Everyone
Rest and breaks
Employees must be paid rest and unpaid meal breaks. The number and duration will depend on the hours worked. Women who breastfeed or express milk can have extra breaks and facilities where practical.
Employee rights
Rest breaks benefit workplaces by helping employees work safely and productively. Rest breaks must be a minimum of 10 minutes, and meal breaks at least 30 minutes.
Employees are entitled to paid rest and unpaid meal breaks that:
- give them a reasonable chance during work periods to rest, refresh and take care of personal matters
- are appropriate for the length of their working day with the employer.
Employers must pay for minimum rest breaks but do not have to pay for minimum meal breaks.
Employees are entitled to set rest and meal breaks. Compensation for the employee will only be allowed instead of these breaks if an exemption applies and certain requirements are met.
FAQs – Rest and meal break entitlements [PDF, 305 KB]
How long and when an employee can take breaks is based on the length of their ‘work period’. The work period means the period from the time an employee starts work till the time an employee finishes work, including all paid and unpaid authorised breaks.
The Employment Relations Act 2000 provides an exemption from the required set rest and meal break entitlements in certain circumstances for essential services or employers that engage in New Zealand’s national security.
Rest and meal breaks - Employment Relations Act 2000 – New Zealand Legislation(external link)
Employers engaged in an essential service may be exempt if:
- continuity of service or production in the essential service is critical to the public interest, including (without limitation) services affecting public safety, and
- the employer would incur unreasonable costs in replacing an employee employed in the essential service during the rest breaks and meal breaks with another person who has sufficient skills and experience, and without compromising public safety.
Employers engaged in the protection of New Zealand's national security may be exempt if:
- continuity of service is critical to New Zealand’s national security, and
- the employer would incur unreasonable costs in replacing an employee employed in the protection of New Zealand’s national security during the rest breaks and meal breaks with another person who has sufficient skills and experience, and without compromising New Zealand's national security.
All employees (unless their employer is exempt) must at a minimum receive the rest and meal break entitlements set by the Employment Relations Act. If an employee is required to take a break under other legislation, that legislation applies to determine how and when the breaks are to be taken.
For example, the Land Transport Rule: Work Time and Logbooks 2007 made under the Land Transport Act 1998 requires that a 30-minute break is taken after 5 and ½ hours of driving and must be taken outside of the work vehicle.
Land Transport Rule: Work Time and Logbooks 2007 - NZ Transport Agency(external link)
There is more information on how the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2018 impacts drivers and employers in the commercial transport sector on the NZTA website.
Types of breaks
The minimum length of breaks required by law is 10 minutes for rest breaks and 30 minutes for meal breaks. Here are the minimum number of breaks that must be provided to employees for each time period worked.
2 hours or more, but not more than 4 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
More than 4 hours, but no more than 6 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- 1 x 30-minute unpaid meal break
More than 6 hours, but less than 10 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- 1 x 30-minute unpaid meal break
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
10 hours or more, but no more than 12 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- 1 x 30-minute unpaid meal break
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
More than 12 hours, but no more than 14 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- 30-minute unpaid meal break
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Second 30-minute unpaid meal break
More than 14 hours, but no more than 16 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- First 30-minute unpaid meal break
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Second 30-minute unpaid meal break
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
Negotiating breaks
Employers and employees must have a reasonable opportunity to negotiate in Good faith means dealing with each other honestly, openly, and without misleading each other. It requires parties to raise issues in a fair and timely manner, treat the other party with respect, and give the other party information which may be referred to in any future discussions.
An employee can take a representative (such as a family member or a union representative) along during a discussion with their employer if they’re not comfortable addressing the issue on their own.
The employer or employee can seek mediation assistance if they’re having trouble reaching an agreement. When an agreement is reached between an employer and employee, this should be recorded in writing and followed.
Good practice for determining when breaks are provided considers:
- how long the employee’s work period is
- the nature of the employee’s work
- any health and safety issues related to the work, for example, fatigue
Managing stress and fatigue in the workplace - WorkSafe New Zealand(external link)
- the time of day or night that the employee’s work period starts, for example, matching meal breaks to normal meal times where possible
- the interests of the employee, for example, to allow enough time for rest, refreshment and to take care of personal matters
- the employer’s operational environment or resources, for example, does the employer need employees to take their breaks in stages or according to a roster, to continue production or services or do all employees need to take their breaks at the same time.
An employment agreement or workplace policy can give an employee extra rest and meal breaks, either paid or unpaid, above the minimum required by law.
Creating an employment agreement
If meal breaks are unpaid, an employer can agree that meal breaks will be for a minimum length (for example, the minimum length that employers are required to provide is 30 minutes) but employees can take a longer break if they want to if the employee and employer agree to this.
An employee still needs to work their agreed total hours of work if they take a break longer than the agreed minimum (for example, the employee could take up to an hour and add the extra work time on to the end of their working day).
An employment agreement provision that removes or reduces an employee’s minimum entitlement to take breaks or to compensatory measures, has no effect and cannot be enforced by an employer.
Break for breastfeeding or expressing milk
Employers must provide appropriate facilities and breaks for women who want to breastfeed at work. This can be unpaid or paid, depending on the workplace policy.
Benefits of providing breaks and facilities
Breastfeeding gives babies their best start in life and benefits the mother. If an employer gives women appropriate facilities and breaks to breastfeed or express milk, they are more likely to return to work as planned and the employer retains capable employees.
Parental leave provides information for employers, employees and self-employed people about parental leave and associated entitlements such as government-funded parental leave payments.
What employers have to do
Employers have to give breastfeeding breaks and appropriate facilities for women who want to breastfeed or express milk for their babies at work or during the working day, where this is reasonable and realistic in the circumstances (taking into consideration the employer’s operational environment and the employer’s resources).
The breaks are unpaid and in addition to rest and meal breaks (unless the employee and employer agree otherwise).
If employers do not do this, the Employment Relations Authority could make them comply or give them a penalty.
Employment Relations Authority(external link)
Code of employment practice on infant feeding [PDF, 271 KB]
Providing appropriate facilities
The facilities for breastfeeding should be appropriate. This means different things depending on the industry, workplace and employer’s resources. Appropriate facilities should not have to be too expensive or complicated. In most cases a woman just needs a private space with somewhere to sit, and maybe a power point and access to a fridge if she’s expressing milk.
A group of employers could consider getting together to provide a shared facility if there are lots of workplaces close together, for example, in a shared office building or a shopping mall.
The employer and employee should talk about what facilities and breaks are needed and then write down what they have agreed. If they cannot agree, they can go to the Employment Mediation Service for free help or seek help from their union or lawyer.
Sometimes an employer’s operating environment and resources mean it is not reasonable and practicable to provide breastfeeding facilities. In all situations, the employee and employer should talk about it and try to agree.
Timings of breaks
Employers and employees should agree on when the breaks are to be taken. If the employer and employee cannot agree on the timing of breaks, an employer must provide breaks at the following times, so long as it’s reasonable and practical.
2 hours or more, but not more than 4 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- In the middle of the work period
More than 4 hours, but no more than 6 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- One-third of the way through the work period
- 1 x 30-minute unpaid meal break
- Two-thirds of the way through the work period
More than 6 hours, but less than 10 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the start of work and the meal break
- 1 x 30-minute unpaid meal break
- In the middle of the work period
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the meal break and the finish of the work period
10 hours or more, but no more than 12 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the start of work and the meal break
- 1 x 30-minute unpaid meal break
- In the middle of the first 8 hours of work
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the meal break and the end of the first 8 hours of work
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the end of the first 8 hours of work and the end of the work period
More than 12 hours, but no more than 14 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the start of work and the first meal break
- First 30-minute unpaid meal break
- In the middle of the first 8 hours of work
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the meal break and the end of the first 8 hours of work
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- One-third of the way between the end of the first 8 hours of work and the end of the work period
- Second 30-minute unpaid meal break
- Two-thirds of the way between the end of the first 8 hours of work and the end of the work period
More than 14 hours, but no more than 16 hours worked:
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the start of work and the first meal break
- First 30-minute unpaid meal break
- In the middle of the first 8 hours of work
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the first meal break and the end of the first 8 hours of work
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the end of the first 8 hours and the second meal break
- Second 30-minute unpaid meal break
- Halfway between the end of the first 8 hours and the end of work
- 1 x 10-minute paid rest break
- Halfway between the second meal break and the end of work
Payment for breaks
Paid rest breaks must be paid at the same rate for which the employee would be paid to work.
- Employees should not be financially disadvantaged when rest breaks are taken.
- Employers should have no difficulty working out the value of rest breaks for employees who are paid a standard hourly rate.
- Employers must ensure that employees working on variable rates (such as piece rates) are paid for their breaks. A rate of pay for breaks can be calculated based on the rate of pay employees will have been receiving at the time of the break.
This statement sets out the Labour Inspectorate’s position on how rest break payments should be dealt with to make sure the requirements of the Employment Relations Act 2000 are met.
Labour Inspectorate position statement: Paid rest breaks [PDF, 176 KB]
Compensation instead of breaks
Giving employees some form of compensation for going without breaks is only allowed in limited circumstances. Some limited exemptions to the rules in the Employment Relations Act regarding rest breaks and meal breaks may apply to some employers in specified essential services or engaged for the protection of New Zealand’s national security.
Exemption under Employment Relations Act - New Zealand Legislation(external link)
If these types of employers and employees are unable to reach an agreement about when to take rest breaks and meal breaks the employer must provide the employee with compensatory measures.
The compensation must be reasonable and is designed to compensate an employee for a failure to provide rest breaks or meal breaks. It may include:
- time off work at an alternative time (for example allowing a later start time or an earlier finish time, or an accumulation of time off work), or
- financial compensation, or
- both time off work at an alternative time and financial compensation.
If the compensation is time off work, this must be equivalent to the rest break or meal break entitlement the employee would have otherwise received.
If the compensation is financial compensation this must relate to the amount that the employee was required to work but would otherwise have taken as a rest break or meal break. It must also be calculated at the employee’s ordinary rate of pay, or for an employee on variable rates, the rate must be the employee’s average rate of pay in the relevant work period.
If an employee thinks they are not being allowed to have the breaks they are entitled to, they should first raise the matter with their employer.
The Labour Inspectorate expects that employers and employees will be able to work out how and when applicable breaks will be taken. In the event of a failure to agree, they can contact us.
If employees are union members, they can seek assistance from their union.
Mediation between employers and employees remains an option with the Employment Relations Authority being available to ultimately determine the matter in the unlikely event of a failure to agree.