Rest breaks and rest periods

New and updated

• Rest breaks and rest periods

  Type:

  Employment law manual

  Updated to include information on a relaxation of the enforcement of EU drivers' hours rules in response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

• Temporary relaxation of EU rules on drivers' hours introduced

  Type:

  Legal timetable

  Temporary relaxation of EU rules for drivers who supply supermarkets with food, non-food (personal care and household paper and cleaning) and non-prescription drugs in place in response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

• Working time: Threat to dismiss was unlawful detriment

  Date:

  3 October 2019

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Pazur v Lexington Catering Services Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a kitchen porter had been subjected to a detriment when he was threatened with dismissal after he refused to return to work following a breach of his right to a rest break.

• NHS trust's monitoring of junior doctors' rest breaks is "flawed"

  Date:

  7 August 2019

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Hallett v Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Court of Appeal held that an NHS trust's use of commercial software to monitor rest breaks results in a breach of junior doctors' terms and conditions of service.

• Working hours policy

  Type:

  Policies and documents

  Updated to include information on Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) v Deutsche Bank SAE, in which the ECJ held that EU law means that Spanish legislation should require employers to set up a system to record workers' actual daily working time.

• Working time: Compensatory rest period need not be one continuous break of 20 minutes

  Date:

  13 March 2019

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd v Crawford, the Court of Appeal held that, under reg.24 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833), a compensatory rest period need not consist of an uninterrupted 20 minutes provided that it has the same value in terms of contributing to the worker's wellbeing.

• Working time: Rest breaks need not be continuous

  Date:

  6 March 2019

  Type:

  News

  The Court of Appeal has ruled that there is no reason why a rest break should be uninterrupted in certain industries, overruling a previous decision in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

• 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..

• 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.