The Working Time Directive was introduced by the European Commission in 1993 to set out limits and recommendations for hours of work and hours away from work, including how many breaks employees should have.

Its main requirement is that no individual should work more than 48 hours in any week.

Britain negotiated an opt-out clause that allows individuals to waive their entitlement to a 48-hour week.

Other countries also opt out, most commonly in specific sectors such as healthcare and hospitality, but the UK uses the opt-out more than most, particularly in the National Health Service.

The Trades Union Congress says that a worker in Britain is 16 times more likely to be working more than 48 hours a week than a Dutch worker.

In September last year, the European Commission published proposals for change, calling for the opt-out to be retained but only on an individual basis. The UK Government pledged to defend the opt-out.

Predictably, trades unions supported the move while industry bodies opposed any changes to the directive.

The motion approved today MEPs goes much further, calling for the opt-out to be scrapped altogether after a transition period of three years. However, the reform has to be discussed and negotiated by EU governments before it is implemented.

The issue is dividing member states between those, led by Britain, that want to preserve the opt-out and others, led by Sweden, that want it scrapped.

With Britain set to take over the EU’s presidency for the rest of the year in July, little progress is likely to be made until next year unless there is a sudden breakthrough before the end of June.

A European Commission spokeswoman said in Brussels after the vote that it "does not agree with the parliament" and still wanted an opt-out from the 48-hour limit to be possible on an individual basis.

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