Rest between working days
Workers have the right to 11 hours' rest in a row between working days. For example, if someone finishes at 8pm, they shouldn't start again until 7am the next day.
There are exceptions, for example for shift workers who can't take their full rest between the end of one shift and the start of the next. Where an exception applies, they should usually get the same amount of rest later on instead ("compensatory rest").
Read more: Rest between shifts: the 11-hour rule, with examples.
Sources: gov.uk: rest breaks at work; gov.uk: compensatory rest
Weekly rest
Workers have the right to an uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week, or 48 hours each fortnight.
Read more: Days off: the weekly rest rules.
Source: gov.uk: rest breaks at work
Breaks
Workers who work more than 6 hours a day have the right to one uninterrupted 20-minute rest break during their working day. It doesn't have to be paid. That depends on their contract.
The break should be taken in one go, somewhere in the middle of the day rather than at the start or end, and workers can spend it away from their workstation.
Read more: Rest breaks at work, with examples.
Source: gov.uk: taking breaks
The 48-hour week
Workers shouldn't work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally worked out over 17 weeks. Lunch breaks and other breaks when no work is done don't count.
Workers aged 18 or over can choose to opt out of the 48-hour limit. The opt-out must be voluntary and in writing, and the employer must keep a record of it.
Someone with more than one job should still average no more than 48 hours a week across all of them.
Read more: The 48-hour week and opting out.
Sources: gov.uk: maximum weekly working hours; calculating your working hours; opting out
Night workers
Staff who regularly work at least 3 hours during the night period are night workers. The night period is 11pm to 6am, unless the worker and employer agree a different one.
Night workers shouldn't work more than an average of 8 hours in every 24 hours, usually worked out over 17 weeks. Unlike the 48-hour week, workers can't opt out of this limit. Night workers must also be offered a free health assessment.
Read more: Night workers: the 8-hour average and health assessments.
Sources: gov.uk: night working hours; gov.uk: health assessments
Staff under 18
Young workers aged 16 and 17 have stricter rules:
- no more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, and these can't be averaged out (gov.uk: maximum weekly working hours; calculating your working hours)
- 12 hours' rest each day and 48 hours' rest each week (gov.uk: rest breaks for young workers)
- a 30-minute break if they work more than 4.5 hours, in one go if possible (gov.uk: rest breaks for young workers)
- no work between midnight and 4am, and usually not between 10pm and 6am. A contract can change this to 11pm to 7am (gov.uk: night working hours)
Pubs, restaurants, hotels, catering and shops can sometimes have under-18s work late in the evening or early in the morning. That's only allowed in limited circumstances, and never between midnight and 4am.
Anyone still of compulsory school age is a child, and separate child employment rules apply. Your local council can tell you about them.
Read more: night work rules for under-18s; working hours for under-18s.
Sources: Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 27A; gov.uk: child employment
Keeping records
Employers must keep records showing they've kept to the limits on weekly hours and night work, and the rules on under-18s' hours and night work, and keep them for 2 years. Records of night workers' health assessments must be kept too. Since 6 April 2026, they must also keep records showing they've given workers their holiday entitlement and holiday pay, and keep those for 6 years.
A rota is a plan, not a record of the hours people actually worked, so a ShiftLens report doesn't count as one of these records.
Sources: Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 9; regulation 16B; gov.uk: holiday pay; gov.uk: health assessments
What's expected next (not yet in force)
The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes new rights for people on zero-hours and low-hours contracts:
- a right to reasonable notice of shifts
- payment when a shift is cancelled, moved or cut short at short notice
- a right to be offered guaranteed hours
These rights aren't in force yet. The Act became law in 2025, but these parts have so far been brought in only so the government can consult and make the detailed regulations.
The government consulted on the details from 2 June to 25 August 2026 and is now looking at the responses. The details, such as how much notice counts as reasonable, how much workers will be paid for a cancelled shift and who will qualify, will be set out in regulations that haven't been made yet. For payment when a shift is cancelled, moved or cut short, the Act does say that "short notice" can't be set at more than 7 days.
A roadmap published by the government in July 2025 said these changes would come in during 2027. No start date has been set, and the regulations haven't been made yet. We'll update ShiftLens when the details are final.
Read more: Zero-hours and low-hours shift rights: what's coming.
Sources: Employment Rights Act 2025, section 2; section 3; section 1; gov.uk: the consultation; gov.uk: the July 2025 roadmap