4 HOUR SHIFT...First Break?

[fishtank]

The rep,s a waste of space get rid of him also surely it,s illegal to take your break at the start of your time.

Its not illegal. There is no legal entitlement to a break at all on a 4 hour shift.

Breaks aren't dealt with by legal and illegal terms because they wouldn't be dealt with by a criminal court,they would be dealt with by an Employment Tribunal so the terms are lawful and unlawful.
It sounds picky but it is very important because.....

We have a collective agreement(Way Forward) that states that a) the break for 4 hours is 20 mins and b) It shouldn't be scheduled at the beginning or the end of your duty.
This collective agreement like all valid collective agreements forms part of your implied contractual terms.

Failure to adhere to these terms on the part of the employer would most likely be deemed unlawful at an Employment Tribunal so although it's not strictly illegal simply because illegal is the wrong term it is unlawful in our particular circumstances to schedule a break at the start of a 4hr duty in the same way it would a 6hr duty.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

The rep,s a waste of space get rid of him also surely it,s illegal to take your break at the start of your time.

Its not illegal. There is no legal entitlement to a break at all on a 4 hour shift.

Phil is correct there is no statutory right to a break until you are expected to work 6 hours or more.

Therefore I think its grey area and not sure if the rule of "somewhere in the middle" can be applied. However as it a contractual right and if the Union, the affected employees and Business all agree to taking a break at the start of the working day then ultimately its up to them. If a majority of affected employees disagreed with it, I would hope the Union would fight their corner and get it changed.

[aiden01]

The rep,s a waste of space get rid of him also surely it,s illegal to take your break at the start of your time.

Its not illegal. There is no legal entitlement to a break at all on a 4 hour shift.

Phil is correct there is no statutory right to a break until you are expected to work 6 hours or more.

Therefore I think its grey area and not sure if the rule of "somewhere in the middle" can be applied. However as it a contractual right and if the Union, the affected employees and Business all agree to taking a break at the start of the working day then ultimately its up to them. If a majority of affected employees disagreed with it, I would hope the Union would fight their corner and get it changed.

But as ft said under the way forward agreement you are entitled to a 20 min break for working 4 hours.

[UnhappyGremlin]

The rep,s a waste of space get rid of him also surely it,s illegal to take your break at the start of your time.

Its not illegal. There is no legal entitlement to a break at all on a 4 hour shift.

Phil is correct there is no statutory right to a break until you are expected to work 6 hours or more.

Therefore I think its grey area and not sure if the rule of "somewhere in the middle" can be applied. However as it a contractual right and if the Union, the affected employees and Business all agree to taking a break at the start of the working day then ultimately its up to them. If a majority of affected employees disagreed with it, I would hope the Union would fight their corner and get it changed.

But as ft said under the way forward agreement you are entitled to a 20 min break for working 4 hours.

Yes, but they do get it, just not in the middle.
None of them have complained, at least not to my knowledge, but I have to say, if it was affecting me, I would, if for no other reason than just to cause them a problem.

[barrychuckle]

So just to clarify. I'm a delivery postman on a 4hr a day 5 day week with rotating day off. 20 hours in total. Am I entitled to a 20 minute break? If so is there any official document I can print off as my line manager says I'm not entitled to a break. Thanks, Baz.

[t-c]

So just to clarify. I'm a delivery postman on a 4hr a day 5 day week with rotating day off. 20 hours in total. Am I entitled to a 20 minute break? If so is there any official document I can print off as my line manager says I'm not entitled to a break. Thanks, Baz.

Meal Brakes for non-standard, as part-time and extended attendances

Part-time jobs, and full-time jobs with non-standard attendance patterns, will attract meal breaks for each daily attendance as followed, reflecting a generally pro-rata entitlement to the national weekly standard:

Attendance length total breaks probable pattern

Less than 2 hours 30 minutes none (a 10 min grace break should be provided if work permits)
2 hours 30 to 3 hours get10 mins
3 hours 1 to 3 hours 30 get15 mins
3 hours 31 to 4 hours 59 get20mins
5 hours to 7 hours get30 mins
7 hours 1 to 8 hours 59 get40 mins get (40 or 20 + 20)
9 hours to 10 hours 59 get50 mins get (30 + 20)
11 hours to 12 hours 59 get60 mins get (40 + 20 or 30 + 30)
13 hours or longer get70 mins get (40 + 30)

The document you need to quote from is The Way Forward Agreement 2000
http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 41#p124803" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Section 5 page 22

[barrychuckle]

Thanks t-c.