Paddy Power PLC suffered a bloody nose after 14 employees lodged successful claims against the gambling giant in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The claims arose from the bookmaker’s failure to comply with its statutory obligation to provide rest breaks under the Organisation of Working Time Act (OWTA), 1997. The Mandate Trade Union took the cases on behalf of their members which resulted in compensation of up to €1,000 being awarded to each of the 14 aggrieved employees. So, what rest breaks are employers required to provide by law?
OWTA
The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (the Act) sets out employees minimum statutory entitlements to breaks and rest periods. The following summary sets out some of the key provisions of the Act concerning rest breaks.
Daily rest periods
Employees are entitled to a rest period of not less than 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period.
Breaks while at work
Employees who work more than 4.5 hours are entitled to a rest period of at least 15 minutes. Employees who work for six hours or more are entitled to a rest period of at least 30 minutes. Providing a break to an employee at the end of the working day does not satisfy the employer’s obligation to afford sufficient rest to the employee.
Shop employees
Different rules apply to shop employees working in retail businesses. Shop employees who work more than six hours and whose hours of work include the period 11.30am–2.30pm are entitled to a one-hour consecutive break which must occur between 11.30am–2.30pm.
Weekly rest periods
All employees are entitled to 24 hours’ consecutive rest every seven days, which must be preceded by a daily rest period of 11 hours.
Exemptions
Employees working in the following areas are not protected by the Act:
- Gardaí
- Defence Forces
- Employees who control their own working hours
- Family employees on farms or in private homes
In certain situations, employers may be exempt from the requirement to provide rest periods. If for an objectively justified reason, the employer does not provide the prescribed rest breaks, the Code of Practice on ‘Compensatory Rest’ recommends that employers give employees equivalent compensatory rest at another time.
Are toilet, lunch and smoke breaks included in the statutory entitlements?
The short answer is no. The Act does not include provision for specific purpose breaks such as toilet, lunch or cigarette breaks. To comply with their legal obligations, employers must only provide employees with their statutory minimum rest periods. It's important nevertheless to treat your employees with dignity and respect. Custom and practice in each employer organisation will dictate how such breaks are treated.
Penalties
As demonstrated by the Paddy Power case, employers that do not comply with the Act are liable to receive fines and other court-ordered penalties. The Act provides for fines of up to €1904.61 and a further €634.87 for each day that the offence continues.
Best practice approach
Well-run businesses treat their staff well. This often entails providing employees with more favourable working conditions than simply the statutory minimum. While it is important to stay on the right side of the law, it is arguably more important for employers to sometimes go above and beyond statutory minimum terms of employment. Trusting employees not to abuse discretionary policies which treat them with respect, is likely to inspire greater loyalty and commitment than a bare minimum approach.
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