Glossary

Rest and Meal Breaks

All employees are entitled to rest and meal breaks or reasonable compensation if they do not get a break.

There are no specific rules for when or how long a rest and meal break can be. But the length and timing of each break should be reasonable in accordance with the length of the working day. Both the employer and employee can negotiate the terms of rest and meal breaks into the employment agreement.

Employers can only restrict rest and meal breaks on certain conditions. This means the restriction must be for a good reason (i.e. it is necessary based on the nature of the work) and the employee must agree to the condition in writing or verbally.