??? re taking breaks in hospitality industry

I have to read up on this but thought some of you knowledgeable girls might know. We have just opened a pizza shop and have some girls come in from 5 until 9. It is pretty much flat out from 5.30 to 9 and really not much chance to have a break. I suspect we should be giving them a paid 10 minute break at some time during that 4 hour shift. Is that correct?
and at what point do we need to give them an unpaid meal break ie. I think a 6 hour shift would need an unpaid meal break. Is that correct?
thanks in advance

from my knowledge(10yrs in cafes and hotels) after 5 hours a break is needed(1/2 hour unpaid) a ten minute break after i think it is 2 or 3 hours. i know it is busy but it has to be done as you can get in trouble for not 'allowing' breaks.
if any are smokers i believe there smoke breaks are the paid breaks.
you may be able to work out a deal with them( although not sure on the legality side of it) that they can tack on the extra 10 minutes on the end if the were unable to get a break in their shift.. Hospitality is all about flexibilty for staff and employers..

Not sure if the award is still the same but when I had the shop it was half hou UNpaid break every five hours and that was it.
We also gave them a meal if they were working the 5-9 shift when they finished or when on break.
So you are not legally requires to give them any break at all but a 10 min smoko if they have the time would keep up the morale. Smoke breaks are also UNpaid legally speaking.

I'm pretty sure it's a 10 min break for a 5 hr shift and a half hour break for any shift over 6 hrs. So you should be right with no break for a 4 hr shift.

Where I work we rarely get breaks, it's just too busy. (I don't knwo if I should have written that)

Under my current SDA agreement after 5hours you are entitled to 1/2 hour unpaid break, and a rest pause (say thats the 10min paid) can be had no sooner than 2 hour after starting and I think 1 hour before finishing - so a 3 hours shift would be no break at all.

4hr or more is entitled to a 10min break. 6hrs + is an unpaid meal break.

I too, for many years, have worked in an industry where u can work 18hr shifts and get no breaks whatsoever... but I do know that the 4hr/6hr rule is what is meant to be given.

to make sure it's right for you, I think you'd be best to call your local employment services in your area, or your member of parliament can also help with this stuff! try the local fair trading office or wageline even?

thanks girls. think I had better get a copy of the award soon!

We're probably a little too casual with what we do then! :redface:

We just let the staff sit down for 5-10 mins when they can throughout the night.
From 5-9 its pretty full on & there's not much time to do anything, but after 9 it slows down & usually they will take it in turns to go outside & have a break/cigarette etc for as long as time allows.

We have most of our staff on 3hr shifts except the full time ones - but the girls & delivery drivers overlap each others shifts - for example one girl might do 5-8pm, another 6-9pm etc.

We always give them a free meal at the end of the night or they can nibble on a pizza during as long as its out of sight of customers ;)

DH is pretty cruisy with the staff, but treats them all really well - and we're lucky enough that they've been just as good to us in return.

All of the boys have become quite close & because they're closer in age to BIL (who lives with us) I find a lot of them here after work for a few drinks/food/swim in the pool or to play the playstation etc.