The concept and duration of a lunch break according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

Author of the article: Anastasia Ivanova Last modified: January 2020 1577

Every employee knows from what time and until what time he must work and the total working hours. The issue of employee rest is often limited to the provision of vacation and one hour allocated for lunch. Russian legislation regulates it more extensively. Work breaks during the working day can add up to a long period of time for some categories of employees.

How to control your lunch break time

Based on Article 100 of the Labor Code, the working hours must provide for a lunch break. Article 107 notes that it is not included in the calculation of working time, but refers to rest.

Lunch break: regulation according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

Since lunch time cannot be considered working time, it will not be paid. On the other hand, if a violation of regulations occurred outside the territory of the enterprise, the director in this case will not punish the employee.

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Sometimes it is not technically possible to provide lunch. In this situation, the employee can use his workplace.

Sometimes an employee is given rest, but he has a lot of work to do and does not use it in order to complete the assigned work on time. Thus, in fact, he turns rest into working time, increasing the latter at his own will. Does this give him the right to another time for lunch? The answer here is no.

The duration of lunch is regulated by the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, it only indicates the minimum and maximum values. According to the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the minimum duration guaranteed by law is half an hour. The maximum limit is two hours.

The duration of the lunch break must be no less than 30 and no more than 120 minutes.
This means that the director, regardless of his desire, is obliged to provide an appropriate lunch break within the specified framework.

Although the manager is required to provide it, the time at which it begins can be any time. The law does not prevent you from setting aside morning, evening or daytime hours for this. In practice, the start of the break is most often set between noon and two o'clock in the afternoon.

The procedure for using lunch is established:

• the working time schedule established in the rules on the internal regulations of the enterprise;
• this issue can be determined in the collective agreement;
• the work schedule can be fixed in the employment contract or amendments to it;
• sometimes the director signs an order determining the distribution of working time at the enterprise.

In this case, the duration must be within the limits provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Lunch breaks are usually not included in employer paid time. This period is the employee's personal time. This follows from Article 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. During these intervals, the employee can remove PPE, go to the rest room or food intake room, and leave the premises and territory of the enterprise at his own discretion.

But this interval is not always excluded from payment. The employer is obliged to provide the opportunity to have lunch or dinner during working hours at those jobs where it is impossible to allocate a break for rest and food, since the technological cycle will be disrupted and this will negatively affect production as a whole. Such jobs include, for example, assembly line production in mechanical engineering or steelmaking shops. In this case, this time should be paid for, and conditions for eating should be created.

The list of such works, as well as places for eating during their implementation, must be fixed in the internal labor regulations (Part 3 of Article 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). An employee should not eat food at a machine or on a conveyor belt. The employer is obliged to equip the kitchen with a microwave oven, refrigerator, cooler, electric kettle, tables and chairs, as well as a sink with hot and cold water, and the necessary minimum of kitchen furniture for storing dishes. During lunch, the employee can take off his overalls and safety shoes in the dressing room.

These articles of the Labor Code indicate that the interval for meals and rest is indicated in the PVTR or by agreement of the parties to the employment contract. In this case, the employer must take into account the specifics of production, for example, time differences if the organization has several regional divisions, taking into account time zones. Local time must be indicated in the PVTR.

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Shift work should also be taken into account. Shift production does not allow all workers to leave their workplaces at once. This will harm the flexibility, rhythm and continuity of production. Rest times should be set alternately, but taking into account that each participant in the production process should have a break after 4 hours of work.

In addition to lunch time, at certain work sites, regulated breaks are provided for workers at the expense of the employer, included in working hours. This is caused by the characteristics of production, its severity, as well as sensory loads, low and high air temperatures, noise, vibration, and other negative health indicators.

Article 109 states that those employees who work on open construction sites, in closed warehouses, hangars, etc., carry out external welding work, loading and unloading, or work in unfavorable climatic conditions, except for lunch, should be provided with rest breaks and heating.

The work of an external part-time worker may be during lunch under the main employment contract. In ch. 44 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not establish any prohibitions in this regard.

A specific indication of exactly how many hours or minutes should be allocated for a break is not specified in Article 108. It is determined that “the interval for rest and eating should be no less than half an hour and no more than 2 hours.” The employer, based on these input data, sets lunch hours in its local regulations, which each employee must be familiarized with and signed when entering work.

In an eight-hour workday, it is enough to set lunch 1 hour after the first 4 hours of work. If the working day begins at 10 am and ends at 19 o'clock, then the interval for rest and eating is best done between 13.00 and 14.00. When the working day starts at 8 o'clock, the break should be set in the early lunch hours, that is, between 12.00-13.00.

The duration of the lunch break must be clearly agreed upon by the employer and the employee before the latter begins his work activity. In what form is this done? The employee must be familiar with the act, which specifies all the internal regulations. After reviewing the document, you must sign it.

Nowadays, there is a trend among organizations to install floating lunch. A floating lunch means that a time interval is specified during which the employee will be able to take a lunch break for a strictly defined time. For example, lunch from 12.00 to 15.00 lasting 1 hour. To establish such a lunch break, the employer must comply with the following requirements:

• The lunch break should not be less than 30 minutes;
• Lunch should not be more than 2 hours;
• The break should be during the day, not at the beginning or end;
• Lunch times should be specified in the internal rules. Employees must be familiarized with this.

Even if the company has a clearly defined lunch time, the employee has every right, in agreement with the manager, to set a flexible lunch for himself. To do this, the employee must write a statement. And the employer must enter into an additional agreement with the employee on an individual lunch break schedule. In some cases, employers are required to indicate serious reasons for rescheduling lunch. Although this is not stipulated by law.

So, lunch breaks are set differently at different enterprises. It can also be installed individually at the will of the employee.

Lunch break is personal time

The lunch break is each employee’s personal time, so he has every right to do whatever he wants. For example, go to a cafe, to the clinic, shopping, read, sleep. It is important to know that the employer does not have the right to prohibit leaving the workplace during lunch. The main thing is that the employee manages to meet the break time frame.

There are enterprises where employees are forced to have lunch at their workplaces. In this case, the employer is obliged to provide all conditions so that the employee can eat in peace and rest for the time allotted to him. For example, some organizations have designated areas for eating.

An employee can do his immediate work during lunch. There are a number of nuances here. If the employee does this on his own initiative, the work will not be paid. If at the initiative of the employer, then the work must be paid. In the second case, the employee’s written consent is required. Almost all categories of citizens can be involved in overtime work, except for pregnant women and minors, as well as those who have not given their written consent.

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Is it included in working hours

The Labor Code states that the lunch break is not counted as working time.

Several consequences follow from this point, which are positive and negative for both the manager and the employee:

Thus, in order to avoid getting into unpleasant situations, it is recommended to use the time for lunch as intended, and on the part of the manager, to fully rely on the legislation of the Russian Federation when providing this period.

Lunch break for an 8-hour working day according to the Labor Code

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.

The Labor Code guarantees the right given to an employee to receive a lunch break.

It makes it possible to eat. The company regulations must regulate:

• duration of lunch;
• its start time;
• an indication of the place where the employee can eat, if such a possibility exists for this company.

The enterprise has no right not to allow the employee to leave its territory during this period of time. An employee is not allowed to reschedule the start of his lunch as per his convenience. If he decides to work during lunch, his manager is not obliged to give the employee additional rest time.

A normal working day is regulated by law. Despite this, some categories of employees have additional rights in this matter. When contacting management, they have the right to ask for a shortened working week or day, and they must be given this opportunity.

If a corresponding request is received from such an employee, the director is obliged to fulfill it. The following categories of employees have such rights:

1. Women expecting a child.
2. Those who have children under the age of 14 years.
3. Persons who are responsible for caring for disabled children (if they are not older than 18 years).
4. Those who care for a sick family member if they have an official medical certificate about this.

The law stipulates that wages will correspond to the actual time worked or the amount of output produced.

Employees in this situation have a legal right to use lunch. And if the employer, for some of his own reasons, does not want to provide it, they have the right to demand it.

However, if the duration of the shift does not exceed 4 hours, then rest is not permitted. The same applies to cases where part-time workers work. According to the law, their working hours cannot exceed 4 hours.

However, the employer has the right to provide such rest, although the law does not oblige him to do so.

With a 12-hour work shift, it is advisable to provide 2 rest periods - after the first 4 hours of work, and then again after the next 4 hours. Drivers who work on a schedule for more than 8 hours are allowed to rest 2 times a day, but lunch should not exceed 2 hours in total (Order of the Ministry of Transport No. 15).

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The PVTR indicates that a lunch interval is not provided during a working day that does not exceed four hours. In this case, after finishing work, employees go home and have lunch there.

If the working day lasts more than 4 hours, lunch is required. However, its duration should be at least 30 minutes. Otherwise, the employer will be fined. The fine will be set under Part 1 of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

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In accordance with the law, the following factors can be identified that influence how much time is allowed to rest during the working day:

• if the working day (shift) exceeds 4 hours, no more than 2 hours and no less than 30 minutes are allocated for lunch, and failure to provide it in this case is prohibited;
• when working less than 4 hours a day, the employer has the right not to set a break time, otherwise it cannot be less than half an hour (clause 3 of the Letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated November 17, 2017 No. 14-2/B-1012);
• if it is impossible to provide a break for certain types of work, the internal labor regulations determine their list, and employees are given the opportunity to have lunch during working hours, and the break time must be paid;
• with a shift work schedule, daily rest (between shifts) must be no less than twice as long as working hours, taking into account lunch time (Article 103 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• when the working day is divided into parts (this can occur in organizations serving the population, in the case of work in transport, etc.), between them there is usually an unpaid break of more than 2 hours or several breaks, which include a lunch break (Article 107 of the Labor Code RF); • for certain categories of workers, the duration of the lunch break and the procedure for its provision may be determined in special provisions on the specifics of working hours and rest time.

Is it possible to leave the workplace?

Whether it is possible to leave the building is determined by the access control of the enterprise. Offices where there is no strict access system allow people to leave the premises, for example, to visit a cafe or shop. You can also solve personal matters if you have enough time.

Important! At enterprises with a strict access system, the employee does not have the right to leave the building until the end of the shift, unless there is a separate order from the manager. Such enterprises are required to have a canteen or cafeteria on site.

Floating time - installation and features

If a person’s day does not have a standardized schedule, and lunch time is not set in strict accordance with the Labor Code or internal regulations, it should not be unused. Any employee cannot do without a break.

Sometimes workers can be distracted by duties and involved in work where it is impossible to do without them. But on the basis of Art. 101 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, this should be done occasionally and as necessary.

In this case, the order for the right to distract an employee must be in writing. Before approving the order, it is necessary to notify the employee of the intentions and working conditions.

A floating break schedule can be concluded personally with the employee, prescribing lunch into several parts.

The employer has the right to schedule his time minute by minute and notify his superiors about this information.

At the initiative of the employee or employer, a break may be granted for a certain period.

For example, an employer submits a petition to a trade union to appoint a floating break.

It is indicated that an employee can spend an hour on lunch during the period from 12-00 to 15-00. During this period, the employee can leave the workplace twice.

Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Article 101. Irregular working day An irregular working day is a special mode of work, according to which individual employees may, by order of the employer, if necessary, be occasionally involved in the performance of their labor functions outside the established working hours. The list of positions of employees with irregular working hours is established by a collective agreement, agreements or local regulations adopted taking into account the opinion of the representative body of employees.

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Who is entitled to it?

The law is the same for all categories of workers. Regardless of what company a person works for - public, private or an individual entrepreneur.

Attention! The only exception is in cases where the working day is less than 4 hours, a legal break may not be established. But this must be spelled out in the labor regulations and the employment contract.

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12 hour shift

To maintain health during a long shift, you need the opportunity to rest. The law provides a minimum and maximum limit for the duration of lunch. The maximum is 120 minutes.

Break duration for a 12-hour shift

Sometimes work conditions require shifts to be longer than normal situations. It would be nice if an employee could rest more than once during a shift. The law does not force the boss to give an extra lunch. But the internal schedule can be drawn up so that, for example, an employee working 12 hours receives 2 breaks of 60 minutes each.

The second lunch is optional and cannot be requested, however, the director has the opportunity to provide it.

Is lunch time working time?

On a standard eight-hour schedule, eating is an unpaid suspension of work. The same goes for shortened days. This time is considered non-working time and is not taken into account when calculating wages. Even if an employee eats food at his place while continuing to perform his duties, the rules for calculating wages remain the same.

If the shift lasts 12 hours or more, then lunch is paid. There is no separate break for him. This is a determining factor - if there is a rest schedule, then the duration is not taken into account, if there is none, and the employees themselves decide when they will eat, then the entire time is considered working time and is paid.

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Baby feeding breaks

Women who went to work before their child was one and a half years old have the right to receive additional free time. In addition to the official lunch break, the woman has the opportunity to leave every 3 hours to feed the baby. Each break must last at least 30 minutes.

This type of break does not belong to rest, since it has a direct prescribed purpose. Also, at the request of the woman, these breaks can be summed up with legal time for rest, or transferred to the beginning or end of the working day. All of them are paid in the amount established by law.

Women who are breastfeeding but must return to work are also entitled to a legal break, as well as additional time to breastfeed their baby.

Read about what other types of breaks other than lunch breaks during the working day that employees can claim according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation here.

Women with babies

Women who immediately went to work immediately after giving birth require special attention. Article 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation indicates that such employees should be given not only a break for eating. Up to a certain point, these personnel have every right to count on additional rest. According to the established rules, the lunch break for a woman who has children under the age of 1.5 years must last in accordance with the internal rules of the corporation. But in addition, it can be calculated for periods for feeding the baby.

They also have their limitations. The maximum is set by the employer (usually by agreement of the parties). And the minimum is 30 minutes. That is, a woman with a small child can pause to feed the baby for at least an additional half hour, not at the expense of her own meal or rest.

How often should baby time be provided? At least once every 3 hours. In fact, it is recommended to coordinate this point with the employer - all children are different. Some people want to eat after 2 hours, others can tolerate it for 4-5. Therefore, these features are discussed in advance by the parties. The lunch break should not be changed due to the need to feed a child under 1.5 years of age.

How to control your lunch break time

The lunch break is each person’s personal time, and no one has the right to control it.

If an employee is at the workplace during a break, he is required to obey local regulations, which provide the same rules as responsibilities at the workplace.

Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Article 106. The concept of rest time Rest time is the time during which the employee is free from performing work duties and which he can use at his own discretion.

If an employee has the right to leave the workplace, he can work part-time in his free time for another organization. This cannot be prevented unless otherwise provided in the employment contract.

In the event that the mode is set to art. 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and the staff violates it, several rules can be established. Most often, an electronic exit-entry system is used for workers who smoke. If they go out for a smoke break during working hours, you can count how many times this happens, and ultimately calculate the working time spent on a cigarette break.

This process is handled by the HR department. If there are video surveillance systems confirming this fact, there will already be grounds for imposing fines, reducing wages or dismissal.

Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Article 91. Concept of working time. Normal working hours Working hours - the time during which the employee, in accordance with the internal labor regulations and the terms of the employment contract, must perform labor duties, as well as other periods of time that are in accordance with this Code, other federal laws and other regulatory legal acts Russian Federation refer to working time.

Normal working hours cannot exceed 40 hours per week.

The procedure for calculating the norm of working time for certain calendar periods (month, quarter, year), depending on the established duration of working time per week, is determined by the federal executive body exercising the functions of developing state policy and legal regulation in the field of labor.

The employer is required to keep records of the time actually worked by each employee.

How are lunch times controlled?

But there is also a disadvantage to electronic keys. In an individual case, there may be a good reason why the employee was late from lunch. You can explain this to your colleague, but hardly to a soulless electronic device.

Thus, employers always control the lunch break; the only difference is in the methods of control and vigilance. What other work breaks exist besides lunch breaks?

The lunch break is not paid by the employer. But there are breaks that the employer is obliged not only to provide to employees, but also to pay for them:

• Warm up break. This rule applies to those who are at sub-zero temperatures outdoors or in an unheated room. An employee has the right to smoke and drink tea during a break, and this time will be paid for by the employer.
• Take a break while working at the computer. When constantly working at a computer, an employee has the right to be distracted for 15 minutes. The computer's eyes get tired, and the employee needs to give them a rest. This break is also paid, regardless of what exactly the employee was doing at that time.
• Break for feeding the baby. At the request of a woman who is the mother of a child under one and a half years old, breaks of at least 30 minutes every 3 hours are provided to feed the child. This break may be longer, depending on the number of children in the family. Labor protection for women with children is under the control of government agencies, so employers try not to violate the rights of this category of citizens. Breaks for women are also paid. In a word, according to the law, the employer is obliged to provide extra-hour breaks to those employees whose health status depends on the break or their loved ones (children).

As a result, it is worth repeating the rules that the employer has no right to violate under any circumstances:

• It is impossible to cancel a lunch break, even if the employee himself requests it.
• Lunch cannot be moved to the morning or evening.
• An employee cannot be prohibited from leaving his workplace during lunch. Otherwise, this time must be paid to the employee as working time.

Compliance with all these rules is constantly monitored by supervisory authorities. If the employer violates the rules, the employee has the right to seek protection from the Labor Inspectorate of the Russian Federation.

Employers, as a rule, regulate violations by employees independently, without the intervention of third parties.

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Let's sum it up

The main conclusions regarding the break for rest and nutrition are given below:

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Postponement of holiday

According to the law, it is strictly forbidden to transfer rest time to the end or beginning of the working day or to exclude it altogether for any person.

However, staff have the right to reschedule lunch at their discretion to another hour, no earlier than two hours after the start of the working day, and no later than two hours before the end of the working day.

To do this, you must fill out an application addressed to the director.

The application must contain a heading in whose name it is being filled out. Next, indicate your personal information and position. The text of the application should indicate the desired period for providing rest.

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.

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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Changing into overalls and taking a shower

Article 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which defines working time, gives some freedom of action. On the one hand, it says that at work the employee fulfills his duties. Wearing special clothing, keeping the workplace in order, accepting shifts are the employee’s duties, i.e. the time for these actions should be considered working time. On the other hand, the employer has the right to think differently and demand that at the beginning of the work shift the employee is already in place and ready to work.

If the timely appearance of an employee at the workplace depends on the schedule of other people, then changing into work clothes occurs before and after the shift, regardless of whether this is done on the initiative of the employee or the employer. For example, a grocery store clerk must be on site when the store opens, because then customers may already arrive.

Important! If an employee goes for lunch according to the Labor Code, and he needs to change clothes, then all these actions are considered part of the break and do not lengthen it. Depending on the specifics of the work, colleagues can agree among themselves so that someone leaves for lunch earlier or later, and everyone has the opportunity to change clothes.

Special breaks for certain categories

If the employee is a mother who has a child less than one and a half years old and has interrupted maternity leave, then in addition to lunch she has the right to receive breaks for feeding during the working day. This right is enshrined in Article 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

This opportunity is provided every three hours and the interval lasts 30 minutes. These breaks are included in paid time. In some cases, during a long and stressful shift, it is possible to provide not one, but two breaks during one working day.

An example in this case would be a situation where the duration of a driver’s work shift exceeds eight hours.

By agreement of the parties, the work shift is different from that of other employees. In this case, it is necessary to fix this possibility in the employment contract when hiring or conclude an additional agreement to it.

Summarizing

What conclusions can be drawn from all of the above? A lunch break is a legal time that must be allocated by the employer for rest and meals to all employees. Its minimum duration is 30 minutes, maximum - 120. In fact, it is practiced to establish an hour-long lunch break.

The studied period of time is allocated by the employer in accordance with the employment contract and the internal regulations of the enterprise. Only the boss can carry it. Employees do not have any right to arbitrarily change their rest and lunch times. It is illegal. Women with small children may require additional breaks to breastfeed. Not the most common practice, but it does happen. The employer cannot refuse this. The lunch break should not be reduced. It is provided to female employees on the same terms as to all other subordinates.

Each subordinate has the right to freely manage the time allocated for rest or lunch. You should pay attention to the fact that you can leave the walls of the company. No one can restrict an employee in this regard. After all, the employer does not pay for periods of rest and meals. This means that he cannot claim personal time for his subordinates to rest.

Surcharge for non-use

Will there be additional payment if an employee refuses to take a lunch break? The lunch break is prescribed not only by law, but also by internal regulations.

Therefore, if you decide to refuse time off, verbally or in writing, in order to receive additional pay or reduce your work hours, the employer is not required to pay for the hour of work. During your break, you can rest, eat and even perform your direct duties. This time belongs entirely to the employee.

If an employee wishes to write an application to remove the lunch break, management does not have the right to accept this application. Based on the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, personal time cannot be excluded in principle. Its minimum duration is 30 minutes.

If the entire staff of several hundred people wants to shorten lunch by 30 minutes, you will have to shift working hours for the entire team. This may be inconvenient for some, so additional payment, deletion and other actions not prescribed by law are out of the question.

Can a boss monitor employees' lunches?

According to the law, an employee has several types of rest.
These are breaks during the working day, daily rest after the end of the shift, weekends, holidays, vacations. These periods can be paid (annual main leave) or considered non-working (lunch, night rest, weekends). When the working day is 8 hours, you need to include a lunch break of 30-120 minutes. Its time can be fixed or floating. You can break the mandatory 2 hours into short breaks for meals if it is convenient for employees. With a shortened shift, the amount of rest remains the same.

Everybody needs food

If a shift lasts 12 hours or more, then there is no separate lunch; the employee decides when he can eat. The boss must provide the organization with premises for meals and night rest, where optimal conditions must be created so that workers can rest between shifts - a microwave, refrigerator, and sofas must be installed.

According to the Labor Code, a break must be provided, its duration must fit within the established standards. Everything else is controlled by the employer with the help of internal rules establishing routines. They prescribe the exact hours of the beginning and end of the rest, the total duration, etc. If a particular employee’s lunch break is postponed according to Labor Code, this reflects the employment contract. A floating lunch break means that each employee chooses for himself when to rest, coordinating only with his immediate superior.

To prevent employees from leaving for lunch early or being late, several control methods are used:

• time sheet (working time recording document) – maintained by department heads, the employee’s presence on site is checked personally;
• video surveillance systems (employees need to be notified that they are there);
• devices that control entry and exit from the territory;
• programs for remote control of a computer desktop.

Employees must be aware of all methods of control. The Labor Code prohibits controlling what exactly employees do during their lunch break. The only restriction is that enterprises with a strict access system prohibit leaving the territory until the end of the work shift.

Supervisory control

When not to take a break

The law does not always consider that a lunch break is mandatory. In some cases, the employer has the legal right not to provide it.

The basis for this decision is the type of work performed by the employees. In some cases, they are continuous, without the possibility of interrupting them for lunch. This usually occurs when there is a need to continuously provide customer service or when it comes to continuous production.

On the one hand, an employee without rest is obliged to work all working hours. At the same time, on the other hand, he needs a break, which he cannot demand from his manager.

In the absence of such efforts, there is a reason to file a complaint with the Labor Inspectorate. This will result in verification and appropriate action being taken. Presumably, the directors will be required to create the necessary opportunities for organizing a break or change the working conditions of employees so that they do not exclude the possibility of providing a break.

He may be fined under Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for violating the provisions of labor legislation.

If a company employs remote employees, there is no way to regulate the provision of breaks to them. The legislation gives them the opportunity to organize their work independently.

If the working day is part-time

Part-time work, if it lasts 4 hours or more, entitles you to lunch of the same duration as other employees. When asked whether lunch is included in working hours, the answer is the same - it is not included. Its duration may differ from lunch time for other employees, but remain within the Labor Code - from 30 minutes. up to 2 hours

Several servings

Work without interruption

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.

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.

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.

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.

Working without a lunch break and without days off is not provided for by law. This is considered a violation and may result in a fine and liability for actions against personnel. Workers are also required to have two days off per week.

If this is not provided for by internal regulations, management must ensure that the total weekly workload for staff does not exceed 40 hours.

If this fact is violated, the director is obliged to pay overtime hours in accordance with the laws - the first two hours at one and a half times the rate, the subsequent hours to pay at least double the rate.

Depending on the specifics of the work, the payment amount can reach four times the amount.

If there is a need to call an employee to work on a holiday, but he does not fulfill his obligations on a rolling schedule, then you should draw up a shift schedule in advance. You should also inform the employee about his intentional call to the workplace.

More information about working on weekends and holidays can be found here.

Nuances

The application of labor legislation in the sphere of organizing leisure for citizens has a number of nuances.

Let's look at some of them:

• With irregular working hours. The question arises about the possibility of involving an employee in performing duties in his free time. The position of the Ministry of Labor on this issue is clear: the employee must perform labor functions during irregular working hours both before and after starting work. The lunch break is not such a period.
• Under special working conditions. In cases where, due to the nature of the production process, it is not possible to provide workers with a full break, the administration is obliged to provide people with food right at the workplace. The time an employee eats food is included in working hours and is subject to payment.
• Specific rest time. The question of how many hours after the start of work it is time for food is decided independently by the enterprise. As a rule, this is the middle of the working day.

If the injury occurred at the specified time and the person did not perform work duties, was not on the territory of the enterprise and did not use a vehicle provided by the employer, i.e. used personal time at his own discretion, then it is not production.

To the question whether such an injury is paid or not, the answer is no.

Article 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that with a 4-hour working day, the break provided by law may not be established. This provision is enshrined in the labor regulations of the organization.

A shift work schedule presupposes special features for certain categories of workers in providing free time for rest and food.

Thus, Order No. 15 of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated August 20, 2004 requires drivers to have no more than 2 hours of free time from work, most often in the middle of a work shift. If the duration of the shift is more than 8 hours, then the driver is not prohibited from providing two breaks, but not more than two hours in total.

Taking into account the tension during the working day, medical personnel are given a shortened working week - 39 hours, and taking into account the specifics of the profession, even lower - up to 24 hours.

The following rules apply to this type of interruption:

• the employee is provided with the opportunity to eat at the workplace;
• establishing an interruption of work activity for medical staff with a 6.5 hour working day;
• establishing “floating” boundaries.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with a sample certificate from an employee from the main place of work for a part-time job

Example

It is virtually impossible to determine the timing of meals for emergency personnel. After all, a call to the brigade can come at any time.

The way out of the situation is to establish internal rules for this time from 12 to 15 hours, lasting 30 minutes.

Persons under the age of majority are entitled to a reduced working day:

• teenagers from 15 to 16 years old - 5 hours;
• at the age of 17-18 years - 7 hours.

The rules for providing a lunch break for young people do not differ from those generally established by labor legislation for other categories of the working population.

An individual entrepreneur, performing labor functions, independently determines his free time and how he uses it.

If third parties are hired, then legal breaks in work are stipulated in the employment contract using labor legislation.

There are a number of pauses in work that are granted in certain cases:

• Time for heating and nutrition for persons working in cold weather outside or in unheated rooms.
• Special break for loaders.
• A 15-minute break for drivers every two hours.
• Time for feeding the baby (with an interval of three hours).

Important: such types of rest are included in working hours and are subject to payment.

In situations where working hours are longer than usual (eight hours), several, for example, two parts of a free period from work can be established.

This feature is enshrined in the internal regulations and (or) in the employment agreement.

Setting meal times is the responsibility of every employer.

Making a positive decision will be unlawful.

Can you get fired for swearing at work? Details of this difficult topic are on our website. What is a flexible work schedule? Read in this article.

Can an employer extend the probationary period? Find out here.

The issues of transferring rest time are not regulated by law. However, there are situations when a person permanently or temporarily needs to change his work schedule due to personal or family circumstances.

If the reason is truly valid, then the administration will accommodate the employee halfway. Features must be fixed in an additional agreement to the employment contract.

Part-timer

The provisions on interrupting the work process for lunch, established by Article 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, also apply to part-time workers.

A person's personal time presupposes that he can use it at his own discretion. Therefore, the administration has no right to control the employee’s actions during this period.

In case of systematic violations of labor regulations, or being late from a break, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action.

Attention! Lunch time is not included in the calculation to determine the fact of absenteeism.

The right to rest during the working day is guaranteed to every person. Knowing all the nuances of providing such a break according to the law will allow you to avoid conflict situations with the employer.

Attention!

• Due to frequent changes in legislation, information sometimes becomes outdated faster than we can update it on the website.
• All cases are very individual and depend on many factors. Basic information does not guarantee a solution to your specific problems.

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What are the specific requirements of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation for special operating modes?

Despite the clear regulation, in practice questions may arise regarding the provision of a period of rest and its use. Let's consider all the nuances.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the procedure for dismissal under a fixed-term employment contract in 2020 - step-by-step instructions

How long should lunch be? This is also stipulated by the Labor Code.

Between half an hour and two hours, the time period can be chosen arbitrarily.

Limiting the duration below the minimum value is not permitted.

The rest period, as one of the essential working conditions, is indicated in a single document of the organization - the Internal Regulations - as well as in an individual agreement with the employee - the employment contract.

Under standard operating conditions, the internal regulations of the organization should provide for:

• lunch break start time;
• How long is the lunch break?

More about this in the article “How to draw up a working time schedule?”

There are operating modes when it is impossible to establish a single lunch break for everyone according to the Labor Code, for example:

• rotating shift schedule;
• irregular schedule;
• continuous nature of work (on a conveyor belt, in continuous cycle production).

In this case, the employer should provide employees with the opportunity to take breaks and eat during the work process. The procedure for providing such lunch breaks should be recorded in the organization’s internal regulations and/or agreements with employees.

Read more about internal regulations in the article “Internal Labor Regulations - Sample 2015”.

Lunch and work injury

Despite the fact that a lunch break is not part of working time under the Labor Code, an accident can be considered an industrial injury. This occurs under the following circumstances:

• the employee was on the territory of the enterprise, including in the canteen or at the checkpoint (entered/exited from the territory);
• an employee was poisoned by poor-quality food from the company’s canteen or buffet.

Important! If an employee ate food that he brought with him, then poisoning is not considered a work-related injury, even if the company did not provide a refrigerator. It also does not take into account the case when an employee went to or from the canteen of the enterprise, but was at the same time outside the territory.

Is it possible to move the lunch break to the evening?

Employees often turn to their employer with a request to move their lunch break to the last hour of work. This way they hope to get a shorter working day during the break.

However, the opinion of lawyers and the labor inspectorate on this issue is clear: according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, it is impossible to postpone the lunch break during dinner. This will violate the requirement of Art. 108 of the Labor Code, according to which lunch time, according to the Labor Code, is provided during the working day, and not after it.