Break entitlement at call centres

tomtom12

Just wondering if someone could clarify this for me please.

Is their a certain 'entitlement' companies have to follow for giving breaks in a call centre that use computers?

I'm told you have a break every XX minutes for health and safety reasons, just wondering if their is any truth to this?

Cheers

19lottie82

No. It's reccomended that you take x minutes away every so often from the screen to perform alternative tasks, but it is not a legal requirement.

paddedjohn

You are entitled to a 20 minute break if you work a 6 hour stretch or more.

Naf

paddedjohn wrote: »

You are entitled to a 20 minute break if you work a 6 hour stretch or more.

Yes, but more specifically a 20 minute break away from the workplace if your shift is expected to last longer than 6 hours.

tomtom12

Thanks guys - Bit disappointed, when I worked at Royal Mail we got a 10 minute break every hour.

Would my contract likely detail my break entitlements?

Cheers

paddedjohn

tomtom12 wrote: »

Thanks guys - Bit disappointed, when I worked at Royal Mail we got a 10 minute break every hour.

Would my contract likely detail my break entitlements?

Cheers

That's probably why RM ended up in the shoite.

tomtom12

paddedjohn wrote: »

That's probably why RM ended up in the shoite.

Could also have been because we were sat in front of a PC processing 1500 pieces of mail per hour.

paddedjohn

tomtom12 wrote: »

Could also have been because we were sat in front of a PC processing 1500 pieces of mail per hour.

Yes but giving you a 10 minute break every hour is the equivelant of giving a 20 pay rise.

Naf

tomtom12 wrote: »

Would my contract likely detail my break entitlements?

Very possibly.
And worth checking.
If your contract (or other company literature) says more, then their own policy becomes their legal minimum, and they cannot simply fall back on the statutory minimum.

LittleVoice

tomtom12 wrote: »

Thanks guys - Bit disappointed, when I worked at Royal Mail we got a 10 minute break every hour.

Would my contract likely detail my break entitlements?

Cheers

Normally I'd not expect written particulars to include anything other than your entitlement to whatever is a non-paid break around the middle of your shift (if it lasts more than 6 hours).

The breaks that you are referring to (like 10 minutes every hour) are still for working but to do something other than staring at a screen. For that reason they are unlikely to be documented specifically. However your employers may include such advice in a staff handbook, parts of which may be contractual.

LittleVoice

Naf wrote: »

Very possibly.
And worth checking.
If your contract (or other company literature) says more, then their own policy becomes their legal minimum, and they cannot simply fall back on the statutory minimum.

Not really - if, for instance, there is a statement in a health and safety section of a staff handbook or a policy which says employees should take a break from looking at a screen for 5 minutes every hour but that part of the staff handbook or the policy is not contractual then it would not be the "legal minimum" in that organisation.