Take a break! Or: Breaks at Work

Quick Overview

• The employer must provide a meal and rest break no later than after 6 hours of continuous work.
• For juvenile employees, a shorter limit of 4.5 hours applies.
• A standard break lasts at least 30 minutes, is not counted as working time, and is usually unpaid.
• However, if work cannot be interrupted, the employer must ensure an adequate period for a meal and rest, which is counted as part of working hours.
• Safety breaks, on the other hand, are part of working hours, and the employee is paid for them.

Do you need advice on whether your employer is deducting breaks correctly, or what to do if they want you to work without a break? Describe your situation to us. We will verify whether the shift schedule and working time records comply with the Labor Code and propose a specific course of action.

Meal and Rest Break

The Labor Code requires employers to provide their employees with a lunch and rest break no later than six hours into their workday. This break must last at least half an hour.

However, it is possible to split it into several segments, provided that one of them lasts at least 15 minutes. Typically, however, this break is taken all at once during the lunch break, and very often people take it before six hours have passed. But that’s fine. The work break is not counted as part of working hours.

In practice, we sometimes encounter employers who do not address employee breaks and do not count them toward working hours. Employees may eat lunch at their computers and do not necessarily request a break themselves. On the one hand, the well-known saying “where there is no plaintiff, there is no judge” applies; however, it must be emphasized that this practice is contrary to the law.

Generally, however, breaks are unpaid, and an employee working a standard 8-hour shift leaves work only after 8.5 hours. The only exception is the safety breaks listed below. Employees are paid for these breaks.

If your workplace uses an electronic time-tracking system, you’ve probably noticed that even on shorter workdays—when you work, say, 6.5 hours—the last half-hour is (usually) automatically deducted from your total hours. This is a programmed break at work that the system can deduct from your working hours, whether you actually take it or not.

In connection with work breaks, it is important to mention the even stricter conditions for juvenile employees. The employer must provide them with a break no later than after 4.5 hours of work.

From our experience: An employeeat a small business had a 30-minute break automatically deducted from their time sheet every day. In reality, however, they remained alone at the workplace the entire time, taking orders and serving customers. In such a situation, it is not enough for the system to “record” a break. What matters is whether the employee had a real opportunity to stop working and rest. If not, this may constitute working time for which they are entitled to wages.

Safety Breaks

Safety breaks may be provided to employees engaged in heavy physical work, work in awkward positions, or other strenuous activities. For employees performing work involving increased physical exertion, the right to safety breaks may be determined based on a risk assessment conducted by the employer.

The duration and frequency of safety breaks are not strictly defined by law. A short break of 10–15 minutes is generally recommended after every two hours of strenuous work. Breaks are counted as working time and are paid. The employer must establish specific rules in internal regulations based on a risk assessment.

As of January 1, 2024, the right to safety breaks depends on the workplace risk assessment, which the employer must reflect in the work rules or internal regulations.

Other exceptions to the standard rules apply to workers whose activities have been classified as high-risk under the government’s health protection regulations and who must continuously wear personal protective equipment or other devices that restrict their movement, breathing, or vision.

In recent years, we have seen this, for example, in some specialized COVID-19 units. These employees were entitled to a first break of at least fifteen minutes after two hours of work and then to a break of at least ten minutes after another two hours. The last break should last at least ten minutes and be scheduled no later than one hour before the end of the shift.

The public is quite familiar with the schedule for drivers, who are responsible not only for their own lives but also for the lives of others. That is why the law ensures they do not drive while overly tired and that they take breaks during their trips. Drivers of vehicles weighing over 3.5 tons must take a break of at least 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving. The break may be divided into two parts—the first must be at least 15 minutes, the second at least 30 minutes.

Working Hours and Rest Periods

So far, we have focused on breaks you can take during your regular working hours, whether or not they count toward your total working time. However, the Labor Code also regulates so-called rest periods, i.e., the time between two shifts, days off, and uninterrupted weekly rest.

Rest Period

According to the Labor Code, an employee is entitled to at least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest between shifts. However, in some cases, the law allows this rest period to be reduced to just 8 hours within a 24-hour period. This applies, for example, to the healthcare sector or agriculture, where work is often weather-dependent. During the subsequent rest period, however, the employer must allow the employee to take the shortened rest period

Uninterrupted weekly rest

In addition to daily rest, an employee is also entitled to uninterrupted weekly rest. For employees over the age of 18, the employer must schedule work so that the employee has at least 24 hours of uninterrupted rest within the week, immediatelyfollowed byuninterrupted daily rest.

In practice, this typically amounts to at least 35 hours of uninterrupted time off. For juvenile employees, the uninterrupted weekly rest period must last at least 48 hours.

Public Holidays

Further protection for employees is provided by the fact that an employer may not require an employee to work on days off (days designated for the employee’s weekly rest period and on public holidays). This prohibition may be waived only in exceptional situations, such as urgent repair work, inventory and year-end closing tasks, transportation work, and work necessary to meet the living, health, educational, cultural, and other needs of the population.Exceptions also include work in supply, telecommunications, transportation, or the media.

Summary

The employer must provide the employee with a meal and rest break no later than after 6 hours of continuous work; for minors, no later than after 4.5 hours. The break must last at least 30 minutes and may be split, provided that one part lasts at least 15 minutes. A regular meal and rest break is generally not counted as working time and is unpaid, whereas safety breaks are counted as working time and the employee is paid for them. If work cannot be interrupted, the employer must ensure an adequate period for meals and rest, which is counted as part of working hours. In addition to breaks during a shift, an employee is also entitled to uninterrupted daily rest between shifts and uninterrupted weekly rest. If the employer merely deducts breaks formally but the employee actually works during them, this may constitute a problem regarding both working time records and compensation.