changes between 2003 and 2004. The range of normal weekly agreed hours across the EU and Norway remained five hours - ie between 35 hours (France) and 40 hours (Greece). However, 14 countries have a normal working week of between 37 and 39 hours inclusive.

Looking at the five-year period 2000-4, the average agreed normal weekly hours for the current EU and Norway has fallen very slightly from 38.1 to 37.9 (a cut of around 0.5%). Average collectively agreed normal working time has essentially remained static in two-thirds of the countries (though there have been exceptions in specific sectors and companies). In Belgium, there has been a one-hour reduction during the period in the maximum normal week set by the national intersectoral agreement, while in Finland, Portugal, Spain and the UK, the average figures have fallen by half an hour or less. In Germany, the figure for the west of the country has remained static, while that for the east has fallen slightly (by 0.3 hours). The issue of working time cuts was, with a few exceptions, not prominent in bargaining in 2004. In Greece, as part of the new National General Collective Agreement for 2004-5 (GR0409102F), the social partners agreed to discuss a reduction in working hours. Many new sectoral agreements concluded in Sweden provided for working time cuts worth 0.5% of pay a year, continuing a trend that began in 1998. In the UK, trade unions in the automotive sector pressed for reductions in basic hours (UK0403106F).

Turning to the new Member States and candidate countries, it should first be noted that the active role of collective bargaining in setting normal weekly hours is relatively slight in many central and eastern European countries. Thus, in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, collective agreements either do not tend to deviate from the statutory normal hours (usually 40 hours) or do not deal with the issue at all. The average agreed weekly hours across the 10 new Member States stood at 39.5 in both 2003 and 2004 - 1.6 hours (or 4.2%) higher than in the EU 15 plus Norway. Adding Bulgaria and Romania raises the new Member State average very slightly to 39.6. In general, these countries still have a 40-hour normal week, with the exceptions of Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Slovakia where agreed hours are around the current EU average. Working time reductions do not appear to be very high on the agenda at present, though trade unions renewed their calls for such cuts in 2004 in Bulgaria and Hungary

For the EU 25 as a whole, the average agreed normal working week stood at 38.6 hours in 2003 and 2004 - 0.6 hours (1.6%) higher than the EU 15 average.

A feature of 2004 was the conclusion of a number of company-level agreements, notably in Germany, that increased working time in exchange for job security guarantees. High-profile examples included accords at Siemens (DE0407106F) and DaimlerChrysler (DE0408102N) in Germany, and at a Bosch plant in France (FR0408101N), where the 35-hour week legislation came under increasing pressure during the year (FR0408108F). There were also calls for an increase in agreed working time by firms and employers' organisations in countries such as Austria (AT0407201N), Belgium (BE0408301N), the Netherlands (NL0408104F) and Slovenia (SI0411302F).

Statutory maximum working week and day

Collective bargaining on the duration of working time takes place in all countries within the framework of statutory rules on maximum working times. In the EU and Norway, these should, at the least, respect the provisions of the Directive on certain aspects of the organisation of working time (originally adopted in 1993 and now consolidated in Directive 2003/88/EC), which include a 48-hour maximum working week (on average over a reference period not exceeding four months), a minimum daily rest period of 11 hours and a daily hours limit of eight hours for night workers.

Table 1. Statutory maximum working week, 2004

Cyprus	48
Denmark	48
France	48
Germany*	48
Greece	48
Hungary	48
Ireland	48
Italy	48
Lithuania	48
Luxembourg	48
Malta	48
Netherlands	48
Romania	48
UK	48
Austria	40
Bulgaria	40
Czech Republic	40
Estonia	40
Finland	40
Latvia	40
Norway	40
Poland	40
Portugal	40
Slovakia	40
Slovenia	40
Spain	40
Sweden	40
Belgium	38

* No explicit weekly maximum in Germany, the 48-hour figure represents an average based on daily maximum rules.

Source: EIRO.

As table 1 above shows, the countries break down into two equal groups - those which set their maximum weekly hours at the 48 hours specified in the EU working time Directive, and those which operate a rather lower limit of 40 hours (or 38 in Belgium). In the first group of 14 countries, the statutory maximum is in excess of average collectively agreed weekly working hours, and of actual or usual average weekly hours (see figure 5 and table 3 below) - it thus appears to operate essentially as a safety net (though the 48-hour figure often includes overtime - TN0302101S). In the second group of 14 countries, the statutory maximum is much closer to average agreed or actual/usual weekly hours (and identical to agreed hours in some cases), indicating a more active role for the law in governing working time (though again, overtime may not be included in this figure). There was little change in this area between 2003 and 2004.

These statutory maximum figures may be exceeded in many countries, in the context of working time flexibility schemes allowing weekly hours to be varied around an average over a reference period (as permitted by the EU Directive) (TN0308101S). To take a few examples:

• in Austria, weekly hours may be varied up to 50 over a reference period, by agreement, if an average 40-hour week is maintained;
• in Denmark, the 48-hour maximum must be observed on average within a period of four months;
• in Estonia and Slovakia, the average working week may be up to 48 hours over a four-month period, if overtime is included;
• in Finland, weekly hours may be varied (up to 45) over a 52-week reference period, if an average 40-hour week is maintained;
• in the Netherlands, the 48-hour maximum must be maintained over a 13-week reference period. If no agreement is reached between employer and trade union (or works council), statutory maximum hours are nine per day, but by agreement daily hours may be extended to 12, as long as average weekly hours do not exceed 60 over a four-week reference period (and do not exceed 48 over a 13-week period);
• in Norway, average weekly hours may vary and be as high as 48, as long as the 40-hour maximum is maintained over a reference period of up to one year. In some specific circumstances, the reference period may be extended;
• in Portugal, weekly hours may be increased to 60 by agreement, if the maximum is maintained on average over a reference period;
• in Spain, weekly hours may be higher if a 40-hour average is maintained over a reference period; and
• in the UK, weekly hours may exceed 48 as long as this average is maintained over a 17-week reference period

The frequent complexity of rules relating to overtime, variable working time etc means that the maximum hours set out in table 1 cannot genuinely be compared directly, and that the differences between the groups of countries with maximum weeks of 40 and 48 hours may not be great in practice.

All the countries considered here also have a form of statutory maximum working day, as set out in table 2 below. In Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and the UK there is no explicit maximum working day (except for night workers), but a 13-hour maximum (in most circumstances) can be derived from the application of the working time Directive's minimum 11-hour daily rest period. Once again, whether or not overtime is included differs between countries, and daily hours may often be higher in the context of working time flexibility schemes. For example:

• in Finland, an employer and an employee can agree to extend regular daily working hours by up to one hour. When working hours are flexible, regular daily working hours can be extended by up to three hours;
• in Germany, daily hours may be extended up to 10, if an eight-hour average is maintained over a 24-week reference period;
• in the Netherlands, as mentioned above, if no agreement is reached between employer and trade union (or works council) statutory maximum hours are nine per day, but by agreement daily hours may be extended to 12, as long as average weekly hours do not exceed 60 over a four-week reference period (and do not exceed 48 over a 13-week period);
• in Portugal, daily hours may be increased to 13 under hours-averaging schemes;
• in Spain, daily hours may be higher if the nine-hour average is maintained over a reference period; and
• in Sweden, daily hours may be varied in certain circumstances.

Table 2. Statutory maximum working day, 2004

Cyprus	13
Denmark	13
Ireland	13
Italy	13
UK	13
Malta	12.5
Greece	12
Hungary	12
Lithuania	12
Austria	10
France	10
Luxembourg	10
Slovenia	10
Czech Republic	9
Netherlands	9
Norway	9
Slovakia	9
Spain	9
Belgium	8
Bulgaria	8
Estonia	8
Finland	8
Germany	8
Latvia	8
Poland	8
Portugal	8
Romania	8
Sweden	8

Source: EIRO.

Collectively agreed weekly hours by sector

Turning from the whole economy to individual sectors, we provide figures below for average normal weekly working hours for full-time workers as set by collective bargaining in sectors selected to represent manufacturing industry (chemicals), services (retail) and the public sector (the central civil service). While these more specific figures are probably more accurate than the overall average figures given in the previous section, extreme caution is again advised in their use, and the notes under each figure should be read carefully - all the caveats which are noted above also apply to the sectoral statistics.

Comparing the three sectors, in 2004 the highest average collectively agreed weekly hours in the EU 15 and Norway were found in chemicals at 38.4 hours, followed by retail at 38.2 hours and the civil service at 37.1 hours (the same ranking as in 2002 and 2000). In chemicals and retail, average hours were above the overall whole-economy average of 37.9 hours, while they were below this average in the civil service. Over the five-year period 2000-4, the average figure remained static in chemicals, fell slightly in retail (by 0.1 hours) and dropped more substantially in the civil service (by 0.6 hours, mainly due to reductions in France, Italy and Spain). The overall picture is one of little change over the period.

With regard to the new Member States, average agreed weekly hours are above the EU 15/Norway average, though often no higher than those found in some of the old Member States with longer hours. The difference between the average figures for the EU 15/Norway and the new Member States is quite small in chemicals (half an hour), greater in retail (1.3 hours) and most substantial in the civil service (2.3 hours).

It is notable that in some countries average agreed weekly hours do not vary across the three sectors examined or indeed, it appears, the whole economy. A uniform 40-hour working week (usually also the statutory normal week - see above) applies in many of the new Member States and candidate countries - this is the case in Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta, Romania and Slovenia, and probably also in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, though fewer data are available in these cases. A similar uniformity applies in Denmark (37 hours), France (35), Ireland (39) and Norway (37.5). Only the civil service appears to have lower hours than the overall norm in Greece (where 40 hours is the norm) and Cyprus (38). There is relatively little variation (with none of the three sectors examined differing from the national average by more than two hours) in Sweden, Germany, Luxembourg, the UK, Austria, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, but wider differences in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Finland.

Chemicals

Figure 2 below shows collectively agreed normal weekly hours in chemicals (based on the relevant sectoral collective agreements, except where specified otherwise in the notes under the figure). No data are available for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (collective bargaining plays little or no role in setting normal working hours in chemicals in cases such as Lithuania). The figure provides data only for 2004, reflecting the fact that there was virtually no change from the 2003 figure in all countries.

In the EU 15 and Norway, the average agreed weekly hours in chemicals stood at 38.4 hours in 2004 - the same figure as in 2000. There has been some relatively minor upward and downward movement in a few countries over the five-year period (though the data sources used for the EIRO figures have changed in some countries over the years).

In 2004 in the EU 15 and Norway, the longest weekly hours in chemicals (40) were found in Finland, Greece, Portugal and Sweden (though the Swedish figure is likely to be lower in practice, due to various working time reduction methods) and the shortest in France (35). The range, at five hours, is identical to that found for overall average weekly hours across the whole economy. Working hours in chemicals are notably higher than the national whole-economy average in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Overall, the average agreed working week in chemicals, at 38.4 hours, is half an hour above the overall average.

Turning to the new Member States, data are available for six countries, with average weekly hours in chemicals standing at 38.9 hours in 2004 - half an hour above the EU 15/Norway average. There were no changes from 2003. Average weekly hours in Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are below the average figure for the EU 15, while they stand at 40 hours (ie 1.5 hours higher than the EU 15 average) in the three other new Member States, as they do in Bulgaria and Romania. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, weekly hours in chemicals are somewhat below the whole-economy average, while in the other countries they are the same as this average.

Considering all the countries of the expanded EU for which figures are available, average weekly hours in chemicals stood at 38.6 in 2004, the same as the whole-economy average, and 0.2 hours longer than in chemicals in the EU 15.

Notes on averages: 'all countries' is for 24 countries; 'whole EU' is for 21 countries; 'new Member States' is for six countries.

Source: EIRO; * 2003 figure.

Figure 2 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Bulgaria: data from sectoral affiliates of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB).
• Czech Republic: figure, from ISWC, refers to hours set by enterprise-level collective agreements (the more prevalent bargaining level); the figure for higher-level collective agreements was 37.5.
• Germany: figure, from the WSI collective agreement archive, applies to west Germany - the figure for east Germany was 40 hours.
• Hungary: hours lower, typically 36 hours, in hazardous jobs.
• Italy: estimate based on annual figure from Bank of Italy (Banca D'Italia) of 1,727 hours in 2003 (assuming 28 days annual leave and 12 public holidays).
• Luxembourg: figure is an estimate.
• Malta: figure, from the chemical, energy, and printing section of the General Workers’ Union (GWU), applies to those working regular hours - 37.5 hours for shiftworkers.
• Norway: night and shiftworkers work fewer hours.
• Spain: figure calculated from MTAS collective bargaining statistics on average agreed annual hours (1,750.7 in 2003), on the assumption of a six-day week and 274 working days a year.
• Sweden: collective agreements covering 2001-4 provided that a total of 1.5% of paybill could be taken as paid leave, contributions to a working time account or cash, but there are no data yet on how these 'working time deposits' have affected working time.
• UK: figure, from IDS, refers to 'oil, chemicals and pharmaceuticals'.

Retail

Figure 3 below shows collectively agreed normal weekly hours in retail (based on the relevant sectoral collective agreements, except where specified otherwise in the notes under the figure). No data are available for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia (collective bargaining plays little or no role in setting normal working hours in retail in cases such as Lithuania). The figure again provides data only for 2004, as there was no change from the 2003 figure in any country, with the exception of the UK, where there was a very slight rise (the figure used is an average of company settlements).

Since 2000, average weekly hours in retail in the EU 15 and Norway have fallen very slightly from 38.3 to 38.2, with relatively small reductions in Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and (west) Germany.

In 2004 in the EU 15 and Norway, the longest weekly hours in retail (40) were found in Austria, Greece, Portugal and Sweden and the shortest in Belgium and France (35). The range, at five hours, is identical to that found for overall average weekly hours across the whole economy. Working hours in retail are often higher than the national whole-economy average, as in Portugal, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, Spain and Luxembourg. Retail hours are lower than the national average only in Belgium and Germany. Overall, the average agreed working week in retail, at 38.2 hours, is 0.3 hours above the overall average (37.9).

With regard to the new Member States, data are available for five countries, with average weekly hours in retail standing at 39.5 hours in 2004 - 1.3 hours above the EU 15/Norway average. There were no changes from 2003. Average weekly hours in Cyprus are below the average for the 'old' EU. In the Czech Republic, the figure stands at 39.6 hours. The three other new Member States have a 40-hour week in retail (ie 1.7 hours higher than the EU 15 average), as do Bulgaria and Romania. In the Czech Republic, weekly hours in retail are above the whole-economy average, while in the other countries they are the same as this average.

Considering all the countries of the expanded EU for which figures are available, average weekly hours in retail stood at 38.6 in 2004, the same as the whole-economy average, and 0.3 hours longer than in retail in the EU 15.

Notes on averages: 'all countries' is for 23 countries; 'whole EU' is for 20 countries; 'new Member States' is for five countries.

Source: EIRO; *2003 figure.

Figure 3 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Bulgaria: data from sectoral affiliates of CITUB.
• Czech Republic: figure, from ISWC, refers to hours set by enterprise-level collective agreements (the more prevalent bargaining level); the figure for higher-level collective agreements was 37.5-40.0.
• Germany: figure, from the WSI collective agreement archive, applies to west Germany - the figure for east Germany was 40 hours.
• Italy: estimate based on annual figure from Bank of Italy of 1,708 hours (assuming 28 days annual leave and 12 public holidays).
• Luxembourg: figure is an estimate.
• Malta: figure, from the hospitality and food section of GWU, refers to a number of supermarkets where workers are represented by GWU
• Norway: figure refers to first quarter.
• Spain: figure calculated from MTAS collective bargaining statistics on average agreed annual hours (1,792.2 hours in 2003), on the assumption of a six-day week and 274 working days a year.
• UK: figure, from IDS, refers to 'retail and distribution'.

Civil service

Figure 4 below shows collectively agreed normal weekly hours in the central civil service in 2004 - no changes were recorded from 2003 to 2004. No data are available for Estonia. While many of the figures refer to collective agreements, it should be noted that in numerous countries the working time of civil servants is set by law - this is particularly the case in many of the new Member States.

Since 2000, average agreed weekly hours in the civil service in the EU 15 and Norway have fallen from 37.7 to 37.1 hours, mainly due to reductions in France, Italy and Spain, with few changes elsewhere.

In 2004 in the EU 15 and Norway, the longest weekly hours in the civil service (40) were found in Austria and Luxembourg and Sweden and the shortest in Italy (32.9). The range, at over seven hours, is rather wider than found for overall average weekly hours across the whole economy. Working hours in the civil service are significantly lower than the national whole-economy average in Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal, and to a lesser extent in Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. However, hours in the civil service are higher than the national average in Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and Sweden. Overall, the average agreed working week in the civil service, at 37.1 hours, is 0.8 hours below the overall average (37.9).

With regard to the new Member States, data are available for nine countries, with average weekly hours in the civil service standing at 39.4 hours in 2004 - 2.3 hours above the current EU/Norway average. There were no changes from 2003 to 2004. Average weekly hours in Cyprus and Slovakia are slightly above the average for the EU 15, while a 40-hour week is the norm elsewhere (ie 2.9 hours higher than in the EU 15), as it is in Bulgaria and Romania. In Cyprus and Slovakia, weekly hours in the civil service are below the whole-economy average and in the Czech Republic they are above average, while in the other countries they are average.

Looking at the expanded post-May 2004 EU, average agreed weekly hours in the civil service stood at 38.0 in 2004, 0.6 hours shorter than the whole-economy average, and 0.9 hours longer than in the civil service in the EU 15.

Notes on averages: 'all countries' is for 27 countries; 'whole EU' is for 24 countries; 'new Member States' is for nine countries.

Source: EIRO; *2003 figure.

Figure 4 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Austria: usual figure for civil servants; working time fixed by law or decrees, as almost all public sector employees are excluded from right to conclude collective agreements.
• Bulgaria: data from sectoral affiliates of CITUB.
• Cyprus: data from Pancyprian Union of Public Servants (PASYDY).
• Czech Republic: as set by law.
• Finland: the figure given is for administrative staff, other categories have a 38.3-hour week.
• Germany: figure, from the WSI collective agreement archive, applies to west Germany - the figure for east Germany was 40 hours.
• Greece: 37.5 hours is the general rule, but there are certain exemptions.
• Italy: estimate based on annual figure from Bank of Italy of 1,708 hours (assuming 28 days annual leave and 12 public holidays).
• Latvia: as set by law.
• Lithuania: as set by law.
• Malta: figure is an estimate.
• Norway: figure refers to first quarter.
• Poland: as stipulated by the 1998 Civil Service Act.
• Portugal: as set by law.
• Spain: figure calculated from MTAS collective bargaining statistics on average agreed annual hours (1,597.2 hours in 2003), on the assumption of a six-day week and 274 working days a year.
• UK: figure, from IDS, refers to 'public services'.

Actual/usual weekly working hours

Some of the problems with data on collectively agreed normal weekly hours are avoided in statistics on actual weekly hours worked, typically measured in labour force surveys. These figures give a more accurate impression of how many hours workers actually work in a given week, as they include factors such as overtime and absence. However, the national data on average actual weekly hours are often problematic for purposes of comparison, given differing definitions. Notably, some national surveys do not distinguish between full- and part-time workers. Therefore, in figure 5 below we give the Eurostat figures for usual hours worked per week by full-time employees, based on its 2003 labour force surveys, for the EU Member States, Norway, Bulgaria and Romania. Usual hours worked per week correspond to the number of hours the person normally works, including extra hours - paid or unpaid - normally worked (but excluding travel time to and from work and main meal breaks).

Source: Eurostat labour force survey.

In the EU 25, the highest levels of usual hours worked by full-time employees are found in Latvia, the UK and Poland, and the lowest in Italy, France and the Netherlands (non-EU Norway has the lowest hours of all the countries examined). Eight out of the 11 countries with usual hours above the EU 25 average are new Member States, with the UK, Greece and Spain being the only 'old' Member States in this group. Only Cyprus and Lithuania have below-average hours.

In all countries, men's average usual full-time hours are longer than women's. The average gender differential is 2.1 hours a week (or around 5%) in the EU 25, and is three hours a week or more in the UK, Poland and Italy, but one hour or less in Austria, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden (and in Norway, Bulgaria and Romania).

In the EU 15, the longest usual full-time hours (by some distance) are worked in the UK and the shortest in Italy. Between 2003 and 2004, the average figure for the EU 15 remained stable at 40 hours. The gender differential averages 2.1 hours a week in the EU 15.

Usual hours worked are in all countries except Lithuania higher than the average normal collectively agreed working week. In the EU 25, average usual weekly hours in the current EU were 40.2 in 2003, compared with average collectively agreed weekly working time of 38.6 hours in 2004. The respective figures for the EU 15 were 40.0 and 38.0 (a slightly wider gap). The average usual working week is within one hour of the agreed normal week in Belgium, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Malta. However, in six countries usual hours exceed agreed hours by two hours or more - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Latvia and the UK. In the UK, there is a 5.9-hour gap between agreed and usual hours - arguably reflecting that country's long hours and overtime culture and the low coverage of collective bargaining.

The 2003 Eurostat labour force surveys also give figures for the usual hours worked per week by part-time employees, and these are provided in figure 6 below.

Source: Eurostat labour force survey.

In the EU 25, the highest levels of usual hours worked by part-time employees are found in Latvia, the Czech Republic and Hungary (non-EU Romania has the highest hours of all the countries examined), and the lowest in Ireland, Germany, Spain and France. In general, part-timers' hours are higher in the new Member States, with only Slovenia below the EU 25 average, though among the 'old' Member States Italy, France, Belgium, Sweden and Austria have well above-average hours.

On average, female part-time workers' usual hours are longer than men's in the EU 25 (by 0.5 hours a week), though in 15 of these countries (plus Bulgaria and Romania) male part-timers work longer hours. In this group, the greatest differentials (with male part-timers working on average over two hours more per week than female part-timers) are found in Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Latvia and Portugal (plus Romania). In countries where female part-timers work longer hours, the greatest differentials (with female part-timers working on average over two hours more per week than male part-timers) are found in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany.

In the EU 15, the longest usual part-time hours (by some distance) are worked in Italy and the shortest in Ireland. Between 2003 and 2004, the average figure for the EU 15 rose slightly from 19.7 to 19.8 hours. The gender differential averages 0.8 hours a week in the EU 15.

There seems to be little relationship between the length of full-time and part-time hours, though they are both comparatively long in a number of new Member States and candidate countries (especially Romania, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Poland). It is notable that some of the countries with the highest usual full-time hours are among those with the lowest part-time hours - notably the UK and Slovenia - while some of the countries with the lowest usual full-time hours are among those with the highest part-time hours - notably Italy, France and Belgium.

As noted above, the national data on average actual weekly hours are problematic for purposes of comparison, given differing definitions. However, for the 22 countries where this is available, this information is provided for full-time workers in table 3 below (many of the 2004 figures are not yet available).

Table 3. Average actual weekly working hours, full-time workers, 2003 and 2004

Country	2003			2004
	All	Women	Men	All	Women	Men
Austria*	40	39.9	40.1	nd	nd	nd
Belgium	39.1	37.8	39.8	nd	nd	nd
Bulgaria	40.9	40.7	41.1	41.1	40.9	41.3
Cyprus	38	37.5	38.4	nd	nd	nd
Czech Republic	37	35.2	38.5	34.6	32	36.8
Denmark	33.8	30.9	35.7	nd	nd	nd
Estonia	42.1	41.1	42.9	nd	nd	nd
Finland	38	36.6	39.2	38.2	36.9	39.3
France	36.6	35.4	37.4	35.6	nd	nd
Germany	37.8	nd	nd	37.8	nd	nd
Italy	37	33	39	nd	nd	nd
Latvia	42	41	42.9	41.5	40.6	42.4
Lithuania	39.2	38.1	40.2	39.3	38.5	40.1
Malta	37.7	35.2	38.8	37	34.4	38.1
Netherlands	39	38	39.2	nd	nd	nd
Norway	39.6	37.4	40.8	39.7	37.2	41
Poland	43	45.5	39.7	42.8	45.4	39.4
Romania	41.4	40.4	42.2	41.4	40.3	42.3
Slovakia	40.9	40	41.7	41.1	40.1	41.9
Slovenia	41.1	39.8	42.1	40.6	39.2	41.8
Spain	37.9	36.2	38.9	38.5	36.6	39.4
UK	37.4	34.1	39.1	37.3	33.7	39.2

Source: EIRO. * 2002 figures.

The figures in table 3 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Austria: figures from Chamber of Labour (Arbeitskammer); figure for men is an estimate.
• Belgium: figures from Statistics Belgium (Institut National de Statistique/Nationaal Instituut voor de Statistiek, INS/NIS) labour force survey.
• Bulgaria: figures from National Statistics Institute (NSI) labour force survey; 2004 figures for first half of year.
• Cyprus: figures, from Statistical Service of Cyprus labour force survey, refer to number of weekly actual hours worked with a full-time job.
• Czech Republic: figures, from Czech Statistical Office, are for October-December 2003 and July-September 2004 respectively.
• Denmark: figures from Statistics Denmark.
• Estonia: figures from Estonian labour force survey.
• Finland: figures from the Statistics Finland labour force survey
• France: figures from National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, INSEE) labour force survey.
• Germany: figures from Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, IAB).
• Italy: figures from Bank of Italy.
• Latvia: figures from the Central Statistical Bureau (Centrālā statistikas pārvalde, CSP) labour force survey; 2004 figures for third quarter.
• Lithuania: figures, from Statistics Lithuania (Lietuvos statistikos departamentas), are for second quarter each year.
• Malta: figures from National Statistics Office.
• Netherlands: figures, from Central Statistical Bureau (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, CBS), include overtime.
• Norway: figures based on Statistics Norway labour force surveys.
• Poland: figures, from Central Statistical Office (Główny Urząd Statystyczny, GUS), refer to third quarter of each year.
• Romania: figures from Institute of National Statistics (Institutul National de Statistica, INS); 2004 figures for second quarter.
• Slovakia: figures, from Slovak Statistical Office (Štatistický úrad Slovenskej republiky, ŠÚ SR) labour force survey, refer to fourth quarter of 2003 and second quarter of 2004.
• Slovenia: figures from Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (Statistični urad Republike Slovenije, SURS) labour force survey.
• Spain: figures calculated on basis of National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE) labour force survey, second quarter.
• UK: figures from Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour force survey.

For 19 countries, some figures are also available for the average actual weekly working hours of part-time workers -see table 4 below (again, many of the 2004 figures are not yet available). It should be noted that the definition of part-time workers varies from country to country.

Table 4. Average actual weekly working hours, part-time workers, 2003 and 2004

Country	2003			2004
	All	Women	Men	All	Women	Men
Austria*	21.8	21.8	21.8	nd	nd	nd
Belgium	23.3	23.2	23.9	nd	nd	nd
Bulgaria	20.7	20.3	21.6	19.2	19.3	20.8
Cyprus	21.2	21.5	20.3	nd	nd	nd
Czech Republic	20.7	21.2	19.2	19.2	19.2	19
Denmark	16.6	18	13	nd	nd	nd
Estonia	20.7	21	20	nd	nd	nd
Finland	20.9	21.1	20.6	21	21.3	20.5
France	22.1	22	22.6	nd	nd	nd
Germany	14.2	nd	nd	14	nd	nd
Latvia	23.6	23.4	23.9	21.7	21.8	21.5
Lithuania	21.3	20.7	22.2	22.9	21.9	24.2
Malta	20.7	20.3	21.7	18.6	18.7	18.2
Netherlands	21.3	21.1	21.8	nd	nd	nd
Norway	20.7	21.3	18.8	20.9	21.6	19
Romania	25	22.8	27.6	23.9	23.1	24.8
Slovakia	21.8	22.7	19.5	21.8	22	21.7
Spain	16.8	16.6	18	17.2	17.2	17.1
UK	15.6	15.7	15.4	15.6	15.6	15.7

Source: EIRO. * 2002 figures.

The figures in table 4 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Austria: figures from Chamber of Labour; figure for men is an estimate.
• Belgium: figures from INS/NIS labour force survey.
• Bulgaria: figures from NSI labour force survey; 2004 figures for first half of year.
• Cyprus: figures, from Statistical Service of Cyprus labour force survey, refer to number of weekly actual hours worked with a part-time job.
• Czech Republic: figures, from Czech Statistical Office, are for October-December 2003 and July-September 2004 respectively.
• Denmark: figures from Statistics Denmark.
• Estonia: figures from Estonian labour force survey.
• Finland: figure from Statistics Finland labour force survey.
• France: figures from INSEE labour force survey.
• Germany: figures from IAB.
• Latvia: figures from CSP labour force survey; 2004 figures for third quarter.
• Lithuania: figures, from Statistics Lithuania, are for second quarter each year.
• Malta: figures from National Statistics Office.
• Netherlands: figures, from CBS, include overtime.
• Norway: figures based on Statistics Norway labour force surveys.
• Romania: figures from INS; 2004 figures for second quarter.
• Slovakia: figures, from ŠÚ SR labour force survey, refer to fourth quarter of 2003 and second quarter of 2004.
• Spain: figures calculated on basis of INE labour force survey, second quarter.
• UK: figures from ONS labour force survey.

National labour force statistics in Ireland, Portugal and Sweden do not distinguish between the average actual weekly hours of part-time and full-time workers. Table 5 below gives the average actual weekly hours of all workers in these countries.

Table 5. Average actual weekly working hours, all workers, 2003 and 2004

Country	2003			2004
	All	Women	Men	All	Women	Men
Ireland	37.4	32.4	41.5	37.2	32.2	41.3
Portugal	34.3	nd	nd	35.3	nd	nd
Sweden	30.4	26.6	33.9	nd	nd	nd

Source: EIRO.

The figures in table 5 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Ireland: figures from Central Statistical Office (CSO).
• Portugal: figures from DEEP employment survey; 2004 figure is for first quarter.
• Sweden: figures from Statistics Sweden labour market survey.

Annual leave

The annual duration of working time is strongly influenced by the amount of paid annual leave to which workers are entitled. Figure 7 gives the average number of days of collective agreed annual leave for 17 countries where data are available (harmonised on the basis of a five-day working week). The figures generally apply to 2004. The average entitlement across the EU 15 and Norway stands at 27.0 days, and has increased slightly over the past few years from 25.6 days in 2000 (though the number of countries included and the calculation methods have not been uniform over this period). Agreed annual leave entitlement varies considerably, from 33 days in Sweden to 23 days in Greece. Little information is available on this point from the new Member States and candidate countries, with figures only for Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Romania. In most other new Member States, annual leave is probably at the statutory level (see below), though in Slovakia in 2004, in about 23% of organisations the collective agreement provided for additional leave over the statutory minimum, usually of one week.

Notes on averages: 'EU and Norway' is for 15 countries.

Source: EIRO; * 2003 figure.

Figure 7 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Austria: as set by law, expressed as 30 working days, including Saturdays.
• Bulgaria: estimate based on general provision of 20-23 days in collective agreements.
• Czech Republic: figures, from ISWC and ČMKOS, refer to leave (expressed as five weeks) set by 76.5% of enterprise-level collective agreements and by 80.0% of higher-level collective agreements signed by ČMKOS affiliates.
• Denmark: made up of five weeks annual leave, plus five days to be taken at employees' own choice or paid.
• Finland: 25 days (or 30 days including Saturdays) applies after one year's service, 20 days (or 24 days including Saturdays) for employees with less service.
• Germany: figure covers whole of Germany; the figure for west Germany was 29.2 days and the figure for east Germany 28.3 days; data from the WSI collective agreement archive.
• Greece: mid-range of entitlements which vary from 20 to 25 days, depending on service.
• Italy: figure calculated as four weeks' leave, plus the mid-range of between five-10 days awarded as a form of working time reduction.
• Luxembourg: figure is an estimate.
• Netherlands: figure represents 25.3 days of holiday (2003 figure), plus six days awarded in context of reduction of working time.
• Portugal: 24 or 25 days is the agreed norm, with the 25th day sometimes dependent on factors such as age and attendance.
• Romania: calculated on basis of national and sectoral collective agreements.
• Sweden: figure calculated as statutory 25 days, plus the mid-range of between five and 10 days additional leave awarded in most collective agreements.
• UK: figure from IDS HR Study 274, 'Hours and holidays 2004'.

All countries examined here have a statutory minimum period of paid annual leave, as set out in figure 8 below. In the figure, the leave is expressed in days and harmonised on the basis of a five-day working week, and the statistics given are the basic entitlement (entitlement increases with length of service in some countries). The great majority of countries (19 out of 28) have a 20-day minimum entitlement, as laid down in the EU working time Directive - this group includes all the new Member States (except Malta) and candidate countries. Five countries have a 25-day minimum (Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Sweden), while the entitlement is 24 days in Malta, 22 in Portugal and Spain, and 21 in Norway.

Average collectively agreed annual leave exceeds the statutory minimum by four or more days in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden and the UK - indicating that the law acts essentially as a safety net in these countries. Average collectively agreed annual leave and the statutory minimum are close or the same in Austria, France and Cyprus - and also probably in most other new Member States - indicating a more active role for the law.

Source: EIRO.

Figure 8 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Austria: entitlement expressed as 30 working days, including Saturdays, increases by five days after 25 years' service.
• Cyprus: 25 days for those working a six-day week.
• Czech Republic: entitlement expressed as four weeks.
• Estonia: expressed as 28 calendar days - certain groups (such as people with disabilities) have a longer entitlement.
• Finland: entitlement is two days' leave (including Saturdays) per calendar month worked in first year of employment relationship, and 2.5 days per month thereafter.
• France: entitlement expressed as 30 working days or five weeks.
• Germany: entitlement expressed as 24 working days.
• Greece: two additional days after three years' service.
• Italy: expressed as four weeks.
• Latvia: expressed as four calendar weeks.
• Lithuania: expressed as 28 calendar days - certain groups (such as people with disabilities and lone parents) have an entitlement of 35 calendar days.
• Malta: expressed as four working weeks and four working days.
• Netherlands: expressed as four times the agreed working week.
• Poland: entitlement rises from 20 days to 26 days after 10 years of employment.
• Slovakia: entitlement expressed as four weeks.
• Slovenia: expressed as four weeks; entitlement increases for parents by one day a year for each child under the age of 15.
• Spain: entitlement expressed as 30 calendar days.
• UK: entitlement expressed as four weeks.

Annual working time

Collectively agreed annual working time figures - which may be a more accurate measure of the duration of working time as they take into account factors such as leave, holidays and flexibility arrangements - are available from national statistical sources for a few countries, and are listed in table 6 below.

Table 6. Average collectively agreed annual working hours, 2003 and 2004

Country	2003	2004
Bulgaria	1,744	nd
Denmark	1,636	1,665
Finland*	1,630	nd
Germany	1,656	1,656
Greece	1,840	1,840
Ireland	1,809	1,809
Italy	1,646	nd
Netherlands	1,720	nd
Romania	1,840	1,840
Spain	1,753	1,757

Source: EIRO. * 2002 figure.

The figures in table 6 should be read in conjunction with the following notes.

• Bulgaria: figure, from NSI, is for actual hours worked per year.
• Denmark: figures from Danish Employers' Confederation (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA); because of movable public holidays the collectively agreed annual working hours may vary.
• Finland: 1,686 hours if overtime and secondary jobs included.
• Germany: figures cover the whole of Germany; figures for west Germany were 1,644 in 2003 and 1,643 in 2004; figures for east Germany were 1,722 in 2003 and 1,719 in 2004; data from the WSI collective agreement archive.
• Italy: data from Bank of Italy.
• Netherlands: figure, from CBS, excludes overtime.
• Romania: figures (which exclude overtime) are estimates based on provisions of national and sectoral agreements.
• Spain: figures from MTAS labour statistics; 2004 figure is for year to November.

In order to arrive at a crude annual estimate for collectively agreed annual normal working time in all countries for 2002, we have taken the figures for average collectively agreed normal weekly hours (see figure 1 above) and assumed a five-day working week and a 52-week year. From this total annual figure, we have subtracted the average collectively annual paid leave (see figure 7 above) - or, where no data are available on this point, the minimum statutory annual leave (see figure 8 above) - and the number of annual public holidays (excluding those falling on Sundays), based mainly on data from the European Commission. Where there are varying numbers of regional public holidays, an attempt has been made to give a mid-range figure (it should also be noted that additional holidays may be observed locally or on the basis of collective agreements or custom). The resulting figures do not, of course, take into account factors such as overtime working, or other forms of time off and leave. They are only very rough estimates, but they allow some broad observations to be made.

In the expanded EU, average collectively agreed annual normal working time in 2004 stood at 1,744.4 hours. In the old EU 15 (plus Norway), the figure was 1,699.2 hours, compared with 1,811.0 in the new Member States. Workers in the latter countries thus work, on average, nearly 112 hours a year (over 6.5%) longer than their counterparts in the 'old' EU - the equivalent of approaching three working weeks a year more. However, annual working time in Greece nears the average for the new Member States, while that in Cyprus and the Czech Republic is nearer the EU 15 average. Overall, the EU's longest hours are in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia, while the shortest are in France, Denmark and the Netherlands. Average annual hours in the four former countries are some 281 hours higher (nearly 18% more) than those in France - the equivalent of seven working weeks in these countries.

Looking at the ranking of the 28 countries in terms of the length of their agreed working hours, the countries with the longest and shortest weekly hours are generally also those with the longest and shortest annual hours. However, the annual perspective results in rather different rankings for some countries than provided by the weekly hours figures. Some countries have a lower position in the 'league table' for normal annual hours than that for normal weekly hours because of the effects of relatively long annual leave (eg Germany and Luxembourg) or a relatively high number of public holidays (eg Portugal), or both (eg Austria, Italy and Sweden). Conversely, some countries have a higher position in the table for normal annual hours than that for normal weekly hours because of the effects of relatively low annual leave (eg Belgium, though the figures used are for minimum statutory leave, due to an absence of figures on agreed leave) or both relatively low annual leave and a relatively low number of public holidays (Norway and the UK).

The total of agreed annual leave and public holidays varies in the EU from 44 days in Sweden to 28 days in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia - a difference of over 50% or more than three working weeks. Other notably high-leave countries include, Denmark, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Malta, while other notably low-leave countries include Ireland, Belgium (though the statutory annual leave figure is used here), Hungary and Latvia. The average figure for the EU 15 and Norway is 36 days, while that for the new Member States is 30.5. (Mark Carley, SPIRE Associates)

Table 7. Average collectively agreed normal annual working time, 2004

Country	A. Weekly hours	B. Gross annual hours (Ax52)	C. Annual leave (days)	D. Public holidays (days)	E. All leave (C D) expressed as hours	F. Annual hours (B-E)
Estonia	40	2,080.00	20.0*	8	224	1,856.00
Lithuania	40	2,080.00	20.0*	8	224	1,856.00
Poland	40	2,080.00	20.0*	8	224	1,856.00
Slovenia	40	2,080.00	20.0*	8	224	1,856.00
Hungary	40	2,080.00	20.0*	9	232	1,848.00
Latvia	40	2,080.00	20.0*	10	240	1,840.00
Romania	40	2,080.00	24	7	248	1,832.00
Bulgaria	40	2,080.00	21.5	13	276	1,804.00
Greece	40	2,080.00	23	11	272	1,808.00
Ireland	39	2,028.00	20	9	226.2	1,801.80
Malta	40	2,080.00	24.0*	13	296	1,784.00
Slovakia	38.5	2,002.00	20.0*	12	246.4	1,755.60
Belgium	38	1,976.00	20.0*	10	228	1,748.00
Spain	38.5	2,002.00	22.0*	11	254.8	1,747.20
Portugal	38.4	1,996.80	24.5	9	257.3	1,739.50
Luxembourg	39	2,028.00	28	9	288.6	1,739.40
Cyprus	38	1,976.00	20	12	243.2	1,732.80
Czech Republic	38	1,976.00	25	8	250.8	1,725.20
Austria	38.5	2,002.00	25	11	277.2	1,724.80
Norway	37.5	1,950.00	25	9	255	1,695.00
UK	37.2	1,934.40	24.5	9	249.2	1,685.20
Sweden	38.8	2,017.60	33	11	341.4	1,676.20
Finland	37.5	1,950.00	25	12	277.5	1,672.50
Italy	38	1,976.00	28	12	304	1,672.00
Germany	37.6	1,955.20	29.1	10.5	298.6	1,656.60
Netherlands	37	1,924.00	31.3	8	290.8	1,633.20
Denmark	37	1,924.00	30	11	303.4	1,620.60
France	35	1,820.00	25	10	245	1,575.00
Average all countries	38.6	2,008.70	23.9	10.1	260.6	1,747.60
Average whole EU	38.6	2,005.30	23.9	10.1	260.7	1,744.40
Average EU 15 and Norway	37.9	1,973.10	25.8	10.2	273.1	1,699.20
Average new Member States	39.5	2,051.40	20.9	9.6	240.4	1,811.00

Source: EIRO. * Statutory annual leave figure.

• ID: TN0503104U
• Author: Mark Carley
• Country: EU Countries
• Language: EN
• Publication date: 25-04-2005