Guide

Are Breaks Paid? Lunch and Rest Break Rules

By Muhammad Wajih Ul Hassan, Lead Developer & Software Engineer · Updated October 1, 2026

In the US, short breaks are paid and meal breaks usually aren't. Under federal law, rest breaks of about 20 minutes or less count as work time. A genuine meal break of 30 minutes or more, where you're completely relieved of duty, doesn't have to be paid. Federal law doesn't require employers to give breaks at all, but some states do, California above all. In Canada and the UK, required breaks are generally unpaid unless your contract says otherwise.

United States: the federal rule

The Fair Labor Standards Act doesn't require breaks, but if they're given:

Break	Paid?	Condition
Rest break, usually 5–20 minutes	Yes	Counts as hours worked, including toward overtime
Meal break, usually 30 minutes or more	No	Only if you're completely relieved of duty
Meal break where you keep working	Yes	Eating at your desk while answering calls is work time

The Department of Labor's guidance says rest periods of 20 minutes or less "are customarily paid for as working time", while bona fide meal periods of typically 30 minutes or more "generally need not be compensated". An employer can't call a 10-minute break a "meal" to avoid paying for it.

California: required breaks and penalty pay

California requires breaks for most non-exempt employees:

Meal period: a 30-minute unpaid meal break before the end of the fifth hour of work. It can be waived by mutual consent if the whole workday is 6 hours or less. A second meal break is required after 10 hours, with its own waiver rules.
Rest periods: 10 minutes of paid rest for every 4 hours worked "or major fraction thereof". None is required if the workday is under 3½ hours.
Premium pay: if a required meal or rest break isn't provided, the employer owes one extra hour of pay at the employee's regular rate for each workday it happens (one premium for meals and one for rest breaks, at most).

"Major fraction" means more than half, so the number of paid rest breaks steps up at 3½, 6, 10 and 14 hours:

Hours worked in the day	Paid 10-minute rest breaks
Under 3.5	0
3.5 up to 6	1
More than 6, up to 10	2
More than 10, up to 14	3

Several other states also require meal or rest breaks, with different timings and exceptions. Check your state labor department's site.

Canada (Ontario)

Ontario's Employment Standards Act requires a 30-minute eating period after every 5 hours of work. It can be split into two breaks if you and your employer agree. Eating periods are unpaid unless your contract says they're paid, but if you're required to work or stay on call during the break, that time is work. Other provinces have their own rules; federally regulated workplaces follow the Canada Labour Code.

United Kingdom

Adult workers have the right to one uninterrupted 20-minute rest break during the working day if they work more than 6 hours. GOV.UK notes that the break doesn't have to be paid; it depends on the employment contract. The 20 minutes should be a single break taken during the day, not at the start or end. Workers also get 11 hours' rest between working days. Young workers have stronger rights.

Australia

In Australia, breaks are set by the modern award or enterprise agreement that covers you rather than by a single national rule. Many awards include paid rest breaks and an unpaid meal break after a set number of hours. Check your award on the Fair Work Ombudsman's website.

How breaks change your hours and pay

Only unpaid breaks are taken off your hours worked. Paid rest breaks stay in.

Example. You work 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM with two paid 15-minute breaks and a 45-minute unpaid lunch. Clock time is 9 hours. Subtract only the lunch: 9:00 − 0:45 = 8 hours 15 minutes (8.25 hours). Over a five-day week that's 41.25 hours, so in the US 1.25 hours are federal overtime. If the employer also deducted the two rest breaks, you'd be paid for 7.75 hours a day: 2.5 hours a week less, and no overtime.

Watch out for automatic lunch deductions

Many time clock systems take 30 minutes off every shift automatically. That's fine on days you take a full, uninterrupted lunch. On days you work through it, or get called back early, the deduction is wrong and the time must be paid. If that happens, write it down and tell payroll, and check your weekly total against your own record.

Calculate hours with breaks

In the Hours Worked Calculator and the Time Card Calculator, enter only unpaid break minutes in the break field; leave paid rest breaks out. The Time Clock Calculator handles a lunch punch-out and punch-in directly. See also how to calculate hours worked.