Hours, rest breaks and the working week

The rules about hours of work

If you're an employer, your workers' hours will be governed by the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998. These cover:

• holiday entitlement
• the maximum average working week
• the right to rest breaks during the working day - see the page in this guide on rest breaks during the working day
• the right to rest periods between working days - see the page in this guide on rest periods between working days
• hours when working at night - see our guide on Sunday working and night working

In general, workers aged 18 and over are entitled to:

• 5.6 weeks' holiday a year (previously 4.8 weeks' holiday a year)
• work no more than six days out of every seven, or 12 out of every 14
• take a 20-minute break if their shift lasts for more than six hours
• work a maximum 48-hour average week - see the page in this guide on working hours in a week

Workers aged 16 and 17 are entitled to:

• take at least 30 minutes' break if if their shift lasts more than four and a half hours
• work no more than eight hours a day and 40 hours a week
• have 12 hours' rest between working days and two days off every week - see our guide on employing young people
• 5.6 weeks' holiday a year (previously 4.8 weeks)

The minimum amount of statutory holiday was increased from 4.8 weeks to 5.6 weeks of holiday per year on 1 April 2009. Since this date it has not been permitted to give pay in lieu of statutory holiday. However, pay in lieu of holiday may be paid for untaken holiday in excess of the statutory minimum 5.6 weeks per year. These entitlements are calculated on a pro-rata basis for part time employees. So a worker who works three days a week will be entitled to 16.8 day's holiday per year (3 days x 5.6 weeks = 16.8 days). Employers and employees can agree to allow employees to carry over a portion of their holiday entitlement to be taken in the next holiday year, but they must take at least four weeks per year.

All workers are covered by the regulations, including part-time, casual, freelance and agency staff. Exceptions include:

• sectors that are subject to different rules - see the page in this guide on how to check if special exemptions apply to your business
• certain circumstances in which employees agree to changes, or to opt out of working-time limits

Workers who can generally decide how long they work because of the nature of their job are also exempt from the working time limits and rest entitlements of the regulations. The regulations state that a worker falls into this category if "on account of the specific characteristics of the activity in which he is engaged, the duration of his working time is not measured or predetermined, or can be determined by the worker himself".

Employers need to consider whether a worker falls into this category. Those who can decide when to do their work and how long they work, such as senior managers, are likely to be in this category. Those without this freedom to choose are not.

Workers in this category may have an element of their working time measured or pre-determined, but otherwise they decide how long they actually work.

This exception would not apply to workers:

• paid hourly and those claiming paid overtime
• working under close supervision
• who are implicitly required to work - eg because of output requirements to be achieved in a specified period

Nobody can be forced to work more than an average of 48 hours a week against their will and this exception does not remove this protection.
It's important to keep records of your workers' hours to show you're complying with the regulations. It's also good practice to monitor working hours.

Working at night

There are special rules regarding employees working at night (usually between 23.00 and 06.00, although this can vary by mutual agreement).

A night worker is someone who regularly works for at least three hours during this period. They must be offered a free health assessment before they start working nights and on a regular basis after that.

In general, workers under 18 are not permitted to work at night.

Mobile workers are excluded from the night-time-working limits of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998. Instead, the number of hours they are permitted to work at night are ten in any 24 hour period as stated in the Road Transport (Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• The rules about hours of work
• Working hours in a week
• Rest breaks during the working day
• Rest periods between working days
• Managing workers' hours
• Check if special exemptions apply to your business
• Here's how I manage staff hours and rest breaks

Print options - What are my print options - Opens in a new window

• Add guide to my print portfolio (print later as PDF)

Email options - What are my email options - Opens in a new window

• Tell a friend about this page
• Send me an email alert when this guide changes