Legal Question about Breaks and Working Hours

Questioner

Dear all, I work in a store where you, as an employee, are always alone. My question concerns the breaks. If you work a whole working day, that is 9 hours in a row. But because you are alone, you basically never have a break. You can eat something quickly in the warehouse (not allowed in the store), but the store door must always be open, so as soon as a customer comes in, a delivery person comes or the phone rings, you have to go back into the store. So you can't really get away from work. It comes down to eating a sandwich in the doorway from warehouse to store. You can't smoke a cigarette, you can't even leave the store. If you need to go to the toilet, you can close the door for a few minutes with a sign on the window. Is this even allowed? Labor costs are reduced this way, but at the expense of the staff, I think. This is a large retail group. Not a private company. Thanks for the responses.

Lawyer

In the case of working and rest times, this is in principle a regulation according to the Working Hours Act. This regulation could be collectively deviated from within certain limits, for example on the basis of a collective labour agreement. An employer commits a breach of contract towards employees if he requires them to work in violation of the Working Hours Act, collective regulation and/or individual agreements in the employment contract. They can demand compliance and claim compensation for the damage they have suffered due to the failure to observe the (collective) rules or mutual agreements. You can also look in Chapter 5 of the Working Hours Decree (ATB) to see what regulations apply in your work sector.

Questioner

Thank you for this explanation.

Lawyer

In addition to Groenewegen, this. You do not get a break and work 9 hours. The employer must then also pay out 09 hours per day. In this case, he may not deduct a break. This was already decided by the Supreme Court 80 years ago. This still applies.