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Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)

Notices

National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI)

Main Collective Agreement

Part 2 : Hours of Work

5. Meal and rest intervals

 

(1) Subject to subclauses (2) and (3), an employer must give an employee who works continuously for more than five hours, a meal interval of not less than one hour. For the purposes of this subclause, work is continuous unless it is interrupted by an interval of at least 60 minutes.

 

(2) The period of five hours referred to in subclause (1) may be extended to not more than seven hours for the purpose of loading or unloading a vehicle.

 

(3) The meal interval may be reduced by written agreement between the employer and employee to not less than—
(a) half an hour; or
(b) 15 minutes, in the case of a second meal interval on any day.

 

(4) An employee may not be required or permitted to perform any work during a meal interval.

 

(5) A meal interval does not form part of the ordinary hours of work or overtime, unless—
(a) the meal interval is longer than one and a quarter hours in which case all time in excess of one and a quarter hours is deemed to be time worked;
(b) by reason of overtime worked, the meal interval is the second meal interval of the day.

 

(6) An employer must allow an employee a rest interval of at least ten minutes as near as practicable to the middle of the first work period of each day. An employee may not be required or permitted to perform any work during a rest interval. This interval is deemed to be part of the ordinary hours of work of an employee.

 

(7) The provisions of this clause do not apply to security guards. However, any meal interval given to a security guard is deemed to be part of the guard's ordinary hours of work.

 

(8) Sub-clause (6) does not apply to a driver or to an employee who accompanies or assists a driver on a vehicle while the vehicle is not at the employer's premises.