Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Unpaid breaks?

  • 28-05-2011 1:13pm
    #1
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭


    going to go anonymous for this if thats ok..

    I work as a waiter in a restaurant that only opens in the evenings from 5pm onwards, with no "closing time" (the kitchen closes at 22:30, but the restaurant will still serve drinks/deserts etc well after this, and basically till the customers leave)

    my shift usually starts at 6pm and i can finish at almost any time after, from 10pm to 2.30am depending on how busy the place is. I usually stay till the end, even helping the kitchen porter wash dishes at my managers request.

    But it can be taken that my average shift is from 6 to 8 hours.

    For this time at work, i get a 15min unpaid break, and "free" dinner, usually around 22:30.

    Ive been working here for 2 years, and its always been the same, and ive never questioned it, but ive learned that a friend of mine working in a grocery store usually works 8 hour shifts, and gets a 30min paid break and a 15min unpaid break in this time.


    So im really just asking, what is the legal requirement RE: breaks?

    Ive spoken to my manager about it, and she/he told me that the breaks used to be 30min and paid but was stopped shortly before i joined as the owner had spoken to a "legal advisor" and concluded that it was unnecessary, and that because i work in a "catering industry" the usually rules dont apply.

    ive already had my wage cut to €8 per hour, so its hard enough to get by when im only working 15-20 hours a week...

    also, i get paid 1.5x my usual €8ph two sundays a month (€12ph), because that also a "legal requirement" for the catering industry, which is great and all, but i cant find any documents to back this up? can i claim the same for the other 2 sundays i work a month?


    unfortunately, ive long since lost my contract...


    any advice appreciated.


Comments

  • #2
    tenchi-fan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,339 ✭✭✭tenchi-fan


    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/hours_of_work/rest_periods_and_breaks.html

    The general rule on breaks is that you are entitled to a break of 15 minutes after a 4 ½ hour work period. (i.e. if your shift is 6 hours long, you are entitled to a 15 minute unpaid break)

    After a 6-hour work period you are entitled to a break of 30 minutes, which can include the first 15-minute break. There is no entitlement to be paid during these breaks and they are not considered part of working time.
    (i.e. on those 8 hour shifts you're entitled to one thirty-minute or two 15-minute unpaid breaks)

    No free lunches.

    So it sounds like you're getting a good deal.

    The rules are different for grocery store workers.


Advertisement