Working hours and rest breaks
Explore how we help businesses with their legal requirements around employment.
Contact our teamMoore Barlow’s employment law solicitors can provide expert legal advice for working hours and rest breaks to ensure that employers comply with the law and protect the rights of their employees.
We provide expert advice on working time regulations, rest breaks, flexible working arrangements, and more. The law covering working hours and rest breaks can be complex. We can analyse existing working patterns, draft opt-out agreements and assess more complex working arrangements to ensure your company is fully compliant.
What are working hours and rest breaks?
Working hours and rest breaks are the time that an employee is required to work and take breaks. The maximum working hours are set by law in the UK, with most employees working a standard 35-40 hours per week. Employees are entitled to rest breaks, including a minimum of 20 minutes break if they work more than 6 hours per day.
Helping you minimise risks
Unless they have signed an opt-out agreement, employees and workers should not be working more than 48 hours per week. If you have employees and/or workers working more than 48 hours per week and they haven’t signed an opt-out, you run the risk of a claim being brought against your company.
By law, the majority of employees and workers are entitled to certain rest breaks. For example, they are entitled to:-
- A 20-minute rest break if you work more than 6 hours a day;
- 11 hours rest between working days; and
- Either: an uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week; or
an uninterrupted 48 hours without any work each fortnight.
There are also special rules relating to working hours and rest breaks for employees and workers who work nights and/or complete sleep in shifts.
This is a complex area of law and it is important to understand that the rules differ for what constitutes ‘working time’ depending on whether you are:-
- calculating working hours; or
- calculating the national minimum/living wage.
Our team of employment solicitors
Your expert legal support
We can draft a working time opt-out agreement on your behalf for you to give to staff who, on average, works more than 48 hours per week.
We can also help you assess working patterns and confirm if employees are taking the correct number of breaks. If we uncover any issues during this analysis, we can work with you to resolve them and minimise the risk of a possible claim being brought against your company.
We can also help you analyse more complex working arrangements such as shift patterns, night time working, on-call rotas and all sleep-in shifts to ensure that employees and workers are taking the correct number of breaks. We can also offer advice on the National Minimum Wage Regulations to confirm that your company is fully compliant.
Why choose our solicitors to help with working hours and rest breaks?
At Moore Barlow, our solicitors are the best choice for helping with working hours and rest breaks because of their extensive knowledge and experience in employment law. We understand the importance of ensuring that employees are treated fairly and are able to take the necessary breaks to maintain their health and wellbeing. With their expertise, our solicitors can provide effective solutions and advice to ensure that your business is compliant with all relevant regulations and laws.
How can our solicitors help with working hours and rest breaks?
Our solicitors are well-versed in advising employers on the intricacies of working hours and rest breaks. We can help you ensure that you are complying with the relevant legislation and provide guidance on how to manage employee schedules effectively. Whether you need assistance with drafting policies or resolving disputes, our team is here to support you every step of the way.
Our expert team work across our offices in London, Richmond, Southampton, Guildford, Lymington and Woking. Contact us for specialist employment law advice.
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