In most Member States, working hours spent at the workplace were not treated as real work time, and as soon as they had to be counted as fixed working hours, the Member States began to opt out in order to comply with the directive.
În majoritatea statelor membre, orele de lucru petrecute la locul de muncă nu erau tratate ca timp de lucru efectiv şi imediat ce acestea au trebuit considerate ca ore de lucru fixe, statele membre au început să utilizeze clauza de excludere voluntară pentru a respecta directiva.