Rest Breaks and Night Work in Ireland: Working Time Rules for Employers

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 sets minimum breaks during the working day, minimum rest between working days and each week, and special rules for night workers. This guide explains the rest breaks, night work and working time rules for Irish employers, including what happens when a break or rest period is missed, and what records to keep. Annual leave and public holidays are covered separately, in our guides to annual leave and public holidays. It is general information, not legal advice.

Breaks during the working day

Section 12 of the 1997 Act deals with breaks. Reading the text on the Irish Statute Book:

• an employer may not require an employee to work for more than 4 hours 30 minutes without giving a break of at least 15 minutes;
• an employer may not require an employee to work for more than 6 hours without giving a break of at least 30 minutes, and that break can include the 15 minute break;
• the Minister may make regulations for specified classes of employees setting the longer break at more than 30 minutes but no more than one hour; and
• a break given at the end of the working day does not count towards either requirement.

Citizens Information (page last edited 27 January 2025) adds some practical points. Breaks are not working time and are not legally paid, so pay for breaks depends on the contract. There is no legal right to smoking breaks. For shop workers who work more than six hours including the period 11.30am to 2.30pm, it describes a one-hour consecutive break within that window, and refers to S.I. 57 of 1998. The same page says employers must make sure remote workers get their rest periods, and it refers to the Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect.

Daily and weekly rest

Section 11 gives an employee a right to a rest period of not less than 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period in which they work for the employer. The Revised Acts site shows the Act as updated to 20 January 2025.

Section 13 covers weekly rest. According to the text:

• in every 7-day period an employee must get a rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours, which must normally follow immediately after a daily rest period;
• alternatively, an employer may skip the weekly rest in one 7-day period and give two rest periods of at least 24 hours each in the following 7-day period;
• the employer may decide the weekly rest need not follow a daily rest period, but only where technical reasons, the way the work is organised or other objective considerations justify it; and
• unless the contract says otherwise, the weekly rest (or one of the two rests) must be a Sunday, and a rest longer than 24 hours must include a Sunday.

Who is outside the rules, and when they can vary

Citizens Information lists groups that are not covered, including Gardaí, certain Defence Forces members, employees who control their own working hours, family employees on farms or in private homes, people employed in transport, certain civil protection services and fishermen. It also says normal breaks and rests may not apply in exceptional circumstances (such as an emergency or an unforeseeable event outside the employer’s control), where a collective agreement approved by the Labour Court or covered by an Employment Regulation Order or Registered Employment Agreement varies them, and in some shift work arrangements.

Where rest is varied or missed in these situations, the Workplace Relations Commission’s Code of Practice on Compensatory Rest Periods says the employer must make equivalent compensatory rest available. Where that is not possible for objective reasons, the employer must provide “appropriate protection”. The code says that cannot be money or a general material benefit. It gives examples such as better working conditions, refreshment and recreational facilities, transport, or measures to reduce monotonous work or isolation, and calls the list illustrative. Compensatory rest should be given “as soon as possible after the statutory rest has been missed out on”. The code does not set a fixed timeframe. The WRC page for the code shows no publication date, only that it was made by Ministerial Order (S.I. 44 of 1998) on 24 February 1998.

Night work

Section 16 defines night time as the period from midnight to 7am. A night worker is an employee who normally works at least 3 hours of their daily working time at night and who works at night for at least 50% of their total hours over a year. The Act sets two limits, as read on the Irish Statute Book:

• for most night workers, an average of no more than 8 hours in each 24-hour period, calculated over a reference period that is normally two months (a longer period is possible only if a collective agreement approved by the Labour Court provides for one); and
• for “special category” night workers, whose employer’s risk assessment shows the work involves special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain, no more than 8 hours in any 24-hour period that includes night work.

The text of section 16 that we read is the enacted version, which refers to older safety regulations. Check the current Revised Act for later amendments. The Workplace Relations Commission’s working hours page describes averaging over two months for most night workers (it states the maximum as 48 hours a week) and an absolute limit of 8 hours in any 24-hour period for special hazard work.

Citizens Information adds that employers must offer night workers a free health assessment before they start night work and at regular intervals afterwards, and that if night work makes someone sick, the employer should move them to suitable non-night work where possible. It also says young people under 18 are generally not allowed to do night work.

The 48-hour week and how it fits in

Rest and night work sit alongside the maximum average working week. The WRC says that is 48 hours, averaged over 4 months for most employees, 6 months in certain circumstances such as seasonal work, and up to 12 months under a Labour Court-approved collective agreement. Annual leave and public holidays have their own rules.

Records and missed breaks

Citizens Information (page last edited 10 August 2026) says employers must keep records of employees’ daily and weekly hours and any leave, rest periods and breaks taken, and must keep working time records for three years. Records can be electronic or on an OWT1 form. It says employers who fail to keep the records can be fined up to €1,900. The same page says that if an employee cannot take a break or rest, they must tell their employer in writing within one week, giving the reason, and the employer must review the reasons, check for health and safety issues and give the break as soon as possible. It also says employers do not have to record breaks and rest periods if certain conditions are met, such as telling employees their break entitlements in writing and having a written procedure for reporting missed breaks.

A practical approach for Dublin employers

These are our suggestions, not legal requirements:

• Check rosters against the minimums. Check that the gap between the end of one shift and the start of the next leaves at least 11 consecutive hours.
• Write down your break policy and missed-break procedure. This supports both fairness and the record-keeping conditions above.
• Identify your night workers. Apply the 3-hour and 50% tests to rotating shift staff, then arrange the health assessment.
• Plan compensatory rest in advance. If an emergency call-out will cut into rest, decide how the rest will be made up.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

How long must a lunch break be?

Under section 12, an employee must get at least 30 minutes if required to work more than 6 hours, and 15 minutes if required to work more than 4 hours 30 minutes. The 30 minute break can include the 15 minute break.

Do employers have to pay for breaks?

Citizens Information says breaks are not working time and are not legally paid, so pay depends on the contract.

What counts as a night worker in Ireland?

Under section 16, night time is midnight to 7am, and a night worker normally works at least 3 hours of their daily working time at night and at least 50% of their hours over a year at night.

How long do we keep working time records?

Citizens Information says three years.

What if an employee misses a rest break because of an emergency?

The Code of Practice on Compensatory Rest Periods says compensatory rest should be made available as soon as possible, or appropriate protection if that is not possible for objective reasons.

Getting rosters, break policy and records right is far easier than dealing with a missed-rest complaint after the event.