Tag archives: rest breaks

Twelve things to know about rights that workers have to rest breaks in South Africa

By Karen Ainslie (ZA) on December 19, 2016 Posted in South Africa

This article was written by Verushka Reddy, a Director and Erwyn Durman, a Candidate Attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa

Employers and employees should be aware of the following twelve main principles in relation to rest breaks at work.

Rest Breaks

Rest breaks are regulated by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997. The Act provides for three types: daily rest breaks, weekly rest breaks and meal breaks.
These rest breaks must be provided to all employees except senior managerial employees, sales staff who travel to customers and regulate their own hours, and employees who work less than 24

What rights do workers have to rest breaks in France?

By Laure Joncour on December 16, 2016 Posted in Europe, France

French regulations strictly supervise employees’ working time, which may not exceed a certain limit and must include break time and minimum rest periods. Not only must the employer comply with these obligations, but in the event of litigation, the employer must be in a position to produce evidence that it has done so.

Each employee is entitled to a minimum daily rest period of 20 minutes if they work 6 hours in a row. This break time is a period during which an employee can freely deal with his personal occupations without having to comply with directives of his employer.… Continue Reading

What rights do workers have to rest breaks in Germany?

By Jannis Breitschwerdt on December 13, 2016 Posted in Germany

This post was also contributed by Sebastian Kutzner, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich).

Due to increasing demands for a work life balance, uncertainty as to employees’ rights to rest periods, in particular, is widespread. German law distinguishes between two types of rest periods:

Rest breaks (to be granted during working time); and
Resting time (the period between two working days)

Subject to special rules for different industries both are regulated by the German Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz). During both periods employees cannot be required to work but must be free to use this time for their own … Continue Reading

¿What rights do workers have to rest breaks?

By Isabella Gandini on December 13, 2016 Posted in Colombia, Latin America

Article 167 of the Labor Colombian Code, establishes that “working hours during a work day, must be distributed in two sections, with at least one break or intermediate period, that rationally suit the nature of the work and the employee’s needs. Such resting time is not part of the working day”.

In this sense, Colombian labor law divides the working day of all employees in two sections, depending on their particular conditions (such as: position, duties, working schedule, kind of work, among others), with the purpose to grant them a minimum rest period during their working hours. As a general … Continue Reading

What rights do workers have to rest breaks in the UK?

By Claire Darbourne (UK) on December 7, 2016 Posted in Europe, UK

The Working Time Regulations 1998 (the Regulations), which implement the requirements of the 1993 EC Working Time Directive, introduced restrictions on the number of hours worked by employees and workers together with a right to rest breaks, rest periods and holidays. This post is concerned with the right to rest breaks during the working day.

Who is covered by the Regulations?

The Regulations apply to “workers”. The definition of worker includes employees, but also extends to other workers who are not independent self-employed contractors.

The right to rest breaks

Under the Regulations, subject to certain exceptions, adult workers whose daily … Continue Reading