Managing breaks

Related module:

📖 In this article:

• What does the law say?
• The different “break” configurations in Eurécia
  • Types of breaks
  • Inclusion in actual working time
  • Inclusion in overtime
• Configuring breaks in Eurécia
  • Prerequisites
  • Step 1 - Set up my working hours
  • Step 2 - Set up my breaks
• Displaying breaks in timesheets
  • Break times
  • Inclusion in hour calculation

What does the law say?

Article L3121-16

Employees must be granted a break of at least 20 consecutive minutes as soon as daily working time reaches 6 hours.

The break is granted:

• Either immediately after 6 hours of work,
• Or before this 6-hour duration is fully completed.

A collective or company agreement may establish a longer break duration.

The different “break” configurations in Eurécia

Eurécia allows you to configure several types of breaks to meet all your needs!

Types of breaks

Clocked breaks: these are breaks for which the user must clock in and out at the beginning and end of the break.

Flat-rate breaks: these are automatically generated breaks during the morning and afternoon shifts. These breaks have a fixed duration.

Inclusion in actual working time

Both types of breaks can be counted as actual working time or not, depending on the time type used. 🤔 Don't panic, we explain everything a bit further down!

• Breaks counted as worked: the total worked hours includes break times,
• Breaks not counted as worked: the break time will be deducted from total worked hours.

Inclusion in overtime

• Breaks excluded from overtime calculation: breaks not counted as worked cannot be included in overtime calculation,
• Breaks included in overtime calculation: breaks counted as worked can be included in overtime calculation.

Sound complicated? Don't worry, grab a quick coffee and let's go 😊!

Configuring breaks in Eurécia

Prerequisites

• The Time & Activities module must be active for your company. Not active yet? Contact your favorite support team 😊!
• Break management only affects the “Suivi Temps” tab of timesheets. Are you tracking activities and want to use break management? You can enable both tabs for your employees by following this article: Create or edit a Time & Activities profile.

Step 1 - Set up my working hours

Access: Admin Area > Paramètres généraux > Horaires de travail > “Général” tab

It may be necessary to modify the theoretical hours of my working schedule if, for example, break times are not included in the number of theoretical hours to be worked.

The number of theoretical hours for each slot is thus displayed in 2 parts:

• The number of “worked” hours,
• The break time.

The total theoretical hours is calculated as follows: working time + break time.

If my theoretical hours to be worked do not take break times into account, then my working schedule must be modified accordingly:

Step 2 - Set up my breaks

Access: Admin Area > Paramètres généraux > Horaires de travail > “Pauses” tab

In the “Pause obligatoire entre les tranches de travail” section, I enter, in minutes, the mandatory break time between the first working slot and the second. This interval usually corresponds to the lunch break.

Clocked breaks

To set up my intermediate clocked breaks:

• I enable the “Paramétrage des pauses” button,
• In the break declaration, I choose “pause badgée”: my employees will have to clock in and out for every break departure and return,
• If it is a clocked break with AGT, I enter the break code expected by my physical clocking terminal,
• I determine the theoretical break time in minutes,
• If my break should be counted as worked and included in the total worked hours, I can enable the “Cette pause sera comptée comme travaillée et incluse dans les totaux des heures travaillées” button,
• If my break is counted as actual working time, I can enable the “Cette pause sera incluse dans le calcul des heures supplémentaires” button,
• I save.

A summary of the established rule is displayed on the right of your screen.

Automatically generated breaks

• I enable the “Paramétrage des pauses” button,
• In the break declaration, I choose “pause automatiquement générée”: the break will be automatically generated in timesheets for each worked slot,
• I determine the break time in minutes,
• If my break should be counted as worked and included in the total worked hours, I can enable the “Cette pause sera comptée comme travaillée et incluse dans les totaux des heures travaillées” button,
• If my break is counted as actual working time, I can enable the “Cette pause sera incluse dans le calcul des heures supplémentaires” button,
• I save.

A summary of the established rule is displayed on the right of your screen.

Displaying breaks in timesheets

In my timesheets, my breaks appear in the form of a coffee cup 😊!

Break times

Break times are filled in from clocking information or from working hours in the case of automatic pre-filling of timesheets.

If your employees have the ability to modify their timesheets, they will also be able to modify their break times by simply clicking on the coffee cup.

In this case, all they need to do is enter the desired duration and confirm:

In cases where your timesheets are not pre-filled, you will need to enter the duration of breaks by simply clicking on the coffee cup as well!

Inclusion in hour calculation

In your timesheets, breaks can be deducted in three ways:

Breaks considered as not worked: they are therefore not included in the total worked hours of your timesheet.

E.g.: Jean-Pierre works 35 hours per week, but his breaks are not included in this working time. He has a debit/credit time-off balance based on a fixed number of 35 hours. This week, he reported 35h30 on his timesheet, including 45 minutes of break time.

Indeed, Jean-Pierre did not report enough actual working time. He reported 35h30, including 45 minutes of break time. Therefore, only 34h45 are considered worked. As he theoretically has to work 35 hours, his time-off balance will be debited by 15 minutes.

Breaks considered as worked but excluded from overtime: break times are considered as working time but do not generate overtime.

E.g.: Sébastien must work 35 hours per week. Beyond 35 hours, he earns time off in lieu. This week he worked 37h40, including 55 minutes of break time.

Bravo 😊! Well done! He will indeed earn 1h45 of time off in lieu because:

37h40 - 55 minutes = 36h45. He earns time off in lieu beyond 35 hours, so his time-off balance will be credited with 1h45.

Breaks considered as worked and included in overtime: break times are considered as working time and are included in the overtime calculation.

E.g.: Marie works 39 hours per week. Beyond 39 hours, the hours are transferred to payroll with a 125% premium. This week she worked 41 hours, including 45 minutes of break time.

And yes, of course! Marie worked 2 hours of overtime this week because breaks are included in the overtime calculation. As there is a 125% premium, 2h30 will be transferred to payroll.

Now it's your turn 😁!

Keywords: pause · break · coffee · time · duration · daily · set up · configure · type · initial · middle · lunch · lunch break