What rest periods are workers entitled to under the regulations?
Each worker is entitled to: • at least 11 hours off between each working day • at least one complete day (24 hours) off each week, or two days off each fortnight • a 20-minute break in any shift of six hours or more. Young workers (aged under 18 but over the compulsory school age) are entitled to shift breaks of 30 minutes when working a shift in excess of four and a half hours, a daily rest period of 12 hours and a weekly rest period of 48 hours. When should a worker be given compensatory rest? In essence, where the employer prevents the worker from taking a rest period or rest break or interrupts a period of rest, the worker should receive compensatory rest. The interruption might occur because the work carried out is divided up over the course of the day (as in the case of a split-shift worker) or where workers change their shift pattern, which results in that worker not being able to take the full daily or weekly rest period. The length of compensatory rest given to a worker should
