Breaks at work

[pjm007]

I work a ten hour shift, I start work at 12pm and finish at 10pm. I normally take my first break at 17.45. How long can a person legally go without taking a break ?
Is 17.45 a reasonable time to take a first break ?
Thanks in advance.

[applebee]

I guess in SOME odd situations it may depend on the work...but in any standard setting every two hours a 15 minute break is due to the worker. Every 4 a half hour break is due.

[buildersmate]

The above may be true in one person's situation but it isn't the law. If an employee works for longer than 6 hours, an unpaid break of at least 20 minutes must be provided for. But there are various exceptions and let outs for nightworkers and mobile workers, and there are different rules for young workers. Also locally-negotiated agreements may vary this.

[buildersmate]

So unless you are a young workers pjm, your employer is within the law.

[pjm007]

No, I'm not a young worker. Its my choice/preference to go at that time, but just recently one of my managers has said that I should be going earlier and not leaving it 5.75 hours before a break.

Thanks.

[shammydodger]

Buildersmate is correct regarding the law. As regards your particular situation, if your manager has such a problem with this, one would have thought they would have a clause in your contract specifying the periods in which you take your breaks. For example, I work a 12-hour shift and get 2 paid 30-minutes breaks. My contract stipulates that I take the first break in the first half of the shift, the second break in the second half and that neither is taken in the first 2 hours nor the last 2 hours of the shift. So, if I wanted to, I could take my first break after 5-and-a-half hours and the second after 6 hours. That is, take my full entitlement together as 1 hour. There is nothing in the law that specifies when you must take your breaks, only what breaks you are entitled to. It is a matter for you and your manager to agree upon.