Can my employer stop me working more than 48 hours a week?

[Heather148]

In order to carry out my job in healthcare I find I need to spend more than 48 hours a week to ensure a high quality service. have told managers that I am happy to work the extra hours for no pay and that my health and wellbeing are unaffected. However, my employer has said that I am not allowed to work more than 48 hours and that I must stop doing this. I am aware that colleagues don't put all the hours they work into their work diaries to avoid this problem but this secrecy irks me and I don't want to hide what I'm doing. I realise that there is a lot to unpack here (!) but on that specific legal point, can my employer stop me working 48 hours a week if that is what I choose to do? Presumably they could ask me to sign an opt out. If they don't ask me to do this and I continue to work more than 48 hours and am brave enough to admit this, what can they do (other than thank me, which will never happen)? Many thanks.

[ULA]

Your employer is absolutely correct unless you have agreed with them to opt out and have signed an agreement to that effect. then you should not be working more than 48 hours a week on average. This law is governed by the The Working Time Regulations 1998, and the 48 hours a week on average, is usually averaged over a 17 week period.