A break during work is how long?
Workers who are aged18 and over are entitled to 3 types of break - rest breaks at work, daily rest and weekly rest.
Rest breaks at work
Workers have the right to one uninterrupted 20 minute rest break during their working day, if they work more than 6 hours -this could be a tea or lunch break.
The break does not have to be paid, it depends on the workers employment contract.
In the recent case of Crawford v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd it was questioned if the employer had to provide a 20 minute rest break taking during the shift or as a whole, the employee had aggregated shorter breaks which totalled over 20 minutes. It was held by the EAT that this system was not compliant under the Working Time Regulations
Daily rest
Workers have the right to 11 hours rest between working days, eg if they finish work at 8pm, they shouldn’t start work again until 7am the next day.
Weekly rest
Workers have the right to either:
- an uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week
- an uninterrupted 48 hours without any work each fortnight
A worker’s employment contract may say that they are entitled to more or different rights to breaks from work.
If you have any concerns about the breaks you are entitled to during your working day, daily or weekly rest please contact a member of our expert Employment law team on 0116 212 1000 / 01858 445 480, they can see you at any of our offices in Leicester, Wigston and Market Harborough.
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