Breaks that aren't breaks

OlliesDad

Hi,

Just a quick question on behalf of my wife. She works in a care home as a carer, and the management have decided that all breaks must be taken with the residents.

This means that the evening break means that the employees must sit with the residents at the dinner table and everybody has dinner together - the carers still need to be on hand to help any resident that requires it. Employees are not permitted to leave the site at any time. Also, these breaks are unpaid.

For my wife it is not so much of an issue as she only works 6 hour shifts, however for many they work 12 hour shifts and to me it appears that the breaks have been abolished - is this ok for the company to do?

A few have caused a fuss about this, and the response was that they can leave if they are not happy.

jobbingmusician

http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/go-freelance-guide/care-workers-what-are-your-rights-at-work/ contains the following.

In 2014, in an unreported case (so we only know the name of the Claimant not the Care Home he worked for), an Employment Tribunal found that a care service provider was in breach of the WTR for not incorporating daily rest breaks and daily rest periods into a support worker’s shift pattern and for failing to offer compensatory rest. The Care Home employed approximately 150 staff with 25 managers. The Claimant, Mr Hood, claimed that there had been a number of occasions when he had not been permitted to take a rest break and that he had not been granted a full daily rest period an average of 3-4 times per month in a year. The Care Home’s staff handbook stated that rest breaks away from the service user were not to be taken during a shift. The Care Home argued that it was uneconomical to provide support to cover the occasions when Mr Hood was not granted his daily rest period. The Tribunal agreed that the service the Care home provided fell into the category of services that was exempt; however Mr Hood had not been offered compensatory rest periods. The Tribunal found it difficult to understand why the home could not organise shifts so as to allow daily rest periods for its employees, as the home allowed employees who smoke to take a break during their shift and for that break they were covered by a Manager. The Tribunal felt a manager could also cover for rest breaks and that these rest breaks could be easily incorporated into the worker’s shift.

usefulmale

Contact your union. If you are not in one, join today.

jackyann

I have worked in similar situations. The usual rule is that sitting with the people one is caring for is not an actual break.
I was required to eat with the children I cared for, for social reasons. I was still entitled to a short break away from them once during an 8 hour shift (20 unpaid minutes if I remember rightly)
There are usually specific conditions written in to the contract

I suggest that the employees contact their union (and join one if they haven't already!) and ask their rep to look at the contracts. You can look at the rules about breaks on gov.uk, but they are not always helpful in these situations, where food is provided etc. The carers really need someone who knows about such situations. I am fairly certain that employers cannot normally dictate what happens during an unpaid break, but there are some situations where they can, for instance, stipulate that staff stay on the premises.

Personally, I find it insulting. Carers are responsible people doing an important job. They should have good remuneration, terms & conditions, and they need a proper break!

elsien

Our contract gave us compensatory rest breaks because it was not safe in a smaller lower staffed home for staff to have set breaks away from people and they certainly couldn't leave the premises. The manager was often on shift so not available to cover. Meal times we always sat with residents but they didn't count as breaks . However there were generally quieter times when staff could have a few minutes fag break or a cuppa. Care is often exempt from the rest rules - when staff are lone working for example, realistically no one is going to come in for 20 minutes to cover for their break.
In my opinion although 12 hour shifts are common I think they are poor practice because the staff are too tired at the end of it to be really at their best and it's unfair on the residents. Sometimes you can play with shift patterns a bit to give more overlap for breaks, but then you get staff complaining they're losing the overtime,

specialboy

If your wife only works 6 hour shifts then she might be wise not to rock the boat and let the other employees sort their problem out, legally the employer doesn't have to allow your wife a break if the didn't want to.