Gordon brown, the chancellor of the exchequer, promised businessmen on. May 17th that a "more humble" government would lighten the burden of regulation. Employers remain to be convinced. For one thing, Labour is planning to introduce new rights for workers such as longer paid maternity leave. More pressing is the looming threat that Britain may lose its opt-out from the 48-hour maximum working week in the European Union. This exemption from the EU working-time directive allows individuals to work longer than the 48-hour maximum if they choose to. Among the 15 countries of the EU before last year's expansion only Britain has exercised the opt-out. Among the ten member states that joined the EU last year, most chose not to apply it.
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