Regulation of labour breaks during working hours in Spain

The Workers’ Statute in Spain establishes that the collective agreement or the work contract determines the duration of the workday and that the maximum duration of the workday shall not exceed 40 hours weekly.

Minimum labour break

The Spanish Labour law also establishes that when the duration of the daily work hours is more than 6 hours, the worker is entitled to a minimum rest of 15 minutes, although a greater duration may be negotiated.

This labour break is considered effective working time when it is included in the collective agreement or the work contract.

In the case of workers less than 18 years old, the break in Spain is a minimum of 30 minutes and must be allowed when the duration of the daily work exceeds 4 hours and 30 minutes.

The right to a break during the workday is, therefore, a right recognized by the Workers’ Statute and it is not up to the company to decide whether to grant it or not.

The break can be recuperated during the workday when the collective agreement establishes that it is effective working time. Otherwise, the break is also of right, although the workday will be extended in the minutes that this break has lasted.

How to recover the labour break

The company, whether obligated or not by an agreement or contract with the workers, can consider the coffee break as effective working time, and can suspend this time due to the procedure outlined in Article 41 of the Workers’ Statute.

For additional information regarding labour breaks in Spain,