help with solveing breaks at work

pink1310

hi i was wondering if someone could solve this problem for me or point me in the right direction.i work in a city centre hotel which i have done for years.I work on reception and up until a year ago we used to get a half hour break for lunch.so we could go across the road into town to get our lunch or do what we wanted in our break now due to staff cutage at the moment for a year reception havent been aloud to have a break as theres no one to cover except for a duty manager but has to be up stairs in case people want to eat in the bar or resturant.so this week me and the other receptionists thought enough is enough we want our break as other departments do i.e house keeping and kitchen.so i asked a manager upabove me whos next in line instead of going staright to the gm.The answer i got was well we could give you toilet breaks or quickly get a drink but you cant leave the building and she would ask the gm for us to have toilet breaks and grab a brew but wouldnt bring up for us to leave the building like everyone else to me this isnt fair and ive got no idea what to do about it i understand that duty manager needs to cover upstairs but at the end of the day its not receptions fault.she said its called geting a break when needed with the run of buisness and unfortunatly recpetions gets it i mentioned ive been there 10yrs and i got a reply well times change and so does the law.is she right?
thanks nicola

dawnybabes

How many hours do you work ?

You are entitled to an unpaid break if its more than 6 hours

grastgirl

Pretty sure everyone's entitled to 20min for every 6 hours worked, but I'm not an expert, don't think it matters whether they need you to cover it or not.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029451

pink1310

hiya i work 40 hours aweek.yes i thought id look it up as it doesnt sound right to me.i understand that we have no staf or aloud to get staff but itsnt our fault you excpect the odd day but not a year sort of thing its beyond the joke.thanks for your quick responce.nic

flea72

it all depends on how many hours your shift is, but usually you are entitled to 20mins break for a shift lasting longer than 6hrs. the break has to taken somewhere in the 6hrs, but not at the start or the end, and yes, you can leave the building if you want

however, as you work in the tourism industry, they can argue that the reception has to be manned 24/7, so they dont have to apply the above rule. But, you are still entitled to that 20min break, youre just allowed to take it at the end of your shift, or say come in 20mins late the next day, to make up for not having a break the day before

However in busy periods, they can say no breaks, and you accumulate all your breaks for use, when things arent so busy. So it may be in the quiet months, you get to have 2hr breaks to make up for the lack of breaks now, iyswim

But yes, you are both right - in that yes, you are entitled to a break, and yes, your employer can dictate when that break will be

hth Flea

grastgirl

Looks like they might be able to get round it because of it being a "tourism" or arguably a "security" position. Have you checked your contract?

ohreally

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1998/19981833.htm#12

12. - (1) Where an adult worker's daily working time is more than six hours, he is entitled to a rest break.

(2) The details of the rest break to which an adult worker is entitled under paragraph (1), including its duration and the terms on which it is granted, shall be in accordance with any provisions for the purposes of this regulation which are contained in a collective agreement or a workforce agreement.

(3) Subject to the provisions of any applicable collective agreement or workforce agreement, the rest break provided for in paragraph (1) is an uninterrupted period of not less than 20 minutes, and the worker is entitled to spend it away from his workstation if he has one.

This is not advice, your employer has a duty to comply (if your covered by the act).

pink1310

hi thanks for the information .yea i work 8 hr shifts.i can understand they have to cover upstairs ive not checked my contract its a bit weird realy since ive been there for 10yrs ive had one contract and weve been taken over 2 times and no new contract but has been carried over.hotels are soo confusing.

Paparika

So your expected to stay at your post for 8 hours apart from running to the loo.

they don't want a human they want a robot

pink1310

yeah paparika thats true i cant beleve we hadnt said anything for a year lolnow its a case of me trying to solve it its a night mare lol.

sharnad

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029451

Your entitled to a twenty minute break unless there is a great reason you cant have them then you are entiled to compensation breaks