Rest breaks and rest periods

New and updated

• Working time: No compensation for injury to feelings for rest break failures

  Date:

  21 March 2018

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Santos Gomes v Higher Level Care Ltd, the Court of Appeal held that compensation for injury to feelings is not available in a claim under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833) for a failure to provide 20-minute rest breaks..

• Rest breaks and rest periods

  Type:

  Employment law manual

  Updated to include a reference to the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018, which consolidate and update the Merchant Shipping (Hours of Work) Regulations 2002.

• Where a worker is entitled to a 20-minute rest break under the Working Time Regulations 1998 can this be taken as two 10-minute breaks?

  Type:

  FAQs

• Working time: Compensatory rest period must be one continuous break of 20 minutes

  Date:

  16 January 2018

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Crawford v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that, as far as possible, compensatory rest must comprise a continuous 20-minute rest break, not an aggregate 20 minutes of shorter breaks.

• Working time: ECJ rules on timing of weekly rest periods

  Date:

  24 November 2017

  Type:

  Law reports

  In this Portuguese case, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has held that the weekly rest period of 24 hours may be granted on any day during each seven-day period, and not necessarily the day following six consecutive working days.

• Working time for executive directors who are employees contract clause

  Type:

  Policies and documents

  A model contract clause setting out an executive director's position in relation to the working time rules on paid annual leave, working hours, rest breaks and night working.

• Working time: Rest breaks can be refused without having been requested

  Date:

  13 April 2017

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Grange v Abellio London Ltd [2017] IRLR 108 EAT, the EAT held that a worker does not have to have made an explicit request to take a rest break under reg.12(1) of the Working Time Regulations 1998 for the employer to have refused a rest break for the purposes of reg.30(1)(a). It is sufficient that working arrangements operate in such a way as to prevent the break from being taken.

• Working hours policy

  Type:

  Policies and documents

  Updated to include information on Grange v Abellio London Ltd, in which the EAT held that an employer has a proactive duty to ensure a worker's entitlement to take a rest break.

• Working time: employers must take active steps to provide rest breaks

  Date:

  23 November 2016

  Type:

  Law reports

  The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that an employer has a proactive duty to ensure a worker's entitlement to take a rest break, and that entitlement will be "refused" if the employer puts into place working arrangements that fail to allow the taking of the required rest break.

• Compensation: employer failing to provide rest breaks not liable for injury to feelings

  Date:

  1 June 2016

  Type:

  Law reports

  The Employment Appeal Tribunal has considered if a tribunal can award compensation to an employee for injury to feelings where the employer fails to provide 20-minute rest breaks in breach of the Working Time Regulations 1998.