Temp rota rest breaks: the 20-minute break, 11 hours' daily rest and 24 hours' weekly rest, checked on a six-shift week

A client sends a rota for a temp and the desk confirms it. Nobody checks the gaps between the shifts, because each shift looks reasonable on its own. GOV.UK sets out three rest rights for adults, and a rota can break the second one without any single shift looking long. This guide runs one week through all three. Whether the agency or the client carries the duty for a temp, the page does not say.

What GOV.UK says

Adult workers are "usually entitled to" three kinds of break:

• Rest break at work: one uninterrupted 20-minute break during the working day if they work more than 6 hours a day. The page says it does not have to be paid; that depends on the employment contract.
• Daily rest: 11 hours' rest between working days.
• Weekly rest: either an uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week, or an uninterrupted 48 hours each fortnight.

For monotonous work, such as production-line work, employers should give enough breaks to protect health and safety. The page lists young workers and exceptions as headings only, and does not mention agency workers.

A six-shift week, checked

Here is a rota a warehouse client might send. Times are on-site start and finish, and the gap is the time from the end of one shift to the start of the next.

The sums: Monday ends 22:30, and 22:30 to 06:00 is 7 hours 30 minutes, so 11:00 - 7:30 = 3:30 short. The earliest Tuesday start that passes is 22:30 + 11:00 = 09:30. Tuesday 14:30 to Wednesday 06:00 is 9h30 to midnight plus 6h, so 15h30. Thursday 16:00 to Friday 14:00 is 22 hours. Saturday 22:00 to Monday 06:00 is 2h to midnight, 24h for Sunday and 6h, so 32 hours.

The 20-minute break

Every shift above runs longer than 6 hours, so every shift needs one uninterrupted 20-minute break: 6 x 20 minutes is 2 hours across the week. The on-site total is 8.5 + 8.5 + 8.5 + 10 + 8 + 8 = 51.5 hours. If the contract makes every break unpaid, paid time is 51.5 - 2 = 49.5 hours. If breaks are paid, it stays at 51.5. Either way that single week is over 48 hours, which matters for the average in the 48-hour week guide: one week above 48 is not a breach by itself, because that rule averages over 17 weeks, but a rota like this one needs lighter weeks around it.

Weekly rest

The week has a clear Sunday, and Saturday 22:00 to Monday 06:00 is a 32-hour gap, so an uninterrupted 24 hours is there. A temp who also worked Sunday 14:00-22:00 would have no 24-hour gap in that week: the longest would be Thursday 16:00 to Friday 14:00 at 22 hours, so the fortnight option (48 hours uninterrupted) would have to be met instead. I have not read how the rules define the week, so I have taken it as the seven days of this rota.

What the page does not say

It does not mention agency workers, so it does not tell you whether the agency or the client has to make the rota compliant. It does not give details on young workers or the exceptions, which I did not read, and I have not read the regulations. Where a rota fails, tell the client before the temp starts, in writing, with the gap and the earliest compliant start. Pay and holiday questions are separate: see rolled-up holiday pay for agency temps and the 12-week rule calculator.

What to check before you confirm a rota

• The gap between every pair of shifts, including a late finish followed by an early start, which is where the check fails.
• Any shift over 6 hours, and where the 20-minute break falls and whether it is paid.
• A clear 24 hours in each week, or 48 hours in the fortnight.
• Total hours for the week, set against the 48-hour average.

Overlyft builds AI staff who join your scheduling team and, when a client sends a rota, work out each gap, the shifts that need a break and the weekly total, then queue a note for a person to check and send to the client.

This is general information, not payroll or legal advice. Check GOV.UK and the regulations before you confirm a rota.