How Many Breaks am I Entitled to?
Q.How many breaks should be given in a twelve hour shift and how long should the breaks be?
A.
Under the Working Time Directive which applies to most adult workers, including those who work part time, are employed by an agency or if you work as a freelancer, you are entitled to one rest break of 20 minutes if you are employed for more than six hours a day. Therefore, even on a 12 hour shift, you would still only be legally entitled to ONE rest break. For example, if you are given a lunch break of 20 minutes or more, that counts as your full entitlement for that day. The break must also be given to you during your shift and not at the beginning or end of it.
Of course, in a similar fashion to companies who offer more than the minimum wage, most companies will give you more than one break on a 12 hour shift although they are not legally required to. To find out more about your entitlement, you should refer to your employment contract or staff handbook.
However, the rules are different if you’re aged 16 or 17. In this instance, if you’re required to work for more than 4 ½ hours consecutively, you are entitled to a rest break of 30 minutes. There is also no legal requirement to pay you for your break nor for it to count towards the length of your working day.
Another exception when it comes to the Working Time Directive and rights to breaks is that of PSV and HGV drivers. Their rights to breaks come under the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations and the Tachograph regulations and tend to be more generous and which need to take into account issues of fatigue. Other light goods vehicle drivers and the likes of minibus drivers are covered by the Working Time Directive but their entitlements are a little more vague referring to the fact that they must get ‘adequate rest’ in order that fatigue does not cause them to injure themselves or injure others or cause an accident.
If you are working 12 hour shifts, it’s also important to state that, by law, you are entitled to a rest period of at least 11 hours after your shift has ended before you can be asked to work again.
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