to sleep during my break on the night shift?

[TupperwareTwat]

After 5 years of getting away with working lates, earlies and long days only, I have this week started mandatory rotation on to night shifts.
The NHS trust I work for now requires day shift workers to do a minimum of 4 weeks of nights per year and vice versa for night shift workers.
I began my 12 hour shift at 8pm on Monday. At 2am the Sister asked me if I would like to go for my break (1 hour unpaid). I told her that I would like to go somewhere to sleep and she said that we are not allowed to sleep during our break in case anything happens and we are needed.
I asked her what we are supposed to do on our 'break'. She told me that she takes a book and reads for an hour.
I took a book and a blanket and my coat to the rest room, pushed 4 stand chairs together, led down and rested my eyeballs for an hour. The Sister came knocking on the door after an hour and I got up and staggered back to work while she went for her break. I felt relatively fantastic after my sleep.
When I told DH about this he said I should not have told her I was going to sleep on my break, and that I could get sacked for this.
I don't believe that my employers should even expect me to remain on the premises on my unpaid break!
Or am I being unreasonable?

YANBU! I can't think of a single good reason why you should not sleep. You will be a lot more productive for it, and safer. My personal opinion is that it should be encouraged!

Well you said it yourself...you 'staggered back to work'.

I expect staggering around wouldn't be much good if something did happen and you were needed.

Sorry, I think YABU. Patients are unpredictable. If there was an emergency you would be needed (just like staff during the day would be if an emergency happened). Could you be awake, and safely draw up emergency meds within a minute or two if you had to be woken during your break?

Worra, I staggered back to work as I had just been woken at 3am!
This was my first nightshift and I feel very proud of myself that I got through the 12 hour shift (of which I an paid to work for 11 hours) and managed the 20 mile drive home during rush hour!
I take my hat off to night workers - they keep the wheels of industry turning while most of us are tucked up in bed, how can we begrudge them an hours kip?

You will get into the pattern of it soon enough. The first night is always going to be a bit more tiring.

Stop moaning about not being paid while on a break though.. most of us are not paid for our breaks, probably because like you, we are not actually doing any work!

Well iliketea, don't you think that the employer should provide standby for unpredictable situations? If I am the standby, I should be paid for it.

As someone who did night shifts in the NHS for many years, I'd say YANBU if it's definitely an unpaid break. YApossiblyBU if it's a paid break.

On a daytime shift, would you be allowed to go out to the shops (for example) during your break? If yes, I don't see how they can object to you sleeping during your break during nights.

Check with Unison though.

Tough one but I can certainly see why they don't want you to go to sleep and to just have a rest. If you are having to be woken up, or wake up before you are ready then your hardly going to be at your best to deal with patients

squeaky, the OP is not moaning about being unpaid during her break. She is (quite rightly) moaning about being expected to provide emergency cover while on her unpaid break.

But surely it would be better to have you sleeping on the premises than awake and off the premises should anything happen?

You can do what the smeg you like on your unpaid break.

Set your alarm for 5 minutes before the end so you're awake and not staggering about

Any place (NHS) I have ever worked has had very clear rules that you would be disciplined for sleeping on your break. You are not paid but you are expected to be available in response to the exigencies of the service. And you said yourself you staggered out from your break so you were clearly not ready for action. Your excuse at having just been woken at 3am is ludicrous. You were at work. You shouldn't have been sleeping. No sympathy here!
Lots of people don't like night shift but you must have known you would be expected to do them as part of your role.

What do your other collegues (sp?) do on a night?

I'd be tempted to sit in my car away from the premises during the break and have a snooze there.

They should be making provisions for emergencies when staff are on breaks.

Don't know how you can sleep - I work nights and having a bit of shut eye would make me feel worse when I woke up after only an hour. Many people do though, and we quite often sit watching tv with someone laid out snoring next to us.

OP - it may well be that you trust should provide standby cover but what are the chances of that happening in the NHS at the moment? Did you check your local policies? Maybe it's not permitted for anyone to sleep during work hours whether they're on a break or not.

I work for the NHS. We are not allowed to sleep on any if our breaks on night shift.

The docs are allowed though

I thought you were legally entitled to have a paid break if you were working a shift of that length? (Although if it was a paid break I would also say you shouldn't sleep!)

And yy sleep would make me feel worse

I get two 15 mins paid and 30 mins unpaid for 10 hrs.

I will take Laurie's advice next time and set my alarm for 5 minutes before I am due back from my break!
The Sister actually remarked that I had coped much better with my first night shift than most of the other day staff.
I believe my 1 hour kip did me the world of good.
Maybe I should just keep it a secret from my colleagues in future

Aboutlastnight. Haven't the doctors just worked the day shift too?

Aren't doctors who are on-call at night permitted to sleep in the doctors' flat broom cupboard with a bed shoved into it when they are not actually attending to patients? And aren't they expected to deal with what may be emergency patient situations having just woken up? In which case you not being allowed to sleep on your break seems like a bit of a double standard.

I think lots of employers in general need to fuck off with regard to upaid breaks. If they won't pay you for the break then it has bugger all to do with them what you do on your break and where you spend it.

I can sympathise for wanting to sleep, but if they have clearly said that you are not to sleep, then you shouldn't sleep. If you inadvertantly drop off, then fair enough, I'm sure you will get away with it occasionally.

And I know that you are unpaid for this break, but so are most people in this kind of situation. I feel as though this has a vocational aspect to it. Yes, it's your break, you feel it should be your right to sleep etc, but if it is better for your patients to have you awake during that hour, they should be put first.

I say this as someone who worked nights (one in three) and day shifts on a ward and A&E. And hilariously, I was paid half the minimum wage during the night for the priviledge of being kept away. No wonder I jacked it in! So I do have much sympathy. Nights suck.

Generally speaking you can do what you like on an unpaid break, even in the NHS.

If you'd wanted to leave the ward, head into town and pick up a KFC you could have done.

Unless your conditions of employment stipulate you are to remain in the area in case you are needed then you can do what you like. Staffing the area whilst staff take their breaks is the senior staff member's responsibility.

If you need to be 'on standby' then it's not a proper break. I have never worked anywhere on nights (except where I was the only qualified staff) where I have been expected to account for my actions or whereabouts whilst on a break.