Breaks

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, gives employees a general entitlement to:

• 11 hours daily rest per 24 hour period.
• One period of 24 hours rest per week preceded by a daily rest period (11 hours).
• Rest breaks of 15 minutes where up to 4½ hours have been worked; 30 minutes where up to six hours have been worked.

These rest breaks and intervals may be varied if there is a Labour Court-approved collective agreement in place or if a regulation has been made for a particular sector. If there are variations in rest times and rest intervals under agreements or in the permitted sectors, equivalent compensatory rest must be available to the employee. Some workers are exempted from the Act. Note that national and or local agreements may allow additional days for some members.

You can get more information from www.citizensinformation.ie and www.irishstatutebook.ie.