Work breaks and Legislation

Many employers are confused about the legislation surrounding work breaks. A detailed breakdown is below:

• All employees are entitled to at least 11 consecutive hours’ rest in every 24-hour period. Employees aged under 18 years should take at least 12 consecutive hours’ rest in every 24-hour period.

• All employees are entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours’ rest in every 7 days or one period of 48 hours over a period of a fortnight.

• All employees are entitled to a rest period of at least 20 minutes after 6 hours of work. Those aged under 18 years are entitled to a rest period of at least 30 minutes after 4.5 hours of work.

• Employees are entitled to a rest away from their usual workstation.