How to plan shifts around mandatory downtime

A good work/life balance is often the key to high performing, productive staff. And in some industries, taking time off isn’t just advantageous – it’s a legal requirement. But factoring-in mandatory downtime can make employee rostering a real headache to manage.

To help you simplify employee shift planning, including the breaks between shifts, WhosOffice has taken a deep-dive into mandatory staff rest periods and how best to manage them.

Are workers legally entitled to rest breaks?

To make sure staff are working in appropriate conditions, the UK government has set daily and weekly rest break policies.

Every employee over the age of 18 is entitled to an uninterrupted 20 minute rest break if they’re working for at least six hours, which can be paid or unpaid. Many employers offer this as a lunch break or tea break.

Between shifts, workers have the right to rest for 11 hours. And they are also legally entitled to take off either 24 hours uninterrupted for every week worked, or 48 hours for every fortnight.

But these are basic guidelines that can be overridden by employees’ contractual terms – and in some sectors, industry regulations provide tighter rest break guidelines for health and safety reasons.

For example, in aviation, pilots are required to rest for either 12 hours or the length of their previous duty period. So any shift less than 12 hours still requires a mandatory 12 hour break, but longer shifts mean more time off e.g. 14 hours of rest following 14 hours on duty.

Another industry heavily impacted by mandatory rest periods is transport and logistics. HGV drivers must be given 11 hours’ off as a single break for every shift worked, or 12 hours across two rest periods of 3 hours and 9 hours respectively. However, three times per week these rest periods can be reduced to nine hours.

How do rest breaks affect staff scheduling?

For any employers (or team leaders and managers creating work schedules), rest breaks need to be factored into planning. Downtime often happens naturally when staff are working standard 9-5:30 days, five days a week, with time away from their desk to eat lunch. But for companies managing shift workers, rest periods don’t always happen organically.

Shift workers with patterns that don’t fit the standard rest break guidelines are entitled to compensatory rest breaks to make up the downtime they’ve missed – amounting to around 90 hours per week for full-time employees.

If your business has a complex operational structure, using a shift planning tool can help to ensure you’re meeting legal break requirements. Mandatory rest time can be set up as its own leave category, which can be logged on your online shift planner in the hours or days after someone’s shift ends.

And you can tailor that mandatory period to each person’s contract terms. For example, part-time staff may require shorter breaks, but staff operating heavy machinery or driving commercial vehicles need more time off between shifts because of the intensive nature of their work.

Should your business be logging downtime between shifts?

Marking mandatory downtime may seem like overkill when you’re already creating employee shift plans, but seeing when staff aren’t available is highly valuable.

For example, if somebody calls in sick or has booked annual leave, you can reassign their workload to someone who is well rested – rather than giving it to someone who appears to be free but has actually just come off their previous shift.

Recording mandatory downtime can also help you to manage overtime opportunities, as open shift alerts are only sent to staff that are eligible to work during that period.

In addition to filling staffing gaps, formalising the way you coordinate time off between shifts helps to develop company culture. Increasingly, businesses are looking beyond minimum downtime requirements to decide what rest period is best for their teams, to help them perform better when they’re back on shift.

Employee management software can help you document employee rest break policies and roll them out across your shift plans, so you are free to run your business, your way.

Prioritise your employees’ wellbeing and performance

Staying compliant with mandatory staff breaks isn’t just a legal requirement; it’s essential to the safety of both your people and your customers. Proactively logging employee downtime protects your business from dangerous mistakes, such as rostering somebody who’s taking essential time off.

By using online shift planning software to block out rest periods, you can run an efficient operation while looking after employees’ wellbeing – with minimal rostering headaches. Making sure your teams have adequate time off between shifts and arrive feeling fresh and ready for work when they’re next on schedule.

WhosOffice shift planning software has the flexibility to manage multiple types of time off alongside employee scheduling. Book a free WhosOffice trial to find out more.