Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016
479. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason teachers are allowed to count their lunch breaks as part of their working day and special needs assistants are not; and his views on whether this is a form of discrimination against SNAs. [25906/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraBreak entitlements for employees are set out in Section 12 of the Organisation of Working Time of Working Time Act, 1997: Section 12 (1) - "An employer shall not require an employee to work for a period of more than 4 hours and 30 minutes without allowing him or her a break of at least 15 minutes."Section 12 (2) – "An employer shall not require an employee to work for a period of more than 6 hours without allowing him or her a break of at least 30 minutes; such a break may include the break referred to in subsection (1)"These break entitlements apply equally to all employees.
It is a matter for the school/ETB as the employer to ensure that they comply with the relevant legislation in terms of break entitlements for staff in their employment.
