There has always been a labor relationship and discipline between employee and employer.
Some people want to devote as much time as possible to relaxing, communicating with colleagues, drinking coffee and discussing the latest gossip. Others insist on working hard to achieve maximum productivity and efficiency. Labor legislation, which regulates work and rest standards, provides for all kinds of liability for non-compliance with them, allows maintaining the balance of power between these two parties.
Right to rest during the working day
Art. 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for the right to rest for all employees. It should be at least 30 minutes, but not exceed 2 hours in total. This time is not counted as work time.
Each company has the right to independently develop a schedule, which will include the time of work of an employee of a certain specialty, rest, and also reflect the interval for each of the breaks. The most common use of rest breaks is during lunch. At the discretion of the manager, he has the right to increase or reduce it.
When applying for a job, an employee must be familiar with the established labor regulations.
Separately, smoking breaks during working hours are not allocated under the Labor Code, but they have the right to spend the provided break at their own request, including on smoking breaks.
When hiring, many companies ask you to indicate bad habits in your application form, including smoking, how often and how many cigarettes a day the candidate smokes.
The company is required to create separate smoking areas for such employees. Large holdings have begun to pay more attention to this problem and are fighting in every possible way for a healthy lifestyle, motivating employees to give up the bad habit.
What breaks are included in working hours?
In Art. 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, working time is defined as the duration of the employee’s performance of his job functions, as well as other periods classified as working periods in accordance with the law. As the latter, in accordance with the provisions of Part 2 of Art. 109 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, additional breaks during the working day are recognized, which is obliged to provide in connection with the peculiarities of technology and labor organization. The procedure for their provision is necessarily fixed in the internal labor regulations.
The list and duration of regulated breaks are not clearly established . Their list is open , and for some of them only a minimum time is defined.
The main prerequisites for their provision are:
- Performing work in unfavorable temperature conditions (extreme cold or, conversely, exposure to high temperatures).
- Presence of unfavorable harmful and dangerous factors during work.
- Working under heavy physical exertion during the labor process.
- Monotonous work at the computer or when processing large amounts of data obtained through information networks.
- Other cases when it is necessary to maintain the normal performance of personnel and ensure uninterrupted production.
Most of them are defined as a technical or technological interruption in work. In addition, special time is allocated for working mothers to feed their babies.
Break for rest and food
Let us remind you that rest for meals is provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Its exact beginning and end are determined by the head of the company by internal act.
Since this time is not working time, the employee can dispose of this break at his own discretion:
- go to lunch;
- go home;
- meet friends, etc.
It happens that an employee, due to the nature of his work, does not have the opportunity to have lunch at the allotted time. In such a situation, the employee has lunch during any other free time, this rest is credited to him and is subject to payment.
The legislator has established different labor regimes in regulations; also, the head of the company can approve several more options, depending on the category of employees.
The main thing to remember is that the lunch break should be at least half an hour.
Another feature is provided; it is as follows: the manager approves only the total time of the break, without indicating its beginning or end. The worker uses it at his own discretion, whether he spends it at once, divides it into several short periods, or maybe even uses this time for work activities.
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Types of breaks at work
Legislative acts provide for several types of possible break intervals at work. They depend on the specifics, severity of the work performed, as well as the conditions in which the workers find themselves, when such periods are considered working and must be paid.
Breaks are divided into the following categories:
- lunch and rest;
- rest and recuperation in bad weather conditions;
- time to be able to feed the baby;
- special types.
Break for warmth and rest
It is given to those employees whose working conditions involve heavy physical labor, as well as in adverse weather conditions. Such employees should be given a special work schedule and be provided with adequate space where workers can regain their strength and warm up. It is necessary to take into account that such break time must be counted as working time, entered into the time sheet, and subject to payment.
Workers who are entitled to rest for heating and food include:
- those performing labor functions in the cold or in buildings where there is no heating (builders, janitors);
- loaders with heavy physical exertion, etc.
Baby feeding break
For employees who decide to start working before the child is 1 year and 6 months old, the manager must allocate additional time so that she has the opportunity to feed the baby. The same opportunity should be given to single fathers or guardians.
Many employers are not very willing to agree to such breaks; the majority of them first try to find some reasons for refusal and not allocate another break; they ask questions about feeding, whether the child is fed breast milk or artificial formula.
If a woman for some reason cannot breastfeed her child and gives him artificial formula, on this basis the employer sometimes tries to refuse to allocate additional rest time; this is regarded as a direct violation of the labor legislation of the Russian Federation on the part of the employer.
The time to be able to feed the baby should be as follows:
- the family is raising a single newborn under the age of 1 year and 6 months, the opportunity to feed the child should be within 30 minutes after every three hours of labor;
- If there are two children or more under the age of 1.5 years in a family, then the opportunity to feed takes from one hour.
Such a break must be included in the time sheet and paid according to average earnings.
At the request of the worker, she can submit an application with clarifying points regarding the breaks provided:
- ask to combine an extra break and your lunch time;
- combine and assign breaks with the opportunity to feed the child to the beginning or end of the working day, shortening it.
To properly secure such a break, the employee must submit to the HR department:
- statement;
- a copy of the child's certificate.
An order must be issued for the employee to allocate time for the opportunity to feed the child, taking into account all additional nuances at the request of the employee.
Special breaks
Personal breaks
Breaks to go to the toilet, smoke, chat with a colleague over a cup of coffee or tea are not established by the legislator, but in all kinds of methodological recommendations, in order to reduce the level of employee fatigue and increase productivity, it is necessary to give such breaks for 10–20 minutes. Such rest time can be reflected in the company’s internal regulations. Some companies go further and equip a special room in the office space where their employees will fully rest and replenish their strength.
Technical break
Necessary for workers working with all kinds of equipment. These can be either workers who perform duties at the computer for a long time, or employees who work in production, and most of the time they are behind the conveyor belt. The employer must allow a break of 10–15 minutes, and the total rest time per day should be 50–90 minutes.
A technical break is also necessary:
- air traffic controller, he must interrupt his activities for 20 minutes. after two hours of labor;
- for a driver on intercity flights, he must stop for 15 minutes en route. 3 hours from the starting point and after two hours on the road;
- workers involved in the production of alcohol, juice, yeast;
- workers working with fire-resistant coatings are given the opportunity to rest for a period of ten minutes every working hour;
- whose work involves transporting goods on railway tracks and using respiratory protection equipment, rest must be at least 15 minutes at a remote distance from a place where it is possible to remove the protective equipment;
- employees of postal offices and cadastral chambers who receive citizens and provide consultations.
The above list is not exhaustive; the manager has the right to establish by internal act other positions that provide for a mandatory break to maintain health, efficiency and uninterrupted performance of work functions.
Whether such rest time will be counted as working time and whether it will be paid is up to management to decide.
Other technological and technical breaks
In document MP 2.2.9.2311-07 2.2.9. “The health status of workers in connection with the state of the working environment. Prevention of stress in workers during various types of professional activities. Methodological recommendations” (approved by the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation on December 18, 2007) provide other cases when it is recommended to provide a technical break to workers.
For example, it provides recommendations for manual workers :
- 2-3 breaks - for local physical activity lasting 15-20 minutes during the shift;
- 3 breaks - with regular physical activity lasting 20-25 minutes ;
- during general physical activity, it is also recommended to introduce at least 3 breaks with a total duration of 35 minutes .
For those working 12 hours with high work intensity, it is recommended to establish 4 regulated breaks with a total duration of at least 40 minutes .
When determining the time a work break takes, employers can be guided by these recommendations and, on their basis, develop their own rest standards, enshrining them in the internal labor regulations.
