Break entitlement at call centres.

Drake5

Drake5

Drake5

Soldato
Joined
12 Dec 2005
Posts
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Just wondering if someone could clarify this for me please.

Is their a certain 'entitlement' companies have to follow for giving breaks in a call centre that use computers?

I'm told you have a break every XX minutes for health and safety reasons, just wondering if their is any truth to this?

Cheers
 
HSE's "Working with VDUs" Document said:
How long should I work with a VDU?
There is no legal limit, but you need to break up long spells of VDU work. How
long you should work without a break depends on the type of work you are doing.
See pages 4 and 6 for further information.
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No legal requirements, just a best practice.

Taken from - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg36.pdf
 
Tom_D said:
Thanks for that.

Does anyone here work within a call center environment? If so what sort of breaks do you get?

Cheers
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Most call centres will have decent wfm systems in place to make sure staff have a good amount of breaks.

What do you get and do you think it's not enough or too much?
 
Morba said:
Most call centres will have decent wfm systems in place to make sure staff have a good amount of breaks.

What do you get and do you think it's not enough or too much?
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I'm just curious as to what to expect in my new job. It's just essentially taking calls with light keyboard usage so I expect their probably won't be as many breaks.

I get eye strain fairly easy and have to wear glasses for computer use so obviously I'd be happy with a good amount of breaks. :)

Thanks
 
While not a callcentre as such, I do work in CS, and thus get a lot of inbound calls. Not set in stone, but we try and get 15 minutes AM, 15 minutes PM and a half-hour for lunch.
 
Tom_D said:
I'm just curious as to what to expect in my new job. It's just essentially taking calls with light keyboard usage so I expect their probably won't be as many breaks.

I get eye strain fairly easy and have to wear glasses for computer use so obviously I'd be happy with a good amount of breaks. :)

Thanks
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In that case it's worth asking before you start just to make sure it's suitable for you.
I've heard stories of companies giving the bare minimum when it comes to breaks!
 
Maximum of 2Hr 45mins according to Screen working regulations iirc.

In a normal shift you'll probably get either a 30 or 60min lunch a 2 15min breaks.
 
~Divine~Wind~ said:
Maximum of 2Hr 45mins according to Screen working regulations iirc.

In a normal shift you'll probably get either a 30 or 60min lunch a 2 15min breaks.
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The HSE document Paradigm linked to states:

As the need for breaks depends on the nature and intensity of the work, the
Regulations require breaks or changes of activity but do not specify their timing or length.
 
Advisor's are not allowed breaks, they must be chained to the desk at all times!

Normally around 1:30 of breaks 1hr Lunch 2 15 minutes and 1/2 minutes per hour work as "comfort" first and last break should be 1:30 before/after the end/start of shift (i think)
 
I get 10 mins at 11 AM, lunch hour at 1230 or 130, then another 10 min break at 4. Just enough time to wedge in a quick game of pool. *worst "our office has a pool table" post ever*
 
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