Rest Breaks
The Working Time Regulations allow for three types of rest break:
 In-work Rest
 Daily Rest
 Weekly Rest
In each case, the Regulations set out how much rest should be made available and how
often. Rest periods can be unpaid.
The Regulations imply that the rest breaks should still be available to those holding multiple
jobs with the same employer, but that daily and weekly rest breaks do not have to be
considered across different employers.
In-work Rest Breaks
Workers should receive an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes if they work more
than 6 hours in a day.
 Workers are allowed to spend the break(s) away from their workstation.
 The in-work rest break is likely to be a meal break, for which the Council generally allows
at least half an hour unpaid.
 A break must not occur right at the start or end of the work period.
The provision is for one break where daily hours exceed 6, not one break every 6 hours.
However, this is a minimum and more breaks – paid or unpaid – may be provided.
Young workers
Young workers are entitled to a rest break of at least 30 minutes (consecutive if possible) if
they work more than 4½ hours in a day.
 They are allowed to spend the break(s) away from their workstation and this must not
occur right at the start or end of the work period.
 These are likely to be meal breaks which are generally half an hour.
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 If a young worker has more than one employer, he or she is entitled to a rest break if his or
her total hours (totalled across all employers) in a particular day exceed 4½.
 Managers must ensure that working patterns allow an adequate amount of rest to be
taken.
If a specific group of workers may not be able to receive an in-work rest break on a regular
basis, e.g. due to operational requirements of the Service, a member of HR&OD should be
contacted to discuss the situation.
The line manager may be advised to complete a Rest Break Compliance Form which should
be submitted to HR&OD via the askHR self-service portal. Alternatively, if they do not have
access to the askHR self-service portal the form can be posted to HR Support Team,
HR&OD, Woodhill House, Westburn Road, AB16 5GB, LP-2. A copy of the form should also
be kept by the Service.
Full and adequate justification relating to the reason that workers are not receiving correct
breaks during their working hours each day must be stated on the form, along with details of
the specific group of workers within the workplace that are affected. An HR Officer from the
Business Partner team will contact the Service if further discussion or clarification is required
relating to the information stated on the form.
NB - This is not required for a one-off occurrence, where a single in-work rest break may
have been missed.
Daily Rest
Workers should receive a rest break of at least 11 consecutive hours in each 24 hour period
during which they work.
 A 24 hour period can start and end at any time i.e. it is not restricted to starting and
finishing at midnight,
 24 hour periods must not overlap,
 24 hour periods do not have to be consecutive i.e. the initial 24 hour period may start at
1am and finish 1am, with the next 24 hour period starting at 3am and finishing 3am.
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Young workers
Young workers are entitled to a rest period of at least 12 consecutive hours in each 24 hour
period during which they work.
 This is an hour longer than other workers must be allowed.
 The rest may be given as non-consecutive hours if work periods are split up over the day
or are short.
Weekly Rest
In addition to the daily rest detailed above, workers should receive either:
 A rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours in each week during which they work or
 Two 24 hour breaks each fortnight or
 One 48 hour break each fortnight.
It is at the line managers’ discretion as to which is given.
(A week is Monday to Sunday unless a collective agreement is made to the contrary. A
fortnight means a two week period beginning on alternate Mondays, the start of the pattern
for each employee being determined by his or her start date in post. Alternatively a collective
agreement may be made to set the pattern of fortnights for a particular employee group. For
some rotas it will be necessary to secure a collective agreement, as the distribution of breaks
will mean that compliance with the Regulations will depend on when fortnights are
considered to start).
Weekly rest periods are given in addition to the daily rest above and must not overlap.
Young workers
Young workers must receive a rest period of at least 48 consecutive hours during each
week they work (a week is Monday to Sunday unless a collective agreement is made to the
contrary). However, the rest may be given as non-consecutive hours if work periods are split
up over the day or are short, and it may be reduced to 36 consecutive hours for technical or
organisational reasons.
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Guidelines outlining how rotas can be checked, to ensure they provide the required rest
breaks entitlements, are available within Checking Rotas for Rest Break Compliance.
General Points to Consider
Managers must ensure that working hours/rotas allow sufficient rest to be taken, but are not
obliged to monitor employees to ensure that they do actually take it. Employees may choose
to waive all or part of a rest break (e.g. by choosing to work through a lunch break, or to swap
shifts with a colleague) but the breaks must be available initially. Employees should not be
discouraged from taking breaks and in some instances it may be particularly appropriate, in
the interests of health and safety, to encourage the taking of breaks.
The rest break provisions for mobile workers differ from those listed above, except if they are
young workers. The definition of mobile workers and their rest break entitlements are
detailed within the Mobile Workers guidance document.
In any situation where a work pattern established by the Council puts a worker’s health and
safety at risk - particularly where the work is monotonous or the work-rate is predetermined adequate breaks must be given to address the Health & Safety concerns.
If an employee has more than one Council post, his/her overall working pattern must be
reviewed to ensure that the appropriate breaks are available. This will require the cooperation of the managers concerned, with the manager of the post in which the employee
works the most hours taking the lead.
Addressing Non-Compliance with Daily and Weekly Rest Break Provisions
There is no option to opt out of rest break entitlements. However, these provisions can be
amended under certain exceptions or via collective agreements with recognised Trade
Unions, detailed within the Exceptions and Collective Agreement guidance document (this
does not apply to young workers’ rest breaks). Although it is preferable for working patterns
to comply directly with the Regulations this may be investigated where necessary to
accommodate operational requirements.
Where an individual or group is not able to take the required daily and weekly breaks on a
regular basis, the action to be taken will vary depending on whether the employee has more
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than one post, whether the employee works solely for the Council or has additional external
posts, and the frequency at which the breaks is missed.
One Post Only:
 Change rotas/work patterns.
e.g. an entire rota may need to be adjusted where daily or weekly breaks are found to be
missed on a regular basis, or an individual may be given the option to start later where
daily rest has not been fulfilled (due to reasons not listed within the exceptions).
 Consider whether an exception applies – which would require the provision of
compensatory rest.
 Seek a collective agreement to modify/exclude break if appropriate.
Any of the options above must be discussed with a member of HR&OD in the first
instance.
2+ Council Posts:
 Change work pattern.
e.g. an entire rota may need to be adjusted where daily or weekly breaks are found to be
missed on a regular basis, or an individual may be given the option to start later where
daily rest has not been fulfilled (due to reasons not listed within the exceptions)
Where daily and weekly rest breaks are missed regularly and work patterns cannot be rearranged in a satisfactory way, consider the following:
-
Advise the employee that he/ she must reduce hours in/give up one post
(depending on the reduction required.
-
Reduce hours in each post.
-
Redeploy.
 Consider whether an exception applies – which would require the provision of
compensatory rest.
 Seek a collective agreement to modify/exclude break if appropriate.
Any of the options above must be discussed with a member of HR&OD in the first
instance.
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Council and External Posts:
It is not necessary to consider the effect of external posts on rest breaks for the purpose of
compliance with the Working Time Regulations. In a rest break from the Council an employee
may choose how he/she spends his/her time, including working for another employer.
However, there may be other health and safety concerns that necessitate changes, which
should be discussed with a member of HR&OD in the first instance.
 There is no option to opt-out of rest breaks.
 Rest breaks for young workers may not be modified or excluded.
 All considerations above are subject to the requirements of health and safety legislation.
 Changes to work patterns are subject to consultation/negotiation.
 A member of HR&OD must be consulted regarding instances of non-compliance with the
Regulations, and senior management in the Service must be advised.
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