An Awkward Partner? Britain's implementation of the Working Time Directive

Date
2001-03
Authors
Blair, Alasdair
Karsten, Luchien
Leopold, John
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
0961-463X
Volume Title
Publisher
Time and Society
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
The dominance of member states in the field of social policy has been traditionally depicted as one of the main hurdles facing the development of a European social policy. Resistance by national government to the transfer of influence and control over social policy to the European level has been particularly true for Britain. Opposition to various initiatives, such as the Social Charter and Social Chapter has demonstrated this. It is in this context that this article examines Britain’s implementation of the Working Time Directive, this being demonstrative of the distinction between member states and the EU in the social policy arena. In this sense, the Working Time Directive is significant not just because of the provisions it brings to British employees, but because it demonstrates the changing nature of the relationship between member states and the EU in the realm of social policy.
Description
The file attached to this record is the authors final peer reviewed version of the article. The final publishers version can be found by following the DOI link.
Keywords
Working Time Directive, Britain and Europe, European Union, European Commission, social policy
Citation
Blair, A., Leopold, J. and Karsten, L. (2001) An Awkward Partner? Britain's implementation of the Working Time Directive. Time and Society, 10, (1) pp.63-76
Research Institute