Working time and rest break entitlements

Overview

Rest breaks and maximum working hours in England and Wales are governed by the Working Time Regulations 1998. These give most workers, not just employees, entitlements to a maximum average working week, daily and weekly rest, and rest breaks during the working day. Some categories of worker are excluded or subject to modified rules, so the correct answer can depend on the type of work, the worker’s age, and any agreements in place.

Maximum weekly working hours

Under regulation 4, a worker’s working time, including overtime, must not exceed an average of 48 hours for each seven days. This is normally averaged over a 17 week reference period rather than measured in any single week, so working more than 48 hours in one busy week is not in itself a breach provided the average stays within the limit.

A worker can agree in writing to opt out of the 48 hour limit. The opt out must be voluntary and individual, an employer cannot force it, and the worker can cancel it by giving notice (usually seven days, or up to three months if the agreement specifies a longer notice period). Opting out does not remove the entitlement to rest breaks and rest periods below.

Daily and weekly rest periods

There are two separate entitlements to rest away from work.

Daily rest: an adult worker is entitled to a rest period of not less than 11 consecutive hours in each 24 hour period.

Weekly rest: under regulation 11, a worker is entitled to an uninterrupted rest period of not less than 24 hours in each seven day period. The employer can instead provide either two uninterrupted 24 hour rest periods, or one uninterrupted 48 hour rest period, in each 14 day period. In principle this weekly rest is in addition to the daily 11 hour rest.

Rest breaks during the working day

Under regulation 12, where a worker’s daily working time is more than six hours, they are entitled to a rest break. Subject to any applicable collective or workforce agreement, this break must be an uninterrupted period of not less than 20 minutes, and the worker is entitled to spend it away from their workstation. This is a break during the shift, and there is no legal requirement that it be paid unless the contract says so. A break at the very start or end of the shift does not satisfy the requirement, because it is meant to break up the working period.

Young workers

Workers above school leaving age but under 18 have enhanced protection. They generally must not work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, these limits cannot normally be averaged, and there is no individual opt out. They are entitled to a 30 minute rest break where they work more than 4.5 hours, at least 12 hours daily rest, and normally two rest days per week.

Night work

Night workers have additional protections. Night workers’ normal hours must not exceed an average of 8 hours in each 24 hour period, and those whose work involves special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain have an absolute 8 hour limit in any 24 hours. Night workers are also entitled to free health assessments.

Exceptions and special cases

The rules do not apply uniformly to everyone. Some occupations have their own regimes or are excluded from parts of the Regulations, for example certain transport workers, and there are special rules for the armed forces, police in some respects, and domestic servants in private households. Certain sectors, such as some emergency, security and continuity of service work, fall within “special case” provisions where rest can be modified provided compensatory rest is given. Where daily rest, weekly rest or the in shift break is interrupted or not taken because of these provisions, the worker is generally entitled to an equivalent period of compensatory rest.

Genuinely self employed people running their own business are not workers and are outside these protections. People who genuinely control their own working time, such as some managing executives, may fall within the “unmeasured working time” exception.

If the rules are not being followed

The practical steps usually run in this order.

1. Check the position on the facts. Identify whether the person is a worker, employee, or genuinely self employed, whether they are under 18, whether they are a night worker, and whether any opt out or workforce agreement is in place. Keep records of hours actually worked, breaks taken, and any refusals.

2. Raise it informally with the employer or manager first, explaining the specific entitlement not being met.

3. If that does not resolve it, put a clear written grievance to the employer setting out the hours worked and the breaks missed and asking for the position to be corrected.

4. Acas offers free advice and an early conciliation service, and it is sensible to contact them before any tribunal claim.

5. Enforcement differs by entitlement. Complaints about being refused rest breaks or rest periods, or about not receiving the night work limits, can be brought in the employment tribunal, and there is normally a strict time limit of three months less one day from the refusal, so acting promptly matters. The 48 hour weekly limit is enforced differently, being overseen by the Health and Safety Executive or the relevant local authority rather than solely by individual tribunal claim, so a report to the appropriate enforcing body may be the route there.

It is also unlawful to subject a worker to a detriment, or to dismiss them, for asserting these rights or refusing to sign or for cancelling an opt out, and a worker treated in that way may have a separate claim.

Key facts that would refine this answer

The precise entitlement depends on whether the person is a worker or genuinely self employed, their age, whether they do night work, whether they have signed a 48 hour opt out, whether a collective or workforce agreement modifies the in shift break, and whether the job falls within any of the excluded or special case categories. If you tell me the type of work, the hours pattern, the age of the worker, and whether any opt out or agreement exists, I can give a more targeted answer.