Break Times - Is the employee legally obliged to take them on Time?

N

Nacho

Guest
Hi!

I work in a call centre - at the start of the work day the break times of each individual are posted up- One is supposed to adhere to it but many don't -
Recently it appears as though management want people to stick to this rule -

Are they allowed to FORCE people to take their breaks on time? -

I know I have a legal right to a break - what I don't know is whether they have the RIGHT to tell me WHEN to take it -

But also - one could argue that the reason they are trying to do this is to screw people over in relation to the amount of break time one gets in a day -
in the event one is a minute over ones break - One is notified the next day
EVEN if on that same day one had worked "overtime for free" - In other words at the end of ones shift - one is supposed to transfer an (understandbly angry) customer because one will not get paid for working past ones shift time- So it could come to pass that I worked to say 16:45 rather than 16:30 3/4 time s a week - So I work for free - a 10/15 minute gift to them at the end of the day - Now while this annoys me - seeing as I am on practically on minimum wage - Telling me WHEN to take my break infuriates me -
 
In other words at the end of ones shift - one is supposed to transfer an (understandbly angry) customer because one will not get paid for working past ones shift time
Click to expand...

Maybe you should also strictly adhere to this rule, and finish on the dot of 16:30.

If you're 'practically on minimum wage' - you may find that with the extra time you're doing, they are paying you below minimum wage - which would probably be illegal.

I would have thought management would want to control when people take breaks so that the call centre has a minimum number of staff on the phones at any one time.
 
As far as I'm aware they can enforce when breaks are taken.

I myself used to work in a certain airline call centre in East Wall where identical rules applied. It really annoyed me to have to do things like transfer customers once my shift had finished but the simple fact is you get no thanks from the employer either way.

Jobs like that are transitory in nature (or should be). Do whats best for you and move on to another line of work.
 
Check your contract for anything regarding break times, by law you are entitled to 15 minutes break every four hours you work, and the other time is made up from time accrued thru week.


As was said, if you are getting treated like this, you do not have many options.
 
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