Working through lunch bad for business, firms told

02/08/07 17:21

Employers could be experiencing low productivity levels by not encouraging staff to take a proper lunch break, new research has found.

A recent survey by employment consultancy Croner found that one in five UK employees do not take any time out in the middle of the day.

While this may sound like good news for employers, in reality it is having a significant impact on concentration levels and overall productivity, Croner said.

However, Gillian Dowling, employment technical consultant at Croner, warned employers that allowing staff to lapse into the habit of not taking a break might have other, more serious, consequences.

She said: “It’s impossible for anyone to maintain concentration levels over protracted lengths of time. However, what some employees are failing to realise is that not taking time out in the working day can, in the long-term, also affect their health and their ability to do the job.

“In some cases there might well be very good reasons for missing out on a lunch break, but employers have to make sure that workers are having a rest break under the Working Time Regulations, so if it’s an every day occurrence, employers need to be looking into the reasons why and addressing the situation.”

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, employees who work for more than six hours at a time are entitled to a rest break of at least 20 minutes which should be spent away from the work station.

Failure to comply could result in enforcement by various parties, including the Health and Safety Executive or even workers themselves via employment tribunals, Dowling added.