What is the minimum amount of rest an adult worker must be allowed?
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833), adult workers have the right to:
- a minimum rest break of 20 minutes in the course of any working day that exceeds six hours;
- a minimum daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period during which they work for the employer; and
- an uninterrupted weekly rest period of at least 24 hours.
The rights to a minimum daily and weekly rest period do not apply in relation to shift workers when they change shift and cannot take a daily or weekly rest period between the end of one shift and the start of the next, or to workers engaged in activities involving periods of work split up over the day.
The provision of rest breaks and periods can be varied under the terms of a collective or workforce agreement so long as the employer undertakes to provide equivalent periods of compensatory rest.
