20 minute break in 12 hour shift!

[MillyMollyMonday]

My DD has just started a new job in adult social care ( in a nursing home).

They are expected to do 12.5 hour shift with only a 20 minute break after 6 hours.

ACAS website confirms that this is legal.

AIBU to not know how people are expected to manage without food for over six hours? I could only last that long without food if I’d had an absolutely enormous meal before a shift (this would need to be before 7am, in my DD’s case).

My blood sugar would be through the floor after 6 hours and I’d be lucky not to faint!

What do you think of this law?

YANBU: the law on this does not do enough to take basic human needs into account.

YABU: I am just being a wimp- most people manage fine without food for over six hours.

Well its shit ,but when i was a nurse we were supposed to get an hours break in a12 hr shift which we often couldnt take

She may find she can grab a drink and snack during her shift. Ex mil used to have a nap whilst on shift!

We used to live on biscuits, chocolates and the odd coffee whilst filling in paperwork when I was in care homes. No wonder we were all fat and stressed. It's a really tough job. If we were having a particularly difficult shift we'd go into the nurses office, close the door (to hide from relatives) and have a rant and then hand out the paracetamol before hitting the floor again 😄

@OverTheHillAndDownTotherSide and @Tiani4 fair enough… I’ll ask for the thread to be moved.

In some ways I’m quite pleased that she may be getting a baptism of fire, harsh as that may sound, as she’s starting a nursing degree next year. If she can’t manage this type of shift then it’s best to find this out sooner rather than later.

I work in a care home 12 hour shifts, 15 mins in the morning and after noon, 1/2 hour for lunch. I work nights and we get an hour, usually when it is quieter.

That's working in care for you. We work 12hr shifts and get an hours pay taken off us, which is supposed to be for an hours break. I've been there 10 months and I don't think I've ever had my full hour, despite losing the pay.

We've put in complaints but get fobbed off. Ultimately they know we care for the residents so we wouldn't leave them with their needs unattended. I work for a care group so go to 8 different homes. 7 of those don't have a break room or anywhere to go so even if we do get a break, it is constantly interrupted.

@MillyMollyMonday Its one 20 minute break after the first 6 hours and that’s it.

The regulations require 11 hours uninterrupted rest in each 24 hour period.

Good employers give more poor employers just give the legal minimum.

YANBU, I used to do six hours of physical work without time or opportunity to eat or drink anything and it was utterly awful. I was desperate for a sit down and something to eat and drink after those six hours so can’t imagine having to do it all again immediately after a short break! Ot is exhausting and breaks you down in the long term.

I honestly think the employment law needs review, the need for breaks depends entirely on the type of work you’re doing. More physical roles need more frequent breaks to give the worker chance to refuel.

I work 6 hours a day in Tesco. I get a 30 min break ( or 2x15). Tesco also provide a variety of free drinks and food for us! This is much better then pretty much any other job I’ve had including supply teaching.

I quite often skip break because I want to get stuff put out and I genuinely don’t feel the need. But it’s nice to have.

The Tories are planning to review all of our employment rights. (The WTD is EU law.)

They’ll reduce rights on breaks, paid holiday the second they get the chance.

but it's amazing what humans can do when they have to.

Until the effects catch up with them and it wrecks their health. And that, at its extremes, then costs the employer (sick leave etc.) and the country (benefits etc.) dearly as well as the person whose health is in tatters.

Not drinking because you haven't got time to go to the toilet is very bad for you by the way and of course there is also the issue of sex discrimination if a woman can't get to the loo to deal with sanitary needs. Not acceptable.

I did a 13.5 hour shift today and had 3 x 15 minute breaks and one unpaid half an hour break. I'm on my feet all day running around like a blue arsed fly. I sit down for my breaks and about half an hour when I'm on the desk using the computer. I couldn't cope with just one 20 minute break all day.

Did she get another break OP?
If I work an early shift (8-2) I don't get a break. But if I work a full day (13 hours) I get a one hour break. The first break is mostly between 5/5.5 hours from the start of the shift.
This is NHS btw. One 20min break for a full 12 hour is hard going!

Breaks are unpaid as well so even if you don't take them, you don't get paid for them

Thanks everyone. She got a couple of short breaks but was a bit vague- and rushing off to a Halloween event. Oh to have that much energy! There seems to be no structure- they just grab a minute when they are less busy

@andmostofallyouletyourselfdown I quite agree.

Sadly this is why I left care.

Now i get same pay in a supermarket. I get 15mins to take at any time during a 9hr shift plus a 1 hour lunchbreak.

6 hours without food shouldn’t be a huge issue if you eat proper, filing foods. On a busy day I will often at breakfast at 8, lunch at 2 and dinner around 8 and am fine. It does seem too long a shift without a proper break though.

Most nursing homes seem to have the official unpaid breaks as minimum as staff don't want to lose 60 or 90 minutes pay per shift.
Often though staff will have tea and toast at breakfast time, a few little sit downs to write notes, lots of chances to grab a drink etc.
Or she could take up smoking....smokers get LOADS of breaks generally 🤔

The law is horseshit on matters like this. I work 12 hour night shifts and we just get a coffee and food and sit down whenever we fancy in between doing our tasks. However, the day staff basically get fuck all. The deputy manager has told staff that if they want a break, they should go and sit with the residents 😡😡😡. She doesn’t seem to think proper breaks are necessary, absolute c*ntbag.

• during the working day – 20-minute rest break if they're expected to work more than 6 hours during the day

I think this could mean at least 20 mins in a day even if it’s only 6 hours. And it doesn’t say what you get for 12 hours. Surly more for 12 hours than 2x20 as you are more tired.

No. Legally it’s 20mins for anything more than 6 hours. That includes 8, 10 and 12 hours.

It sounds like your employer is breaking the law. As you are working for more than six hours, you must be given a rest break of at least 20 minutes, which must be uninterrupted. Five minutes here and there doesn't count.

It seems to me that the problem is not the law. The problem is that your employer is breaking the law but none of the staff has done anything about it.

It doesnt say for every 6 hours; just that you get 20 minutes if you work more than 6 hours