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Q: I am unsure as to how much time off I should be giving my employees. What are their legal rights in terms of a weekly rest period?

Jan 13 2009

Answered by: Peter Done     Ask a question

Workers are entitled to a weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours in a seven-day reference period. This period starts at midnight between Sunday and Monday unless a relevant agreement states otherwise.

For adult workers, the 24-hour weekly rest entitlement can, at the employer's option, be averaged over a 14-day reference period by giving two rest periods of at least 24 consecutive hours or one rest period of at least 48 consecutive hours in each 14-day period.

This weekly rest period should commence immediately after a daily rest period of 11 hours unless there are objective, technical or organisational reasons why the weekly rest period cannot follow the daily rest period. Derogations on the weekly rest period can be made by collective or workforce agreements.

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