Structred breaks for employees

[Katymac]

I have always employed staff on 6 hour shifts because if the shift goes over 6 hours they need a break.

A member of staff has asked for longer hour which tbh would benefit me - however I need to establish how a break is defined.

It wouldn't be a lunch break as they eat lunch with the children; they get regular tea breaks & snacks whenever they want.

I struggle with somewhere to 'put' them if they need to be away from the children.

What is a 'break'

Where I work we go away from our work enviroment altogether.

If you have over a certian number of people working for you then you need a special area anyhow and so I go into the "tearoom" and sit and have fifteen minutes away from my work station.

Actually where I work you are not allowed to not have a break as it is felt very important for productity, which is true.

I used to work in a warehouse and we did 6 hour shifts and then were told to always take 15 minutes to get better productivity

That is it, that is the problem - I think

It's my house and apart from my bedroom there isn't anywhere that children aren't except maybe the kitchen (children eat it there at mealtimes)

We are in a tiny village miles from anywhere with nowhere to go

So I guess I keep to 6 hr shifts

I'm not aware of there being any obligation to provide a specific place to have the breaks, just that a 20 minute break must be given and that the employee must have the option of spending it away from their workstation. That could mean that they nip to the Post Office or walk round the block if they want, or that they could sit quietly in the corner with a book if that's their preference...

There are plenty of small offices with no tea room or cafeteria.

So sitting in the kitchen at the table with a cuppa & a magazine would be OK?

Yes, as far as I know. The rule is just that they have to be able to leave if they want to - e.g. pop out to the shops. I think it's just designed to stop people saying "Oh, you're on your 20 minute break, but you have to stay in the office in case the phone goes" or whatever.

That is fine that gives me so much more scope for flexibility

So how does the NHS get away with making you stay on a ward on nights for your break?

Often you can be the only Registered Nurse on night shift so you cannot leave the ward when it is your break.

Is that legal?

I used to go and sit in my car.

agedknees

Well, it depends whether your break is one under the Working Time Regulations (20 minutes in any shift longer than 6 hours) or ones you're just given by the employer. If it's the latter, they can have what rules they want. If it's the former, it's probably not legal (although, until recently, there were some funny rules for working time on doctors etc, so there may have been something odd in there. I didn't really deal with the NHS, so never learnt the little oddities).

We have 45 minutes break (unpaid). But we are not allowed to take the break away from the ward as we would leave the ward without a Registered Nurse.

We work from 9.15pm - 7.30am when we do night shifts. It is a long night, especially when you don't get a proper break.

Well, 20 minutes of that you should be able to leave the ward. Would it be worth taking up with your union or, with staffing levels, is it pie in the sky?

I've wondered about this.

Until this year we had to work 7.5 hours & only had 30 mins (lunch) break a day (unpaid).

Was this legal? This year we have flexitime, so can take 45mins break in 8 hours.

I sometimes wonder if small companies know all the rules!

Yes, the 20 minute break includes lunchtimes, so if you were given 30 minutes unpaid then then rules were followed.

Sorry!