If you started the week feeling a little bleary-eyed due to the clocks having gone forwards at the weekend, it could be music to your ears.
A recent trend in the workplace is emerging where some individuals are opting out of adhering to the traditional time changes, such as switching to British Summer Time, under the belief that time can be more fluid and not strictly binary.
Referred to as ‘GMBST+’, this movement has been initiated by younger employees who feel that the current flexibility offered in terms of remote work is not extensive enough.
And our exclusive picture of Angela Rayner suggests that she may be considering including time zone freedom in her workers rights revolution.
Some advocates of this movement, including the Deputy Prime Minister, have taken to wearing two wristwatches as a practice common among those who align with GMBST+, enabling them to keep track of both their personal time preferences and the standard time followed by the majority.
Changes to the law could prevent workers who clearly display on badges on any given day whether they are following Greenwich Mean Time or British Summer Time from being disciplined for lateness.
A logo chosen for the group shows a clock face showing the traditional workplace start time of nine o’clock – but with a third hand indicating that supporters view it as still only eight o’clock.
Campaigners for GMBST+ freedom want employees to be told they have a human right to choose which time zone suits them best each morning.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner wearing two wristwatches – seen as a possible sign that she plans to change the law to protect those who take what they regard as a ‘non-binary’ approach to time-keeping
Changes to the law could prevent workers who clearly display GMBST+ badges which state whether they are following Greenwich Mean Time or British Summer Time from being disciplined for lateness
Some hope that ultimately that freedom would be extended beyond GMT and BST to enable workers to identify with any of the world’s time zones.
‘I’m just not a morning person,’ said Katherine Napp, 22, a product developer at a software company in east London.
She works from home two days a week, coming into the office on the other three.
‘Why should I have to start work an hour earlier just so farmers have more daylight to harvest their crops?’ he asked.
‘If I fancy a lie-in, or struggle to get up in time, I just put on a GMBST+ badge.
‘Fortunately my boss understands that I’m just following a different time zone.
‘But I worry that if I change employer I could face being discriminated against for following a flexible time zone.
‘So it would definitely be a good thing if it was made compulsory for firms to respect people’s right to be GMBST+.’
However, employer groups fear the change will add to the burden already facing them due to Labour’s flagship Employment Rights Bill – and further risk undermining the Government’s attempts to revive Britain’s economy.
Employer groups fear that giving legal protection to workers who choose to opt out of British Summer Time and have an extra hour in bed will add to the burden already facing them due to Labour’s flagship Employment Rights Bill
Workers following the GMBST+ trend often wear two wristwatches in order to keep track of their own time zone as well as that being followed by the rest of the country
The GMBST+ logo shows the traditional workplace start time of nine o’clock – but with a third hand indicating that supporters view it as still only eight o’clock
Benefits for millions of workers announced last autumn, including the right to claim unfair dismissal on day one of a new job, would cost businesses an estimated £5billion a year, according to ministers’ own impact assessment.
The Bill, championed by Ms Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, aims to boost workers’ rights through measures such as abolishing zero hours contracts, allowing flexible working and extending statutory sick pay.
But 92 per cent of small employers say they are worried about their impact.
Mae Dupp, of business organisation the UK Employers Federation, said: ‘This is an incredibly foolish idea.
‘The Victorians revolutionised global commerce by giving the rest of the world an international time standard.
‘Letting today’s millennials pick and choose their time zone because they fancy another hour in bed would make us a laughing stock.’
Since 1972, Britons have been putting the clocks forward by one hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March, then reverting back at 2am on the last Sunday in October.
Daylight-saving time was actually first introduced in this country in 1916 with supporters declaring that by sticking to GMT all year round, summer mornings were a ‘waste of daylight’.
Some experts say the twice-a-year switch is bad for the nation’s health as it disrupts sleeping patterns.
But others say putting the clocks forward at the end of March means our circadian rhythms are more in keeping with the daylight hours over spring and summer.
Other claimed benefits of lighter evenings include a reduction in traffic accidents and deterring crime.
