What are the rules around taking breaks at work?
Labour laws in Canada set out certain regulations that must be followed when setting up breaks at work for your employees. The following are the regulations set up by the labour act of Canada as guidelines for taking breaks at work:
30 Minute Break Every 5 Hours
- For every five hours of consecutive work, employees must be given a 30-minute lunch break.
- The break must be taken all at once and cannot be broken into two 15-minute periods.
- If an employee is unable to take the full 30 minutes due to the demands of the job, they must be paid for that time.
8-Hour Rest
- Employees must be given an eight-hour rest period between two full shifts.
Medical Breaks
- Employees are allowed to take breaks for medical reasons at any time during their day.
- To take advantage of this type of break, the employee must provide a medical note from a doctor clearly stating why they need the medical break.
Nursing Break
- For any employee that needs to nurse their baby or pump breast milk, they may take this break at any time for however long it takes for them to nurse or pump breast milk.
The above regulations have to be implemented at all organizations and all employees should be told of their rights to take breaks at work.
That being said, there is one main exemption to the above rules:
Employers may postpone or cancel your break if it is necessary due to a situation that your employer could not reasonably anticipate and could threaten
- life, health or safety of a person
- damage to or loss of property
- serious interference with the normal operation of the business
The above exemption has consequences on occupations such as doctor, nurse, EMT and truck driver. There is a list of different careers where breaks at work are less regulated by the government and more a product of their particular working conditions.
For example, people in the health field have to be able to take on longer periods of work, especially in cases of emergency. It would make no sense if a nurse had to stop treating a patient exactly four and half hours into their shift as they could be dealing with a life-threatening situation.
It is important for employers to know what regulations need to be followed in order to both keep the integrity of their business and keep their employees safe. For more on how taking breaks at work keep your employees safe, keep reading.
Why taking breaks at work is important
Though some people have a difficult time stepping away from their work, it is important to encourage people to take regular breaks. Taking regular breaks at work can not only benefit your employees but will also help the entire organization.
The following are reasons why taking regular breaks at work is important for both the employee and the company:
- Increased productivity: when employees take regular breaks at work they are able to come back with more energy meaning there is an increase in productivity.
- Improved mental well-being: taking breaks at work means people’s minds are able to rest and stop thinking about work for a while. This not only helps with productivity but can mean your employees are less stressed and are more likely to enjoy working for the company and an increase in retention rates can be seen.
- Creativity boost: with proper breaks at work people can have enough energy in the afternoon to have a creative boost. This means that there can be more innovation throughout the day which benefits the entire organization.
- Healthy habits created: when people take regular breaks at work, they can give themselves time to do things such as exercise. Having healthy employees means there is less time off needed due to health issues and productivity stays high.
When reading through the above examples, it is hard to deny that taking breaks at work can be very beneficial for everyone, including the organization as a whole.
Related: Employee Benefit Program: A Guide to Benefits that Motivate Your Workers
How to encourage taking breaks at work
To help encourage your staff to take regular breaks at work, try the following ideas.
Revamp Breakroom
Make the breakroom into a place where people want to spend time. Even something simple like adding some snacks like fresh fruit and granola bars can encourage your employees to leave their desks. Also, invest in some comfortable chairs so that people feel as though they want to stay in the breakroom when taking a break from work.
Provide Incentives
By providing employees with incentives to take a break, it will be easier to encourage this healthy behaviour. Try doing something like starting a walking club at lunch, where people can take a daily walk with a group of their coworkers. This way you are not only encouraging taking a break at work, but you’re also helping them stay active which is good for their physical health. You might even find that workers are able to bond during the walks which boosts morale and increases productivity.
Provide a Gym Membership
Depending on your budget, you might be able to provide a gym membership or make a deal with a local gym where your employees get a discount on membership. Having a gym membership can help motivate your workers to exercise as a way of taking a break at work, which benefits their overall health. Once you do this, you could even start a friendly competition with your employees to see who can go the most in one month. People are often motivated by competition, so this way you could promote people taking breaks at work without being too obvious.
Create an Area for Quiet Time
For some people, having time during the day where they can be quiet and not interact with others, is very rejuvenating. Having an area in the office where employees are able to do this can be very beneficial. Even just a small space with a comfy chair and perhaps some magazines will allow those who need quiet time to feel rested to get the benefit of breaks from work. By creating this space you are allowing everyone to feel comfortable taking breaks that actually allow them to relax.
Discuss the Benefits of Breaks
Spend a bit of time in a team meeting talking about why taking regular breaks from work is important. Some workers will not think about the health benefits of taking a break so by providing this information to your staff you will be encouraging everyone to take the appropriate rest period.
Take Breaks Yourself
The most important thing to do when trying to promote the importance of taking breaks from work is by taking breaks yourself. If you do not take breaks during your work day, employees might not feel as comfortable doing so. This will not only set a good example for your employees, but it will also give you the same benefits of mental clarity and physical rest that it would your staff. You might find that even your productivity goes up after taking a break from work, which is beneficial to the organization as a whole.
Making sure that taking breaks at work can be incredibly beneficial to everyone within your company. By spending a bit of time encouraging your staff to take breaks, you can see an increase in productivity and a boost in morale which is something all companies should strive for.
