§3 Conditions of the break

The ‘break’ to which workers are entitled under Article 4 of the Directive should constitute a ‘rest period’ as is clear from both its inclusion in Recital 5 and the title of the chapter ‘Minimum rest periods’ in which it is inserted. In light of the definitions of ‘working time’ and ‘rest period’, this means that workers should not be obliged to remain at their workstations, at the employer’s disposal or carrying out their activity or duties. Such breaks where workers are allowed to manage their time without major constraints and to pursue their own interests do not constitute working time (186). The breaks therefore do not need to be counted as ‘working time’ as they constitute ‘rest periods’. National law can nevertheless differ as, as stressed above, Member States are allowed to apply provisions which are more favourable to the protection of the health and safety of workers, for example by counting breaks during a working day as ‘working time’. On the contrary, a period during which workers are requested by their employer to remain at their post and be available to provide services if necessary, even if their activity is zero, would qualify as ‘working time’ and would therefore not fulfil the right of workers to receive a break during their working day. The Court has ruled that a period during which workers must be ready to respond to a call-out within a time limit of two minutes constitutes ‘working time’ if it is apparent that the limitations imposed on the workers very significantly affect their ability to manage freely their time (187).

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07