Break Entitlement

Altarf

Lizzy69 wrote: »

Can someone please clarify if I am entitled to any break during my 6 hours per day? At the moment if I want a break I either have to start early or finish late to enable me to have a break.

Sorry to disagree with others, but if you work exactly 6 hours, then you are not entitled to a break. You have to work more than 6 hours to be entitled to a 20 minute break.

ceridwen

I'm afraid its my understanding of the law that one has to work more than 6 hours to be entitled to any break at all. I might be inclined to "cut it a bit fine" and work for 6 hours 10 minutes for instance (ie just over the 6 hours) to get in a break myself - but its also my understanding that lunchbreaks dont necessarily have to be paid for by the employer. I believe I am right in thinking that if I were to work, for instance, for 7 hours I would be entitled to a break (as more than 6 hours) - so I could take an hour lunchbreak part way through. Equals 7 hours in my workplace - of which they would only have to pay me for 6 hours actually worked. Cant quote a law to say thats how it is - set in stone - but I believe I am correct on this. Wrong I know - Dickensian as stated, to be expected to get through without a break (well not a paid one anyway - if your employer is that way inclined) - but there you go. People have only very recently acquired a legal right to paid holiday - as in 2 weeks, 2 days (to be 3 weeks 1 day in October and 4 weeks from April 2009) - at this moment employers are still allowed to deduct bank holidays from the 4 weeks holiday people are now allowed to have for paid holiday!

LittleVoice

misscutiepie1984 wrote: »

i cant believe i just found that - when i started working 4 years back 15 mins was minimum for 4 hours as stated in the law on the news etc it seems to have got worse.

I don't know where you were working 4 years ago, but the law was as it is now as far as breaks are concerned.

LittleVoice

ceridwen wrote: »

(1) I'm afraid its my understanding of the law that one has to work more than 6 hours to be entitled to any break at all. I might be inclined to "cut it a bit fine" and work for 6 hours 10 minutes for instance (ie just over the 6 hours) to get in a break myself - but its also my understanding that lunchbreaks dont necessarily have to be paid for by the employer. I believe I am right in thinking that if I were (2) to work, for instance, for 7 hours I would be entitled to a break (as more than 6 hours) - so I could take an hour lunchbreak part way through. Equals 7 hours in my workplace - of which they would only have to pay me for 6 hours actually worked. Cant quote a law to say thats how it is - set in stone - but I believe I am correct on this. Wrong I know - Dickensian as stated, to be expected to get through without a break (well not a paid one anyway - if your employer is that way inclined) - but there you go. People have only very recently acquired a legal right to paid holiday - as in (3) 2 weeks, 2 days (to be 3 weeks 1 day in October and 4 weeks from April 2009) - at this moment employers are still allowed to deduct bank holidays from the 4 weeks holiday people are now allowed to have for paid holiday!

(1) Yes - that's what I've written above.

(2) The example you give is not of working for 7 hours but of working for 6 hours in total with a break of 1 hour during that time. So yes, you would be paid for 6 hours as that is what you have worked. The entitlement is to a break, not to be paid for the break.

(3) Currently the entitlement is 20 working days for someone working 5 days a week. This equals 4 weeks, not 2 weeks 2 days. And yes, increases are in the pipeline and employers can include bank holidays in the 20 days. The increases are actually to take into account the 8 bank holidays.

Becles

Altarf wrote: »

Sorry to disagree with others, but if you work exactly 6 hours, then you are not entitled to a break. You have to work more than 6 hours to be entitled to a 20 minute break.

This is right. Some workers in a previous job were complaing as they worked 10am-4pm and were not entitled to a break. They did eat at their desks, but then the employer brought in a "no food at desks" rule (due to hot desking and people having to clean up desks before they could use them).

The 10am-4pm people were annoyed as they said they couldn't be expected not to eat lunch, to the employer had to give in and let them take 15 mins to get something to eat.

CFC

Lizzy69 wrote: »

Thanks for the link!

As I just work 6 hours per day am I still entitled to 20 minutes? Is this included in my 6 hours?

Need clarification before I see my manager tomorrow.

As Littlevoice spells out, if you want a break you will need to work longer. From what you have said, your break is unpaid time, so if you want to be paid for 6 hours with a 10 or 20 minute unpaid break, you need to be at work that ten or twenty minutes extra.