Staff breaks and meals policy for hospitality (with a template)

In most pubs and restaurants, breaks happen when it goes quiet. On a busy Saturday it never goes quiet, so the people who most need a break are the ones who don't get one. That's how you end up with a chef who's been on their feet for nine hours without eating, and a tribunal claim nobody saw coming.

A written breaks policy fixes that. Here's what the law says, what good venues do on top, and a template you can copy.

What the law says about breaks

These are the GOV.UK rules for Great Britain. Northern Ireland has equivalent rules, set out on nidirect.

What Acas adds:

• Plan breaks in advance. Breaks should be taken during the working day, not at the start or end of it.
• It must be a real break. The worker should be able to take it uninterrupted and away from their work area. Eating a sandwich at the pass while plating up doesn't count.
• Things come up. If a break is interrupted by something unexpected, the 20 minutes can be taken later in the day.
• Long shifts. Working longer than six hours doesn't automatically give a right to more breaks, but for a 12-hour shift Acas says employers should consider a longer break.
• Reasonable adjustments. An extra break may be needed as a reasonable adjustment for a disabled worker.

Your contracts can give more than the legal minimum, and most good hospitality employers do. For the full working time picture, including night work and the 48-hour week, see our working time rules guide.

Breaks and split shifts

A split shift (say 10:00 to 15:00, then 17:00 to 22:00) often gives a long gap in the afternoon. Whether that gap works as the rest break depends on whether the person is genuinely free to leave and use the time as their own. If they're free to go home, it's unlikely to be working time. If they're expected to hang around and help with the 4pm delivery, it's likely to count as working time and should be paid. Our split shifts guide covers this in detail.

Don't forget the other side: a late close followed by an early split still needs 11 hours' rest between working days.

Staff meals: what to decide

Most hospitality businesses feed their staff. It's one of the best-value benefits you can offer, but it needs rules so it doesn't turn into arguments or waste.

Free, discounted or paid?

• Free staff meal on shifts over a set length (e.g. over five hours). Simple and popular.
• Staff discount off the menu (e.g. 50% off, one main and a soft drink).
• "Family meal" cooked by the kitchen before service, eaten together. Common in restaurants, good for team spirit.

The minimum wage catch

GOV.UK says benefits in kind such as meals don't count towards minimum wage pay, and deductions from pay for meals may reduce a worker's pay for minimum wage purposes, even if the worker asked for or agreed to them. If someone is on or near the minimum wage, don't take meal costs out of their wages. Staff paying for food out of their own money after they've been paid doesn't affect the minimum wage.

The tax treatment of staff meals has its own rules. GOV.UK's guidance on meals for employees covers them; check with your accountant before you change how you do staff food.

Where and when staff eat

• Somewhere to sit. HSE says welfare facilities include drinking water and somewhere to rest and eat meals.
• Not in food prep areas. The FSA's Safer Food, Better Business pack says food handlers shouldn't eat, smoke or chew gum while handling food. Give the team a staff table, the end of the bar before opening, or a back room, not a corner of the kitchen.
• Wash hands before going back to work. After eating, smoking or the toilet, every time.
• Drinking water on the line. Kitchens are hot. Make sure chefs can get water during service, in a covered container away from food.

Allergies and diets

Staff have allergies too. The kitchen should know if anyone on the team has one, and family meal should follow the same allergen rules as the menu.

Smoking and vaping breaks

GOV.UK says smoking isn't allowed in any enclosed workplace, so smokers must go outside, and no indoor staff smoking rooms are allowed. The smoking law doesn't apply to e-cigarettes: whether staff can vape on your premises is your call.

The rest break rules say nothing about smoking breaks, so you decide. Most venues settle on one of:

• Smoking and vaping only during the normal break, or
• Short extra breaks allowed when the manager says it's quiet, with the same chance for non-smokers to take five minutes.

Whichever you choose, say where (not by the front door or the beer garden tables) and that hands get washed before going back to the bar or kitchen.

How to make breaks actually happen

Policies fail on busy nights. These habits make breaks real:

1. Put breaks on the rota. "Break 18:00-18:30" next to the shift. If it's written down, the duty manager plans around it.
2. Stagger them. On a Saturday with three on the bar, breaks at 17:30, 18:00 and 18:30, before the 7pm rush.
3. Cover each section. When the grill chef breaks, someone covers the grill.
4. The manager sends people. Don't rely on staff to ask; on a busy night, the keen ones never will.
5. Check under-18s first. A 17-year-old working from 12:00 to 18:00 needs a 30-minute break, not 20.
6. Record missed breaks. If a break gets missed, note it and give it later in the shift.

Template: staff breaks and meals policy

Copy, edit to suit your venue and add it to your staff handbook.

[Venue name] staff breaks and meals policy

1. Rest breaks. If you work more than 6 hours in a shift, you'll get an uninterrupted break of at least [20/30] minutes. If you're under 18, you'll get at least 30 minutes if you work more than 4.5 hours. Your break is [paid / unpaid].

2. When you take your break. The duty manager will plan breaks and they will be shown on the rota. Breaks won't be at the very start or end of your shift. If service means your break has to move, the duty manager will make sure you still get it later in the shift.

3. Long shifts. On shifts of [10] hours or more, you'll get a meal break of at least [30] minutes plus a further [15]-minute break.

4. Rest between shifts. We plan rotas so adults get at least 11 hours off between working days and under-18s at least 12. Tell your manager if a swap would break this.

5. Staff meals. On shifts of [5] hours or more you can have [one free main meal and a soft drink / X% off the menu]. Staff meals are eaten [at the staff table / in the back room], not in the kitchen or behind the bar. Tell the kitchen about any allergies.

6. Drinks on shift. Water and soft drinks are free on shift. [No alcohol is to be drunk on shift / A staff drink is offered after close, off the clock.]

7. Smoking and vaping. Smoking is only allowed outside in [location], away from the entrance and customer areas. [Vaping follows the same rule.] Smoking and vaping happen during your break [unless the duty manager agrees otherwise]. Remove your apron and wash your hands before returning to work.

8. Hygiene. Don't eat, smoke or chew gum while handling food. Wash your hands after eating, smoking or using the toilet, and before going back to work.

9. If you miss a break. Tell the duty manager straight away so it can be given later in the shift.

10. Questions. Speak to [name / role].

Last reviewed: [date]

Breaks and meals checklist

• 20-minute break planned for every adult shift over 6 hours
• 30-minute break for under-18s working over 4.5 hours
• Breaks written on the rota, not at the start or end of the shift
• Sections covered during breaks
• Paid or unpaid break stated in contracts
• Staff meal rule written down; no meal deductions taking pay below minimum wage
• Somewhere to eat away from food prep; drinking water available
• Smoking and vaping rule set; hands washed on return
• Policy in the handbook and shown to every new starter

Breaks in ShiftComplete

ShiftComplete makes the rota the place breaks live. Each person can have up to four time blocks a day, so you can build "12:00-15:30 Bar, 16:00-20:00 Bar" with the break in the gap, or use day notes like "Breaks: Sam 17:30, Jo 18:00, Alex 18:30". Custom staff areas show who's on Bar, Kitchen or Floor in each block, so you can see the section is covered while someone eats. It's all on everyone's phone under My rota once you publish.

If you switch on clocking in and out, you'll see hours actually worked against the rota and can download them per person as a spreadsheet. Pin your breaks policy as a team announcement so new starters see it. ShiftComplete costs £1.49 per staff member per month, free for 60 days, no card needed.