The law requires companies to grant a minimum break of 15 minutes when the continuous workday exceeds six hours. The collective agreement can extend this break.
Companies must grant a minimum break of 15 minutes when the daily continuous workday exceeds six hours, according to Article 34.4 of the Workers' Statute. According to information published by elespanol.com, labour lawyer Ester Parareda explains how this rule applies and what happens with those minutes.
The rule affects offices, commerce, hospitality, and industry, although each sector may have particularities according to the applicable collective agreement. This legal minimum can be extended through collective bargaining.
The key phrase is "exceeds six hours". A workday of exactly six hours does not automatically activate the right. In contrast, a worker who works seven consecutive hours is entitled to 15 minutes of break.
Workers under 18 have specific protection: they enjoy a minimum break of 30 minutes when their continuous workday exceeds four and a half hours.
The common question is whether this break counts as working time. According to the lawyer, it depends on the agreement:
"if the agreement does not provide for this time to be considered working hours, it will not be considered working hours"
In that case, the company can require recovering those minutes at the end of the workday. The lawyer summarises it like this:
"Even if we have to stop for 15 minutes, the company will make us recover these 15 minutes at the end of the workday"
To know if the break counts as working hours and if the agreement improves the legal minimum, it is advisable to first review the collective agreement of the sector and the employment contract itself.
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