Employees Not Using Their Legal Allowance for Rest Breaks

Anonymous

Dennis, thanks for making that clear. Under the Working Time Regulations, if a worker is required to work for more than six hours at a stretch, he or she is entitled to a rest break of 20 minutes. Employers must make sure that workers can take their rest, but are not required to make sure they do take their rest.

Anonymous

Its a fact that most admin and senior staff in our office lunch at their desk daily. There is no requirement for this, but neither is there anywhere else to go! We are lucky to be relocating next year with better rest facilities... I hope this will make a difference and give our hard working staff the opportunity for much deserved rest periods!

Anonymous

Should we be actively encouraging staff to take their minimum rest break, if we don't, are we leaving our selves open to criticism or possible litigation if this adds to stress in the workplace

Anonymous

It is difficult to change habits, specially when people are used to sacrificing their lunch break so that they can get home earlier, or if there is nowhere to go in the vicinity of the office. However, I personally think we should be encouraging them to take a break: it is very unhealthy to sit at a desk all day, staring at a VDU and snacking. It is a known fact that the brain works better after a walk in the fresh air anyway! Perhaps we should all be setting a good example....

Anonymous

Surely it is good man mangement principles and leadership to strongly encourage your staff to take a lunch break. And discuss with them the benefits that having break will bring.

Anonymous

Lets not also forget the regulations also state that if you are using monotenous machinery where the workload is predetermined ie..Targets
you are entitle to other breaks other than the one in 6 hours. Managers conveniently seem to forget this one in the manufacturing sector.

Anonymous

What is the legal entitlement for breaks if a member of staf works for a maximum of 8 hrs.

Anonymous

I would advise any employee that feels oppressed at work to first discuss any issues with the management and then their union. If they are not in a union then join one, although often thought of as outdated they have great bargaining powers and often get more for the employee than imagined. Our employees, through local negotiations, enjoy 2 x 15 minute breaks and a half hour break during an 8 hour shift. PLUS toilet break and smoke breaks if necessary.

But as I said, first of all make your case plausible and discuss the matter properley with your management. Good Luck.

Kevin Shimell
Member - 1 post

can anyone give me some more information on the six hour shift and breaks as Alan Murphy - 17:24 6-Jul-2003

above points out about the

"monotenous job" and "target work".

or web site where i can see it in the regulations?

cheers

Anonymous

You will find details of the 6 hour 20 minute break entitlement on: www.dti.gov.uk/er/work_time_regs/wtr0.htm

I have not seen anything on monotonous work but HSE advice on use of display screen equipment recommends frequent breaks.

Anonymous

Can an employer impose the time that the break can be taken e.g. Between the hours of 12 noon to 2p.m. or is the employee entitled to take it when it suits them? We have a worker who never seems to be able to leave their desk until about 2.30 - 3.p.m. just when the office is peaking in volume of phone calls and visitors.

Anonymous

In reply to Lou Delaney An employee can not choice when to take his/her break if business needs dictate that he or she is required during peaks however an employer must alow an employee to take his/her lunch break between 1130am-230pm.this is deemed reasonable in employment law.

Anonymous

Does anyone know if an unpaid lunch break is classed as personal time? And are you classed as employed through your employer?

Darren Sherborne - BPE Solicitors
Online advisor - 17 posts

This looks like a loaded question. guessing at the purpose of the question, the answewr is that during lunch break on site, the employer is still liable for the actions of the employee, same goes for when the employee is in a company vehicle, or wearing uniform. So the lunch break you describe is personal time, but it is not straightforward.

Kevin Gerard
Member - 1 post

Does all of this mean that if you work blocks of 8 hour shifts, you are legally only entitled to one 20 minute break per shift?

Paul Jeffery Crump
Member - 3 posts

My question concerns the 20 minute rest period entitlement for over 6 hour working
Our employees currently work a 4 day on 4 day off cycle followed by a 4 night on 4 night off.
The shifts are of a 12 hour duration.
Given this scenario should the rest period be 1 x 20 minute or 2x 20 minute??

Jayn Bond - Workplace Law Network
Online advisor - 87 posts

Paul
The law requires that workers have adequate rest.

I do not know what your workers are doing at night, so as the employer you need to judge what is adequate. Technically they are entitled to 20 mins break if they work over 6 hrs so you could interpret that as meaning they do not qualify for a 2nd 20 min break. However if there was a H&S issue, or if they were found to not be fit on the night workers health check, then you might risk being liable as the employees were not allowed adequate rest.

Anna Cross
Member - 2 posts

I want to employee a part time, 3 days a week, 5.5 hours a day. To fit in with schoolchildren th lady wants to work a 5.5hrs straight shift. My understanding is that this is OK within the law. Am I correct?

Teri Shelly
Member - 4 posts

Can I ask - what is the legal position in the following case?

A part time member of staff works 5.5 hours a day. He/she is permitted to work an extra hour a day to build flexi. However, if they do that they work 6.5 hours & the flexi clock automatically deducts them 20 minutes because they have worked over 6 hours & it is assumed they have taken the break. However, this individual does not want to take the break - they want to work the extra hour and earn an hour's flexi not 40 minutes. Basically- since the 20 mins rest break is only an entitlement can an employee choose not to take it?

Teri Shelly
Member - 4 posts

Apologies- not sure why the above has been posted three times!

Jayn Bond - Workplace Law Network
Online advisor - 87 posts

Anna - yes you are right she can work a straight 5.5 hours shift.

Terri - employees cannot opt out of breaks.So no she cannot choose not to take it.

Hope that helps

JOHN THOMPSON
Member - 7 posts

My son works in a factory on an assembly line, he does a two shift system, i.e 6.0 till 2.0, and 2.0 till 10.00.
He is allowed 2x5 minute breaks, and 1x30 minute break.
Is this legal?

Martin Brewer - Mills & Reeve
Online advisor - 84 posts

John, if you really mean that your son works a 16 hour day then on the face of it this is unlawful. The Working Time Regulations say, at regulation 10, that in each 24 hours a worker is entitled to not less than 11 consecutive hours rest (this is called daily rest).

If your son leaves work at 10.00 pm and returns at 6.00 am he will have only had 8 hours rest.

This daily rest requirement applies unless there is a workforce agreement excluding it.

JOHN THOMPSON
Member - 7 posts

Hi Martin,No what he does is one week of 6.0am till 2.0pm and the next week 2.0pm till 10.0pm.for a 5 day period. During each shift he is allowed 2x5 minute breaks, plus 1x30 minute break. The 30 minute break does not seem too bad but the 5 minute breaks seem a little short, particularly as he is targeted on a daily basis for his productivity.

JOHN THOMPSON
Member - 7 posts

Could you please tell me the allowable breaks for people working with VDU'S, I am led to believe that you must have regular intervalls away from the screen.
Is this correct ?

Gillian Nightingale
Member - 175 posts

Yes, as part of the display screen equipment assessment you need to carry out for any employees using computers, you should encourage staff to take regular breaks from looking at the screen and make sure their workload allows for this. There is no legislation to specify how long such breaks must be - although you obviously need to comply with the Working Time Regulations in terms of general breaks - but there are some guidelines. Please see the following resources on the Workplace Law Network:

http://www.workplacelaw.net/display.php?resource_id=7533

http://www.workplacelaw.net/display.php?resource_id=6408

You also need to make sure you consider your responsibilities for providing employees who work on screen with appropriate eye tests and glasses: http://www.workplacelaw.net/display.php?resource_id=8663

Jason Howes
Member - 4 posts

Can anyone help clarify whether an employee is legally entitled to leave site during an unpaid lunch break.

Andrew Harding-Jones
Member - 2 posts

The guidance I have I think from DTI states that the 20 minute break must be taken DURING the 6 Hour-hour period. Dose this mean that the maxium strech of work can only be 5 Hours 40 minutes, in order to allow the 20 minute break to be taken in the 6 hours period?

andrew akrill
Member - 1 post

the 11 hour rest period.
if i was to finish work at 4.30pm but didn't start standby call till 8.30pm did the 11 hour rest period start at 4.30pm

Judy Bradley
Member - 1 post

An employee worked 9 hours and says he did not take a lunch break and is asking to be paid for the full 9 hours - he was paid for 8.5 (with an assumed break). Does the company legally have to deduct this break time after so many hours work?

Kerry Davison
Member - 1 post

I also have an employee that states that she did not have a lunch break for over 6 weeks. I was not aware of this as she often ate whist seated at her desk. She has since resigned and is claiming that she requires payment for these lunch breaks and at the overtime rate stated in her contract. If I had of been aware that she was not taking her breaks, I would have insisted that she did. Does anyone know if I have to pay her for these lunch breaks and if I do am I admitting liability?

Tom Duane
Member - 4 posts

Can an employer ask an employee to attend a disciplinary hearing while that employee is signed off sick by his Gp.

Tom Duane

Jennifer Chapman
Member - 19 posts

Tom

Nobody can stop an employer asking an employee to do anything they please.

However my common sense opinion is that the co should be skating on exceedingly thin ice doing any such thing and a very dim view would be taken of it by all the legislative bodies, ACAS etc!!!

OH assessment - which you ARE permitted to request - would be the way to go if you feel the person is 'swinging the lead' which it sounds like to me! However you still need to 'be reasonable' - say the person has a broken leg or some incapacity which means he can't drive or walk very far. Unless the OH assessment is to take place VERY CLOSE ie next door! to the person's home - then 'suitable transport' would have to be part of the package, or maybe expenses for an accompanying 'suitable' person as well as the individual would need to be paid - or even provided. If the person is unable to travel in the first place - No!

IMHO I should take proper professional advice before even seriously contemplating such a move if you don't have sufficient expertise in-house - at least ring ACAS !!! - otherwise you could find yourselves in far more trouble than you expect.

I know a case where an employee was under=performing although they'd been meanwhile diagnosed with a mental problem - ie 'depression' generally - whilst under-performance continued until it got so bad the employee felt they couldn't carry on a minute longer but instead of going off sick at the very moment they came to realise this themselves - struggled miserably on until they got to the Dr's appointment. This was all very-well known to the employer - yet the VERY DAY, immediately before they were due to leave early to go to the GP - and with no warning whatsoever I might add (although the Performance Plan in force for this individual did contain the constant warning (or threat, as perceived by the individual and communicated back to the company on numerouse occasions during its duration) of disciplinary procedure in the case of failure to improve) the company chose to inform them - in a very official meeting minuted by a HR person - that they were 'inviting' the person to a Disciplinary Investigation meeting exactly 7 x 24 hours thence.

Neither the necessary confirmatory letter nor any record of that meeting ever took place as the person was off sick (Stress and Anxiety) thereafter for several months and although they have been verbally advised by an HR person (once they actually plucked up the courage to ASK the company) that of course there were no plans for it to go ahead the minute they were able to walk back through the door - they have never yet (now 5 months later) had any official confirmation of its withdrawal. Sorry to change the subject - BUT - what is the opinion of the forum members on this - as the company seem to have absolutely no comprehension whatsoever of the negative effect this might still be be having upon the employee. (Who has very recently returned to work under a 'phased return' and other changes have taken place in the organisation which should assist the workload situation overall - and were acknowledged to have been long overdue even before the time the person originally became ill)

Comments please!