Your rights to breaks and paid holidays (Leaflet 352)

Date: 18 July 2007

Your rights to breaks and paid holidays

Joining a trade union can help you improve on these basic rights.

Your minimum rights at a glance

• 20 days paid holiday per year, rising to 24 days, then 28 days
• 20 minute break if the working day is more than six hours
• Rest period of 11 hours between working days
• Rest period of 24 hours once every seven days
• Two full days off per fortnight (normally one per week)
• Night workers to work a maximum average of eight hours in 24
• Free health assessments for night workers
• Maximum 48 hours for the average working week

Breaks and rest time

Your rights

• 11 hours consecutive rest in every 24 hours - ie a maximum 13 hour working day, unless you are changing shifts or have a system of split shifts
• Two uninterrupted periods of 24 hours rest in every 14 days
• When working for more than six hours, a rest break of 20 minutes, taken away from where you normally work
• If the pattern of work puts health and safety at risk, 'adequate rest breaks' must be taken

Exceptions

• Jobs that require round-the-clock staffing, eg hospitals, prisons, care homes or 24-hour production
• Jobs with busy peak periods such as retail, tourism and agriculture
• Work that involves security or surveillance to protect property or individuals
• When an emergency occurs

Compensatory rest

You should not wait more than:

• A couple of weeks to take all your daily rest
• A couple of months to take all your weekly rest

On average, even if you have opted-out of the 48-hour week, you should receive 92 hours rest a week.

NB These entitlements can be changed by a collective agreement, made between the company and workforce representatives. Check your staff handbook in case this has happened in your company.

Maximum 48-hour week

Your rights

The average is normally worked out over 17 weeks. For the exceptions shown under 'breaks and rest time' in the first section of this leaflet the average is worked out over 26 weeks.

Working time includes:

• Overtime
• Training at the workplace
• Travelling as part of your work
• Being 'on call' at your place of work

Opting out

• Your employer cannot force you to opt out if you do not want to
• It is unlawful for them to dismiss you or treat you less favourably for refusing to sign an opt out
• You can cancel an opt out you have signed at any time, with an agreed notice period of up to three months
• If no notice period has been agreed, you need to give a minimum of seven days notice to cancel an opt out

Exclusion

"No one can be forced to work more than an average of 48 hours a week against his or her will." - Government guidance.

Night workers

Limits on night working

The average nightly working time is calculated over 17 weeks.

It includes overtime where it is part of the normal hours of work.

Exceptions

Health checks for night workers

Where possible, they should allow you to switch to day shifts on medical advice.

Workers under 18

• A maximum working week of 40 hours (with no opt out)
• A maximum working day of eight hours
• A ban on night working (working no later than midnight and starting no earlier than 4am)
• A rest period of 12 hours between working days
• Two days weekly rest
• A 30 minute daily rest if working more than four and a half hours

Paid holiday

• If you work full-time, it is 20 days leave (24 days from October 2007 and 28 days from April 2009)
• If you work part-time, your leave is four times your average working week (4.8 times from October 2007 and 5.6 times from April 2009)
• If your hours vary, your weekly holiday pay is your average weekly pay over the previous 12 weeks, including compulsory overtime, shift pay and bonuses
• Agency workers are also entitled to paid leave

Employers can choose to include bank and public holidays as part of your annual holiday entitlement.

When can you take your holiday?

To help get the time off you want, give your employer as much notice as you can.

Starting a job: you are entitled to paid leave from day one, although employers can make you build it up by allowing one twelfth of the total due at the start of each month.

Leaving a job: you should receive holiday pay for any unused holiday.

If you have taken too much holiday, you will have to pay your holiday pay back.

Buying out holidays: From April 2009 employers are not allowed to buy back any of the 5.6 weeks minimum holiday entitlement. Unless in the case of termination of employment.

Carrying holidays over: An employee, with the agreement of their employer, may carry over up to 1.6 weeks holiday from one holiday year to the next.

Changing your hours

• Change your normal hours of work
• Work more than 48 hours a week
• Cut your hours and pay
• Work hours when it is hard to get childcare

Unions get you more

If your company recognises Usdaw or another trade union improved rights may have been negotiated.

Get your rights

For further details visit www.berr.gov.uk/employment/employment-legislation/working-time-regs/

Make sure you get your rights - join a union

Your rights to breaks and paid holidays (Leaflet 352) was correct at date of publication July 2007.

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Last Modified: Friday, 12-Sep-2008 00:05:01 EST