When did the law change regarding work breaks ?

Poppy9

tanith wrote: »

Not in the 'olden days' it wasn't..

How old are you then because I've worked in public sector for almost 28 years.

POSSETTE

DCFC79 wrote: »

the only break we get paid for is the morning and afternoon break of 15 mins each

same here in my factory i work in..unpaid lunch break of 30min.

but yes it is 6 hours before a 20min break..go to
www.acas.org.uk see what they say.....but as for previous poster saying they do 12.5hr shift with just 20mins i think that IS wrong..check it out

Andy_L

Poppy9 wrote: »

I work public sector and I've never had a paid lunch hour. I thought this was the norm not to be paid during your break.

Depends, you can either be on a 42 "conditioned hours" week, which includes a, 1 hour, paid lunch break or a 37 "non-conditioned hours" which doesn't include a lunch break. It amounts to the same money in your pocket for hours worked and flexi-time makes the distinction obsolete, which one you are on tends to be a historical legacy thing based on what grade you are.

poker_face

SomeBozo wrote: »

Lots of employers implemented 6 hour shifts (packhouse, factory jobs) just for this very reason.

Bozo

Yes but usually, up until now anyway, most companies especially retailers would give you a 15 minute break when you work over 4 hours. This is complimentary and not a compulsory. Even toilet breaks are not compulsory worryingly enough

tanith

Poppy9 wrote: »

How old are you then because I've worked in public sector for almost 28 years.

I worked in the NHS for 20 yrs retiring 3 yrs ago I remember sometime around 1995 or maybe a bit later we had to give up our paid breaks.. so it wasn't that long ago actually, I guess different public sector bodies didn't all change the rules at the same time...

Sharon87

wendyphant wrote: »

Our problem with that was 12.5 hour shifts.

You are entitled to 20mins after 6 hours of work so our bosses argue
work 6 hours take 20 mins = 6hrs 20 mins into shift
work next 6 hous but you are then going home so no second 20 mins

They only let us have 20 mins in 12.5 hours!!!

we don't moan too much because if we do they'll take the 12.5 hour shifts off us and return us to 7.5 hours which will mean working 5 days a week instead of 3x12.5 hour shifts

That's illegal isn't it? Cause after 8 hours I think you're entitled to another break.

mymatebob

Sharon87 wrote: »

That's illegal isn't it? Cause after 8 hours I think you're entitled to another break.

No - afraid not.

Nothing in the regs about 8 hours (apart from night workers average length of duty)

Poppy9

Andy_L wrote: »

Depends, you can either be on a 42 "conditioned hours" week, which includes a, 1 hour, paid lunch break or a 37 "non-conditioned hours" which doesn't include a lunch break. It amounts to the same money in your pocket for hours worked and flexi-time makes the distinction obsolete, which one you are on tends to be a historical legacy thing based on what grade you are.

I work LA and surely if you are only on the minimum wage whether you are paid for your lunch breaks makes a difference. There's a difference between 37 hours @ £5.73 and 42 hours @ 5.73 as they can't reduce the hourly rate less than the min. rate.

I am paid for 37 hours work and I can start work at 7.30am and finish as late as 6.30pm but I have to take a minimum of 30 minutes break between 12 & 2pm and I have to work 148 hours in a 4 week period. If I don't clock out between 12-2 the system deducts 30 minutes from me anyway and I cannot put in an adjustment to claim back the time if I've worked through my lunch and it would have to be an informal agreement to have the 30 minute lunch break after 2pm as the clocking system says NO!:D

OH is a Police Officer and he works 12 hour shifts. They have no allocated lunch breaks during this time as they are exempt from the break regulations apparently. He has to grab a bite to eat or cup of coffee when he can but he often goes the whole 12 hours (and more if he has to work on) without even a glass of water. Other shifts he might be able to improve community relations by eating in a local cafe!

catkins

I work in retail and earn minimum wage and we don't get paid for our lunchbreaks.

If you work 71/2 hours a day you are apparently entitled to only one 15 minute break but if you work 8 hours you are entitled to an hour lunchbreak (unpaid) and two 20 minute breaks which are paid!

Poppy9

When I was in school I had a Sunday job in an ice-cream parlour. If we worked 4 hours we had a 20 minute paid break and free ice-cream & drink. If we worked 5 hours we had two 15 minute breaks with free sandwich, ice-cream and drinks! The employer wouldn't allow us to work longer than 5 hours until we were 16 and it was school holidays!