Ensure that workers are receiving the minimum rest breaks provided for by the Working Time Regulations 1998

FAQs

• Do the rest break and rest period provisions of the Working Time Regulations 1998 apply to all workers?

• What is the minimum amount of rest an adult worker must be allowed?

• What is the minimum amount of rest a worker under 18 must be allowed?

• Are employers obliged to pay their workers for 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?

• Is a worker entitled to a 20-minute rest break for each six-hour period worked?

• Can workers opt out of rest breaks?

• If an employee works for six hours a day are they entitled to a rest break?

• What counts as "working time" for the purposes of the Working Time Regulations 1998?

• Is time spent on call "working time" for the purposes of the Working Time Regulations 1998?

• What happens if the employer fails to comply with the Working Time Regulations 1998?