'Clocks go back this weekend - so can my boss make me work an extra hour?'

Fall back, outpouring forward! Oh wait… Is that the close mode round? Okay, ne'er mind.

The clocks are going back this weekend. Does that mean I suffer an hr oregon get an other hr successful bed? When does it hap again? Does my telephone alteration automatically? It’s the past Sunday of the period successful October and that means the clocks spell backmost 1 hr – astatine 2am, nighttime owls – which means an other hr successful bed.

Many integer oregon online sources of clip volition alteration automatically, but not all. So don’t presume your boiler timer is changing manually. I indispensable confess, I ever get mixed up erstwhile British Summertime begins oregon ends. I whitethorn beryllium a wealth expert, but I’m besides dyslexic, truthful disorder often abounds successful my household astir specified things.

While we whitethorn summation an hour, it’s besides existent that we suffer retired too, some monetarily and successful our lifestyles. So for the file this week, I’m going to person a look astatine however the caller clip connected the timepiece affects you personally.

What is British Summer Time (BST)?

Did you drawback the Northern Lights recently? We often hide that the UK’s geographical scenery mean’s we’re further up the bluish hemisphere than we realise. While we don’t needfully person the airy summers and agelong wintertime nights that our Scandinavian cousins experience, there’s a large quality successful daylight hours depending connected whether you unrecorded successful Brighton oregon Inverness.

British Summer Time was introduced successful 1916, though the nonstop mode it worked took a portion to settee successful to the regular we cognize now. The instauration of BST is often blamed connected campaigning by farmers, but BST was chiefly introduced to guarantee that factories could stay unfastened longer during daylight hours.

Because clip is measured from Greenwich (Greenwich Mean Time) we often presume the Brits brought successful BST first. Though the thought was ours, it was Germany who bushed america to it! Around the world, many countries person variations connected BST – but billions of radical don’t person to fiddle with the clocks doubly a year, which tin marque things analyzable for travellers.

As a wide rule, around 70 countries, including the UK, Europe, North America and parts of Australia and New Zealand person changing clip zones. But the rules are complicated, and it’s imaginable that immoderate countries you sojourn volition person large jumps successful clip depending connected whether they determination the clocks oregon not.

What’s the contention with BST?

Do we adjacent request BST astatine all? That’s a question that is becoming overmuch much communal successful caller years arsenic the mode we unrecorded and enactment changes. There person been galore attempts to ditch moving the clocks successful the past decennary oregon so, but these efforts person ever tally retired of steam oregon been side-lined. Here are the ways the clocks tin impact you.

Do I person to enactment an other hour?

The devil, arsenic they say, is successful the detail. Check your contract. If the statement states that you person to enactment a acceptable fig of hours – for example, 7 hours positive a one-hour luncheon interruption – past you whitethorn person to enactment your acceptable hours adjacent if the clocks change. However, if you person acceptable timescales, similar 9pm to 4am, past you whitethorn beryllium capable to get a paid hr off.

What if I’m moving erstwhile the clocks change?

If you hap to beryllium moving erstwhile the timepiece goes back, tin you spell location an hr early? This is 1 of galore conundrums posed by BST erstwhile the timepiece changes astatine 2am. If you enactment successful a nightclub that closes astatine 3am, it whitethorn not beryllium licenced beyond 2am, which could mean you person to spell location aboriginal unless your concern has a dispensation.

Complications tin besides originate if your declaration says you get paid much wealth astatine a definite constituent successful the aboriginal morning. Your enactment declaration should person details connected however BST affects your wage – aft all, we’re been doing it for astir 100 years – truthful if you aren’t definite past inquire your boss.

Of course, galore businesses unfastened astatine this clip successful the greeting are successful the hospitality and leisure manufacture and you whitethorn not person a declaration to talk of. Make definite you talk to your brag earlier Sunday greeting if you’re not definite however you’ll beryllium affected – oregon you aren’t definite erstwhile you tin sound off. This is peculiarly important if your transport is affected and you’re apt to miss your past bid oregon autobus home.

Finally, arsenic nighttime workers, determination are limits connected the hours you tin work. According to ACAS, nighttime workers indispensable not enactment longer than 8 hours successful a 24-hour period. So if you person to enactment an other hr past you mightiness beryllium breaking the rules if it’s implicit this timescale.

Safety

Many of the arguments for some keeping oregon dropping BST are astir safety. In precise wide terms, It’s much unsafe successful the dark. This is simply a peculiar interest for children, older radical and women and much susceptible radical walking by themselves. It’s not conscionable the menace of criminals though.

There whitethorn beryllium an accrued accidental of conveyance accidents erstwhile it's dark, little temperatures make further risks and it tin beryllium easier to get mislaid oregon waylaid. However, if we wantonness BST, past children successful bluish Scotland could perchance beryllium going to schoolhouse successful acheronian till 10am successful the morning. So a lighter schoolhouse tally successful the southbound has important consequences successful the northbound – and vice versa.

Extra costs and bigger bills

According to a caller survey from Queen’s University Belfast, we could prevention £1.20 a time oregon much than £400 if the clocks didn’t alteration astatine this clip of year. Looking successful to the research, a larger proportionality of the colonisation would payment from lighter evenings which would trim our reliance connected vigor arsenic a effect of radical leaving enactment earlier and utilizing little vigor astir the home. Businesses would besides payment from the clocks not changing for the aforesaid reason, arsenic would the nationalist coffers with large savings connected infrastructure costs.

Disturbed sleep

Surprisingly, there’s rather a spot of probe retired determination that suggests that a alteration successful our sleeping patterns tin effect successful errors, cock ups and mistakes. Interestingly, our decision-making process tin beryllium thrown disconnected by a alteration successful the routine. Research has shown that BST changes tin effect successful little banal marketplace returns owed to slumber related errors. And disturbed slumber tin beryllium unsafe for everyone from instrumentality operators to agelong region drivers too.

There’s besides immoderate grounds that clip changes tin impact people’s intelligence health. This tin beryllium peculiarly acute if you are affected by things similar Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). So if you are susceptible, marque definite you person your enactment networks successful place.

Being dizzy

The clocks displacement connected a Sunday due to the fact that traditionally it’s erstwhile astir of america are disconnected work. Or are we? Because the mode we unrecorded has dramatically changed successful caller years and galore much radical than earlier enactment connected the weekends. Missing meetings and events are a precise existent hazard for the unprepared.

Ask yourself erstwhile you past failed to realise the clocks were changing. Simply not realising that BST is changing tin mean precocious arrivals to enactment oregon adjacent wedding time disasters! As for me, I’m filming the caller play of Rip Off Britain for BBC One astatine 8am connected Saturday morning. Here’s hoping I don’t get mixed up!

Martyn James is simply a starring user rights campaigner, TV and vigor broadcaster and writer