Bass backs down on working time rules

Bass Leisure Retail has been forced to back down over a dispute involving two of its pub managers who claimed they were unfairly required to work more than 48 hours a week.

William Marshall of the Toby Jug in Castle Bromwich and Christopher Mortlock of the Custard House in Bordesley Green, both in the West Midlands, disputed that they were exempt from the working time regulations and were prepared to take their case to the High Court.

But Bass says it has now reversed its decision that pub managers are exempt from the working time regulations following an amendment made by the Government in December.

"When the time regulations came in we, along with the rest of the industry, took the view that under regulation 20 autonomous managers making their own decisions were exempt.

"Since then there has been some clarification and we felt that our managers did in fact fall within the scope of the regulations," a spokeswoman said.

Lawyers are expecting the decision to have wide implications as other hospitality firms may be forced to revise their interpretation of the regulations with regard to their middle managers.