Great Britain : reactions to the CJEC judgement on work rests

Following a CJEC ruling that was a blow-up to the UK government (see article n°06865), employees are no longer allowed to work more than six hours without a break. Businesses were ordered to ensure that their staff took minimum rest periods, after existing guidelines were dismissed as "meaningless" by the Court. The TUC celebrated this decision, the CBI seemed furious, and the press stresses the government's humiliation.
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The TUC welcomed the judgement, calling it “the latest victory in a long line of trade union legal challenges on working time rules for UK employees”. General secretary Brendan Barber said “employers will now have to do their utmost to ensure their staff get the breaks they are entitled to”. In the Financial Times, Caroline Carter, head of employment at Ashurst, the law firm, suggested that the clarification resulting from the ruling was a protection for both employees and employers. “Employers

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