MEAL AND REST BREAK POLICY
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1
This policy applies to operational clinical staff at band 6 and below within Emergency Services (i.e. Urgent Care Service staff, EMTs & Paramedics). The basic principles in this document will also apply to the Emergency Control Centres (detail to be agreed). The Policy replaces all previous policies and collective agreements connected with the management of meal and rest breaks with NWAS.
1.2
The policy seeks to provide a fair and consistent application of meal management arrangements across NWAS. It aims to reflect the requirement of unpaid meal breaks under the Agenda for Change agreement which would also allow for availability while staff are on their break. The overall aim is to ensure that staff get the appropriate meal/rest breaks within the specified timeframes and that disturbed meals are kept to a minimum while maintaining adequate emergency cover during that period.
2. MEAL/REST BREAK ENTITLEMENTS AND MEAL BREAK WINDOWS 2.1
All staff will be entitled to one 30 minute meal break which will be taken at the earliest opportunity when the meal break window opens. Meal break windows will be 3 hours duration, and will normally commence after 3 hours of the shift start time and finish at the end of the 6th hour within the shift. E.g. Within a 07001900 shift, the ‘meal window’ opens at 10.00 and closes at 13.00 hours.
Meal Break Entitlement Shift Length
Meal Window length
8-hour
2-hours
8-9 hours
3-hours
Window start time (commencement) Commencement one hour before the midpoint of the shift 3rd hour to 6th hour
9 and 10-hours (up to 10hours 59 mins) 11-hours 12-Hour
3-Hours
3rd hour to 6th hour
3-Hours 3-Hours
3rd hour to 6th hour 3rd hour to 6th hour
2.2
In addition to the meal break entitlement outlined above, staff will also be routinely allocated a second 20 minute (Max) paid rest break which should
NWAS MEAL BREAK & REST BREAK POLICY Author
A/E Consultative Group
Version
11.3
Date of Approval
17 July 2012
Status
Final (review due as below)
Approved By
A/E Consultative Group
Review Date
November 2013 and then Annually
normally be completed no later than 2 hours prior to the shift finishing. Crews remain available while on their Rest Break. In the event that the rest break is not completed by this time, the crew will be made unavailable and stood down at a suitable and appropriate location set by the ECC. If this is within the last hour of the shift then the crew will be returned to their base station Rest Break Entitlement Shift Length 8 and 9–Hour (up to 9-hours 59 mins)
Rest Break Length No Rest Break
Time frame
10-hours (up to 10-hours 59 mins)
15 minutes
completed no later than 1 hours prior to the shift finishing
11-hours
15 minutes
completed no later than 2 hours prior to the shift finishing
12-Hour
20 minutes
completed no later than 2 hours prior to the shift finishing
N/A
2.3
Staff working 12-hour shifts will have the choice to swap over the meal break and rest break (which break is taken first). Staff will inform ECC at the start of their shift if they wish to take their meal break or their rest break first. In the event the crew do not inform the ECC, the crew will be allocated their meal break first. In the event that staff choose to take the meal break after the rest break then the later meal window will commence at the 6th hour and end at the 9th hour of the shift.
2.4
In the event that staff on 12-hours taking their rest break first fail to get their rest break when the later meal break opens then they will be stood down immediately and returned to station for their main meal break, if this is not possible then normal payments as described in this policy apply. In these circumstances ECC and the crew concerned will agree arrangements for their second break.
2.5
Crews will be advised of when to stand down by the ECC Dispatcher. The official start of the break will be either when the crew presses Station or the time given by the dispatcher upon standing the crew down on station. While running back for meal, crews remain available for emergency calls until they have stood down
NWAS MEAL BREAK & REST BREAK POLICY Author
A/E Consultative Group
Version
11.3
Date of Approval
17 July 2012
Status
Final (review due as below)
Approved By
A/E Consultative Group
Review Date
November 2013 and then Annually
unless they are taken out of the stack after the meal window expires. Staff will be permitted to pick up a meal on their way back to station providing there is no undue delay. Therefore, if a crew have picked up a hot meal on their way back, they will still be deemed available.
3.
2.6
If the crew having not made themselves available, have not had their break by the 5th hour, they will only be asked to respond to Red1&2 and G1&2 incidents.
2.7
If the crew have not completed their meal break by the 6 th hour, they will be returned to station after completion of the incident that they are attending and made unavailable for a full, undisturbed 30 minutes. They will also receive a compensatory payment set out in the table below.
2.8
Meal breaks will normally be taken at the crew’s base station unless the crew specifically request to take their break at another location. However, subject to the requirements set out in this policy, ECC may ask crews to take their meal break elsewhere. This may also apply when a crew have undertaken a transfer or wait and return journey that takes them outside of their normal working area and returning them to their base would mean a prolonged journey or may take them outside of their meal break window. In these circumstances, crews would be entitled to claim the appropriate allowances set out under the Agenda for Change agreement and may be entitled to a late meal compensation payment.
2.9
ECC may ask a crew, that have notified they are available, to take their meal break at an alternative location if they are out of their normal working area or in excess of 20 minutes running time back to their base.
2.10
If two members of staff operating as a crew have different shift times the meal window used will be the earliest meal window.
AVAILABILITY DURING MEAL BREAKS 3.1
The aim of this policy is to ensure that staff get appropriate uninterrupted meal breaks within the agreed meal break windows. ECC staff will manage the allocation of meal breaks to ensure this aim is met as far as possible at all times. A meal break will only be disturbed where an emergency occurs within the local vicinity that dictates a response in standard and it is determined that no other resource is available to meet that standard.
3.2
At the commencement of duty, the crew will inform the ECC whether they are prepared to be available to respond to an emergency while on their meal break.
NWAS MEAL BREAK & REST BREAK POLICY Author
A/E Consultative Group
Version
11.3
Date of Approval
17 July 2012
Status
Final (review due as below)
Approved By
A/E Consultative Group
Review Date
November 2013 and then Annually
4
3.3
If a crew make themselves available and are asked to respond, they will receive a disturbance allowance of £25. This sum will be inclusive of any ‘late meal break payment’ (see section 4 below).
3.4
If the meal break gets disturbed in the first 20th minute of a meal break then the responding crew will be immediately stood down and returned to station for a full 30minutes, undisturbed after completion of the emergency. If the crew get disturbed between the 20th minute and upto the 30th minute, on completion of the emergency the crew will be stood down for a further 10 minutes at a location set by ECC.
3.5
Any crew who have made themselves available can be asked to dine away from their base. In this event, they will be entitled to a payment of £5 in line with the Agenda for Change agreement.
3.6
Any crew who do not make themselves available to be disturbed but are prepared to dine away from base will be entitled to a payment of £5 if they are required to do so.
3.7
If one crew member indicates that they are not available while on their break, the default will be that both crew members are unavailable to respond while on their break.
3.8
Once a crew has completed their Meal/Rest Break, they will be available for any type of incident.
LATE MEAL BREAK PAYMENTS 4.1
Any crew not able to commence their break within the meal break window will be compensated in line with the table below;
Within 1 hour of end 1-2 hours after end 2 or more hours after of ‘meal window’ of ‘meal window’ end of ‘meal window’
£5
4.2
£10
£20
Missed meal
£25
Please note the maximum daily allowance will be £30, inclusive of disturbed, late and away from station payments.
NWAS MEAL BREAK & REST BREAK POLICY Author
A/E Consultative Group
Version
11.3
Date of Approval
17 July 2012
Status
Final (review due as below)
Approved By
A/E Consultative Group
Review Date
November 2013 and then Annually
5
EXCEPTIONS 5.1
5.2
6
In the following circumstances the compensations arrangements above will apply however all other arrangements, as described above will not:
Major Incident Stand-by until Major Incident Stand Down. This applies to any Major Incident within the region.
A Declared Major incident – Arrangements will be put in place to ensure that staff get adequate breaks and food.
Long Distance Journeys – Arrangements will be agreed with the crew.
This policy can only be suspended with the agreement of the Joint Trade Unions. In the event that it is agreed to suspend the policy, arrangements will be made to provide the crews with food and drinks.
MONITORING The Trust will ensure that there are monitoring arrangements in place to record instances where the above arrangements are breached and all occasions where meal breaks are disturbed. This information will be shared with both managers and Trade Union representatives to enable adherence to the agreement. Monitoring of meal breaks will also be a standing item on the agenda at Sector Partnership meetings to enable any potential issues to be identified at an early stage.
NWAS MEAL BREAK & REST BREAK POLICY Author
A/E Consultative Group
Version
11.3
Date of Approval
17 July 2012
Status
Final (review due as below)
Approved By
A/E Consultative Group
Review Date
November 2013 and then Annually
