BrisDoc supports co-owners, employees, bank workers and other workers to take appropriate rest breaks during their working day. Breaks help protect health, wellbeing, safety, concentration and the quality of care and service we provide.
BrisDoc provides paid rest breaks during rostered and contracted shifts and working hours. This policy sets the minimum organisational approach while allowing services to manage breaks locally in a way that is safe, fair, practical and responsive to patient and service need.
Local managers may agree service-specific arrangements, including the timing, sequencing, recording and practical management of breaks, provided that legal rest requirements, health and safety, fairness and service continuity are maintained.
Adult workers who work more than six hours in a day are entitled to an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes. The break should be taken during the working day and should not normally be treated as a substitute for starting later or finishing earlier.
Some roles and working patterns, including shift work and safety-critical services, may need breaks to be managed flexibly. Where a statutory break cannot be taken in the usual way, managers should arrange an appropriate alternative rest break as soon as reasonably practicable and should consider whether any repeated difficulty indicates a staffing, workload or rota issue.
Young workers have different statutory rest break entitlements. Managers should seek advice from the People Team before agreeing or rostering work for anyone under 18.