Break entitlements for deli workers.

LegacyUser

Hello,

Working in a Bakewell deli as an employee of Applegreen.

Half hour unpaid break for 8 hour shifts. (Often closer to 9 hours)

I know that shop workers are legally entitled to one hour break between certain lunch hours.

Curious as to whether being part of Applegreen shop franchise (Bakewell is owned by Applegreen and not a separate unit such as Subway or Burger King that they pay royalties to)
is also classed as being a shop/retail worker?

Deli staff here are actually much busier and more physically active than the shop workers, on feet for the entirety of shift serving queues of customers, cleaning equipment and unloading food deliveries etc.

I read that the shop worker one hour break rule between the hours of 11:30am- 2:30pm was brought in to prevent employers from giving their staff unusually timed lunch breaks because they wanted all staff working during their busiest lunch hour times.

Deli's busiest hours are also obviously regular lunch period too but none of us take our break during the busiest spell which I think is fair enough but just unsure about the length of time we do get given for the 8 hour shift (half hour)

I'd just like to know if being a deli assistant in Applegreen is or should also be classed as being a 'shop worker'?

We also don't take a 15 minute morning break after 4 and a half hours. Not sure if they would try to stop us if we did, but legally I think they could just give us a 15 minute lunch break later if we did so nobody bothers.

DubTony

I assume that Bakewell deli is some sort of structure within Applegreen stores. If that's the case, its retail and, Yes, you're entitled to 15 mins after 4.5 hours. You're then entitled to another 15 mins after 6 hours, but this is often added to the earlier 15 for a full 30 min break. I'm not quite sure of the legality of that arrangement though
And yes, your break between 11:30 and 2:30 is required, by law, to be 1 hour. Some employers abuse this law for convenience sake by not giving the hour so as to not have to roster extra staff or when they can't get staff. It's rarely a costs issue as lunch breaks aren't usually paid, so it doesn't matter to the employer which employee is working (if they're all on the same money).
Giving only 30 minutes is usually by arrangement with the employee. Don't forget though, if you do extend you break you're going to lose a half hours pay every day or work a longer shift.

Finally, if you work more than 4.5 hours after returning from your lunch, you're entitled to another 15 minutes.

It's all here
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/hours_of_work/rest_periods_and_breaks.html