What exactly is a 15 minute break

let's say you have a job from 9 to 5. When do you leave home for work?

The answer is clear, you have to leave before 9 so that you can start at 9.

Should be full 15 minutes. "Travel time" to you work station is company time. Are you sure the bell isn't just "2 minute warning" instead of "get back to work right now"?

sunvv wrote: ↑ let's say you have a job from 9 to 5. When do you leave home for work?

The answer is clear, you have to leave before 9 so that you can start at 9.

Sorry, it's not the same once you are at work - and I'm pretty sure the ministry of labour would not see it your way. Besides, using that same logic shouldn't they give you a 2 minute "travel time" to the lunch room before your break officially starts.

Finally, it's just very petty to nickel & dime your employees like that.

jinglebell79 wrote: ↑ Hi all.

I’m working at a place where we get 2 15 minute breaks and a half hour lunch.

When the horn goes for break everyone leaves their job stations and heads for break. At 13 minutes, a warning bell goes for break where workers are supposed to go back to their work stations.

Am I wrong in assuming a 15 minute break means go back to work after 15 minutes. What’s your opinion?

I think your wrong, to me it means start work after 15 mins. If I go out for lunch I need to be back within the hour, of course travel time needs to be factored in the that hour.

Means you have 15 minutes from the moment you stop working until you start again. Mind you, most places don't micromanage you like this.

Considering break periods are paid and you're still on company time, they can dictate how they go. There's nothing that says you have to head to a designated break area. You could literally drop what your doing and stand/sit there for 15 minutes and that's your break. So travel time to an area or room would be part of your 15 minutes.

It depends on the workplace.

It seems the most slave driving work places expect you to back at work at 15:01

Some work places are reasonable and factor in travel time to get to the break room. I'd imagine employee morale is a lot higher too.

wow, a workplace with a horn for breaks... tough crowd...

Messerschmitt wrote: ↑ wow, a workplace with a horn for breaks... tough crowd...

This is like a factory or warehouse type job.
I can’t imagine Richard Bernstein financial Consultancy group sounding a horn when breaks are done.

I'm actually wondering if people start working exactly at 9:00:00 when the horn blows and drop everything they are doing at exactly 17:00:00 even if their work is not fully finished for the day

terrbear wrote: ↑ I'm actually wondering if people start working exactly at 9:00:00 when the horn blows and drop everything they are doing at exactly 17:00:00 even if their work is not fully finished for the day

depends on work setting... in manufacturing, yes... office, no

1 minute stoppage at my workplace is $50k... so time is critical

Sounds like back in elementary times lol

FreshCo wrote: ↑ Means you have 15 minutes from the moment you stop working until you start again. Mind you, most places don't micromanage you like this.

Ditto.

Otherwise, if it excludes travel time you will have some people walking 2 or 3 blocks to get their coffee and really stretching it to 30 mins.

terrbear wrote: ↑ I'm actually wondering if people start working exactly at 9:00:00 when the horn blows and drop everything they are doing at exactly 17:00:00 even if their work is not fully finished for the day

Jobs like this "finishing" is a matter of minutes if not seconds - you are basically just doing some small task over and over again, you are not doing something that once you start will take an hour to complete. There will probably be 5 - 15 minute warning before the shift ends, where you finish up and any extra time might be for cleaning up your work station, etc.

WetCoastGuy wrote: ↑ Ditto.

Otherwise, if it excludes travel time you will have some people walking 2 or 3 blocks to get their coffee and really stretching it to 30 mins.

No, as long as you are back on the premises within 15 minutes you are good. Going by your theory I would clock out every time I go to the washroom and clock in when I get back.

My summer job used to be at a tree nursery (place where they grow the small saplings for replanting), we were out in a field and it could be several minutes walk from where we worked to where the break area was (and where we had our drinks, etc.). If "travel time" was included in our break, we would have had maybe 5 minutes of actual break.

Walking back and forth in order to do your work is not "personal" time, it's part of your job and therefore covered in your paid time.

terrbear wrote: ↑ I'm actually wondering if people start working exactly at 9:00:00 when the horn blows and drop everything they are doing at exactly 17:00:00 even if their work is not fully finished for the day

Flintstone did

terrbear wrote: ↑ I'm actually wondering if people start working exactly at 9:00:00 when the horn blows and drop everything they are doing at exactly 17:00:00 even if their work is not fully finished for the day

If it's a union environment they drop everything at 16:50, gather their things, and slowly meander to the exit so that they are passing through the door frame at precisely 17:00:00. It's an art form.

Make me wonder how many toilettes and how many people is work with you at that place.

The line up to go pee probably takes you 10 minutes, then 2 minutes walk to toilette. After your pee, you still have that 3 minutes to make you coffee and back to your own spot.

jackrabbit000 wrote: ↑ Lol.

At our workplace, we work 15 min and take a 45 min break every hr. lol. Don't laugh, it's true, we can take as many breaks as we want, anytime we want and as long as we want. And we can take lunch anytime we want also, most people take anywhere from 1/2-1.25 hrs for lunch.

Sounds like dealership's garage.
The mechanic takes 15 min to work on your car and charge you full hour for it.