Legal questions about breaks and working hours

Questioner

Good day, There are two questions I would like to ask; 1. How long am I legally allowed to work continuously per day without a break? 2. Can I use the paid break that my employer offers me (no longer than two times 14 minutes) in addition to the unpaid break of 30 minutes that I am entitled to when I have a working day longer than 5.5 hours? Thank you in advance for your answer.

Lawyer

This is what the Working Hours Act provides in response: ' § 5.2. Working and rest times Daily uninterrupted rest period Article 5:3 1. The employer shall organize the work in such a way that the young employee has an uninterrupted rest period of at least 12 hours in each consecutive period of 24 hours, including the hours between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. 2. The employer shall organize the work in such a way that the employee aged 18 years or older has an uninterrupted rest period of at least 11 hours in each consecutive period of 24 hours, which rest period may be shortened once in each consecutive period of 7 times 24 hours to at least 8 hours, if the nature of the work or the operating conditions so require. 3. The period referred to in the first or second paragraph commences at the first time of the day on which the employee performs work. Break arrangement Article 5:4 1. The employer shall organise the work of a young employee in such a way that, if he works more than 4.5 hours per shift, his work is interrupted by a break during the shift. The break shall be at least 30 minutes, which may be split into breaks of at least 15 minutes each if necessary. 2. The employer organizes the work of an employee aged 18 or older in such a way that if he: a. works more than 5.5 hours per shift, his work is interrupted by a break of at least 30 minutes, which may be divided into breaks of at least 15 minutes each; b. works more than 10 hours per shift, his work is interrupted by a break of at least 45 minutes, which may be divided into breaks of at least 15 minutes each. 3. The second paragraph may be deviated from by collective arrangement. In doing so, it shall be taken into account that the employer shall organise the work in such a way that if the employee works more than 5.5 hours per shift, his work shall be interrupted by a break of at least 15 minutes. Any stipulation that deviates from the second paragraph in a manner other than that provided for in this paragraph shall be null and void. ' In other words, it depends: - what your age is - whether a collective labor agreement applies

Questioner

Thank you very much for your answer. So if I understand correctly, the 5.5 hours of work should be interrupted with break(s)? I work 6 hour shifts. Additional info question two: I am 34 years old and a collective labor agreement applies.

Lawyer

Which collective labour agreement applies to you? Have you already looked into it to see if anything about breaks is included? If the collective labor agreement does not specify this, you are entitled to a break of at least 30 minutes (possibly split into 2 x 15 minutes) after you have worked 5.5 hours.

Questioner

I have found that when a break is shorter than 15 minutes (max 2 times), this falls under working time. (mental health care) So I am legally entitled to the 30 minute break AFTER 5 1/2 hours of work? With a 6 hour shift this doesn't really help either. We are allowed to use it earlier though. We never had to take a break, but now we are forced to. You can probably understand that most people who work such a short shift are not looking forward to this. Certainly not when you are allowed to take a short break twice during working hours. This is really sufficient. Can we do something with this? Thank you in advance for your answer.

Lawyer

You are legally entitled to a break, which the employer is obliged to provide in any case (even if you do not claim it) of 1x 30 minutes or 2x 15 minutes (if possible somewhere in between) if you work for more than 5.5 hours in a row, so not AFTER 5.5 hours. The 2 x 14 minutes paid break do of course count towards this, so that you and your employer must take/give an additional 2 minutes of (unpaid) break in addition to the working time (excluding break time) of 5.5 hours. There is a lot of attention these days for preventing sick leave. Mandating regular breaks is part of that. I don't think you can do much about it.

Questioner

Thank you very much for your clear answer, which raises some questions for me :) You write that my employer is obliged to give me a break, even if I do not claim one. We were now working 6-hour shifts, 9:00-15:00, but these have been extended by half an hour because of the break, so I am now on the work floor for half an hour longer. Would I legally be allowed to take the mandatory break half an hour before the end of the shift, if the planning and staffing permit it? After all, I would have had two 14-minute interruptions. And just to be clear; can this also be done with an 8-hour shift?

Questioner

Recovery: two times 15 minutes, of which two minutes are in your own time...

Lawyer

The law literally states: 'The employer shall organize the work of an employee aged 18 or older in such a way that if he works more than 5.5 hours per shift, his work shall be INTERRUPTED by a break of at least 30 minutes, which may be divided into breaks of at least 15 minutes each.' You are working a 6-hour shift. That is more than 5.5 hours. Therefore, a break of at least 15 minutes must be scheduled. Legally speaking, you will then be short an interruption of 2 minutes with 2 x 14 minutes. Legally, no longer or more break than this needs to be provided. Contractually or planning-wise, this can of course be different.