Break rules

Break rules are configured to schedule paid rest breaks and paid or unpaid meal breaks. Break rules determine when Auto-Assignment adds breaks to shifts based on the shift length and, optionally, its start and end time. Break rules define the range of start times for breaks and the break activity codes. When configuring break rules, you should consider any labor laws, union agreements, or company policies that require your client to provide breaks to their employes.

Different options can be used to configure the start time of break activities during a shift. The Hours Range From/To option is used to have breaks start relative to the start time of the shift. The Break starts between option is used to define specific times of the day for the break to start. When using one of these options, the fields for the other option are disabled.

Auto-Assignment optimizes the timing of breaks in the schedule to minimize the effect of breaks on the overall level of staff coverage. Break times are not counted as covering interval requirements, as employes are not considered to be working during breaks. Break times are optimized by different methods, depending on the particular scheduling scenario and configuration. This can mean scheduling breaks during intervals with lower requirements or spreading out break start times among employees to reduce the number of employees going on break at the same time. When gaps in coverage are long enough, the optimizer may generate additional shifts to cover the breaks.

You should configure break rules with a range of allowed start times. This gives the optimizer more choices for where breaks can be scheduled in a given shift, which helps it avoid scheduling employees to breaks at the same time. For example, allowing a break to start from 3 to 4 hours after the start of a shift provides the optimizer with 5 different options for when it can schedule the break.

When configuring Auto-Assignment groups with break rules, it is recommended to require some length of time in between shifts assigned to the same employee. This can either be through rules that limit each employee to one shift per day or that require a minimum time period between shifts assigned to the same employee. Without these rules in some schedule scenarios, the optimizer may assign multiple consecutive shifts to the same employee. These are displayed in the schedule as one shift, but may not include the breaks required for the combined shift length.