What the law says about breaks at work
What the law says about breaks at work
"I'm a sales assistant in a bookshop in Geneva. I work standing up and I'd like to be able to sit down from time to time. Do I have the right to a break every two hours?"
Muriel, Nyon
The Federal Law on Labour in Industry, Craft Trades and Commerce stipulates that work must be interrupted by a break of at least a quarter of an hour if the working day lasts more than five and a half hours; half an hour if the working day lasts more than seven hours; one hour if the working day lasts more than nine hours.
Breaks are interruptions in work to allow workers to rest, eat and have some free time. Breaks count as work when the employee is not allowed to leave the workplace.
For the rest, there is a collective labour agreement for bookshops which applies to employers who are active members of the Swiss Association of Distributors, Publishers and Booksellers (ASDEL), who operate a business devoted to bookshops and, in principle, to all their qualified staff as well as to all their unqualified staff devoting 50 % or more of their effective working time in the company to the book sector.
Under this agreement, employees are entitled to a break for each half-day worked. Breaks count as working time when calculating weekly working hours. The length and conditions of the break are decided by each company. If your employer is a party to this agreement, you will therefore be entitled to a morning break and an afternoon break.
You can find more information on the contact details and texts of the Collective Labour Agreements on the website of the Geneva Cantonal Office of Labour Inspection and Relations (http://www.geneve.ch/ocirt/).
