Tag: Labor Compliance

Plus Additional Laws about Overtime, Leave, and Time Off

Most people are familiar with the song “Heigh-Ho” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It’s generally remembered as, “Heigh-ho, it’s off to work I go,” but that’s not quite right. The original lyrics are “It’s home from work we go.”

This brings us to our point—all workers require breaks from work. Last year, there were an estimated 3.5 billion employees worldwide, but whether they get breaks, when they get breaks, and how long those breaks last varies widely. A lot of cultural factors influence break rules for hourly employees around the world. 

So we decided to do some investigating. Keep reading to learn about:

• Global break rules in 12 countries
• How each country handles paid time off
• What different types of breaks mean depending on the country

Workers break rights in 12 countries

Learn all about legal break requirements from around the world. 

US

Meal and rest breaks

• There’s technically no national standard for meal and rest breaks; it depends on the state.
• The average meal break is 30 minutes.
• The majority of states don’t have any break requirements for adults but some do.

Overtime

• There are no maximum working hours for adults in America (though manymost states require at least one full day of rest each week).
• Under federal law, non-exempt employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular pay when working over 40 hours a week. State and local laws may require additional overtime for a certain number of hours in a day, or a certain number of days in a week.

Leave and Time Off

• No federal law requires private employers to give time off for federal holidays. 
• No federal law requires employers to give annual vacation leave or PTO time off; the decision is left up to employers and employees.
• There are no federal paid sick leave rules, though the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives 12 weeks of unpaid leave if the employer is subject to the act and many states require employers to provide paid sick leave.
• It’s illegal to work Sundays in South Carolina (with some exceptions, including retail).

UK

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees over 18 are entitled to 3 types of breaks: rest breaks, daily rest, and weekly breaks.
  • Rest breaks are 20 minutes of uninterrupted rest if they work more than 6 hours a day.
  • Daily rest is 11 hours of rest between working days.
  • Weekly rest can be either 24 hours without work each week or 48 hours without work every two weeks.

Overtime

• Employees cannot be required to are not to work more than an average of 48 hours per week.

Leave and Time Off

• Female employees are entitled to a year of maternity leave (whether through birth or adoption), and it can be split with their partner in some cases.
• Employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave (pro-rated for part-time employees).
• Sick employees need to provide a doctor’s note if they’re out for seven days or more.

Australia

Meal and rest breaks

• Many eEmployees are entitled to rest breaks, the length of which is generally set out in the modern award, or enterprise agreement.decided by the employer.
• Rest breaks can also be known as tea breaks.
• Unpaid meal breaks need to be longer than a rest break and uninterrupted to eat a meal. Some employees may be entitled to cCrib breaks (working lunches). These are paid since the employee needs to stay at work to eat and may be interrupted.

Overtime

• The standard working week is an average of 38 hours per week (though more can be worked if both parties agree).

Leave and Time Off

• Employees are entitled to four weeks of paid annualholiday leave (shift workers get supplementary leave allowance).
• Employees are entitled to 10 paid sickpersonal days a year (pro-rata for part-time employees).
• After working for an employer for a year, employees are entitled to 12 months of unpaid parental leave (whether due to birth or adoption).

Philippines

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees are entitled to an hour-long meal break.
• Employees need at least one full day of rest after six days of working.

Overtime

• The standard work day cannot exceed 8 hours, and the regular workweek shouldn’t exceed 40 hours.
• Overtime must be paid at 1.25 times the usual wage.

South Africa

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees must have an hour-long meal break after 5 hours of work.
• Employees are entitled to a daily rest break of 12 consecutive hours.

Overtime

• The standard workweek does not exceed 45 hours.
• The standard work day is nine hours if an employee works five days or less a week.
  • If an employee works more than five days, the standard shift is eight hours.
• Employees must agree to overtime, within the limits of a maximum 12-hour workday and 10 total overtime hours per week. 
• Sundays are considered a rest day; if employees regularly work on Sundays, they get paid at least time and a half. If they occasionally work on Sundays, they get paid double time.

Leave and Time Off

• Employees are entitled to 21 continuous days of annual leave.
• Employees can take up to 6 weeks of paid sick leave during a 36-month cycle.
• Employees are entitled to 4 continuous months of maternity leave.
• Employees are entitled to 10 continuous days of unpaid paternity leave (also applicable to adopting a child 2 years of age or younger).

New Zealand

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees get a variety of paid and unpaid breaks depending on the number of hours in their shift.

Leave and Time Off

• Employees are entitled to at least four weeks of paid annual leave.
• Employees get up to 11 paid public holidays; if they work on a public holiday, they must be paid time and a half or given an alternative day off. 
• Employees are entitled to five paid sick days per year.
• Employees are entitled to three days of bereavement for loved ones.

India 

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees are entitled to a 30–60 minute break every 4 to 5 hours, depending on their location.

Overtime

• The average work day depends on the region, but employees might work up to 9 hours a day and 48 hours a week.
• Maximum hours of work varies from region to region and by type of establishment but many employees are restricted to 12 hours per day of work. 

Leave and Time Off

• Mothers with fewer than 2 children are entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave and 12 weeks for the adoption of a child 3 months old or younger. 
• Employees get at least 12 days of paid sick leave per year, depending on the region.
• Public holidays in India vary by region, but all organizations must stay closed on three national holidays unless otherwise authorized: Republic Day (January 26), Independence Day (August 15), and Gandhi Jayanti (October 2). Most employers allocate 10 days of paid holiday leave each year.

Ireland 

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees get a 15-minute break when working more than 4.5 hours or a 30-minute break when working more than 6 hours.
• Employees get a daily rest of 11 hours without working between shifts.
• Workers are guaranteed at least 24 hours of continuous rest each workweek.

Leave and Time Off

• There are 10 public holidays that full-time employees can have off each year.
• If you have to work on a public holiday, employees are entitled to another paid day off to make up for it.
• Employees have a right to 5 paid sick days per year, although they are paid at a reduced rate.

Japan

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees are entitled to at least a 45-minute break after working 6 hours and get an hour-long break when working in excess of 8 hours.

Overtime

• The standard workday should be 8 hours and not exceed 40 hours a week (though there are some exceptions, including retail, food service, and entertainment).

Leave and Time Off

• Employees are entitled to one statutory day off per week or four days off a month.
• Employees get 10 days paid leave after 6 consecutive months of working. 
• Female employees are entitled to maternity leave six weeks before birth and eight weeks after birth.
• Employees can take up to 93 days off for family care leave.

France 

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees are entitled to a rest break of 20 consecutive minutes after working 6 hours.
• Employees are entitled to a daily rest break of 11 consecutive hours.
• It’s technically prohibited to eat at your desk.

Overtime

• Employees usually work 35 hours per week and must not work more than 48 hours in any given week.
• Employees shouldn’t work more than 10 hours a day.
• Employees get to choose if they want to work Sundays or evenings; if so, they get paid double.
• Employees can’t work more than six days a week.

Leave and Time Off

• Employees are entitled to a minimum of five weeks of paid leave.
• Anyone working on Labour Day (May 1) must be paid twice their normal rate.

Mexico 

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees are entitled to a minimum of a 30-minute rest break during a continuous shift; if the shift is broken up, they get an hour-long break.
• Employees should have one day off each week, though there are exceptions.
• Nursing mothers are entitled to two extra 30-minute breaks to feed children.

Overtime

• Overtime is limited to three hours a day for no more than three days in a row.
• Sundays tend to be rest days. Employees get extra pay for working on Sundays. 

Leave and Time Off

• Annual leave depends on an employee’s seniority—at least six days of paid leave are mandated for first-year workers.
• Employees get six weeks of maternity leave both before and after birth.
• Employees who work on statutory holidays, such as Christmas Day (December 25) or Labour Day (May 1), must be paid three times their normal rate.

Singapore

Meal and rest breaks

• Employees are entitled to one full day of rest each week.

Overtime

• The standard workday is 8 hours, and the standard workweek is 44 hours maximum.

Leave and Time Off

• Newer employees are entitled to a week of paid annual leave, with a maximum of 14 days required for more senior workers.
• Employees are entitled to 11 paid public holidays; employers must pay double or offer an alternative day off to anyone working one of these holidays.
• Employees are entitled to paid sick leave after at least three months of work with the same employer.

Keep employee breaks organized and compliant 

Needless to say, keeping employees’ breaks organized is a difficult task. It’s too easy for one of these many break rules for hourly employees to be overlooked or misinterpreted, potentially leading to fines and frustrated employees. 

Deputy can help. Our software assists with scheduling breaks, simplifying compliance, and leave management. 

Learn more about our smart compliance management software today.

Navigating the complexities of labor laws can be daunting (especially when the word “audit” is involved), but a break compliance audit doesn’t have to be difficult. All it takes is the right tools, a little preparation, and some time. 

Keep reading for a checklist that can help simplify your US break law compliance audit process.

7 key steps in a meal and rest break audit checklist

US businesses need to comply with the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as well as any applicable state and local laws, which include giving employees mandated breaks for meals and other basic needs. A break compliance audit is a reliable way to determine whether your business is following these laws.

This checklist helps simplify the audit process and gives actionable guidelines to keep your business and its employees compliant with meal and rest break laws. Depending on your business, the steps to complete this checklist may vary. 

1. Make sure you know the most recent laws

Identifying and understanding the most up-to-date labor laws isn’t always straightforward because the Department of Labor (DOL) doesn’t have an audit checklist of official standards for rest and meal breaks. In fact, no federal laws mandate meal or rest breaks for US workers. Instead, the DOL lets each state decide regulations regarding breaks — presenting a challenge for businesses with locations in more than one state. 

What you can do is maintain a handy list of meal and rest break laws by state to refer to and regularly check the official websites of state labor departments for updates. The DOL also has free interactive tools for small businesses called elaws Advisors that provide customized, step-by-step guidance on DOL laws and regulations. Using this tool can help you determine the labor regulations you need to comply with. 

Staying on top of these rules will help keep you in compliance between audits — and make conducting your regular audits easier. 

2. Review your policies and compare them to current laws

Once you have all your legal information in place, compare current laws to your employment policies. These policies should include:

• Meal and rest break schedules
• Payroll policies (pay cycle, payday, etc.)
• Overtime procedures

Throughout the audit, if you identify any areas of non-compliance, take steps to correct them. It’s wise to bring in an employment lawyer or HR professional to advise you. You should also look for trends in what led to non-compliance, such as poor record-keeping about when employees begin and end meal breaks or inadequate communication of rest break laws to new employees. 

3. Review timekeeping records

Now it’s time to review your timekeeping records, which are any and all records of each employee’s work — meaning every minute, hour, day, week, and month they worked. Review each employee’s record and ensure they’ve had all the breaks they are entitled to under the laws of the state where they work. 

Depending on the size of your business, this can seem like an impossible task, especially during an audit. This is why keeping your timekeeping records organized, accurate, and up to date is crucial during daily operations. 

Upon review, if something seems wrong, talk to the employee or their manager to ascertain what’s happening. The confusion could just be a result of human error and easily corrected, or it could be caused by poor management and needs to be addressed once the audit is complete. 

4. Identify gaps

Once you’ve collected and confirmed the information, identify any disparities between the schedule and what’s actually occurring. As you review the information, ask: 

• Are all employees taking the breaks they are entitled to regularly? If they aren’t, do you know why?
• Are there any locations that struggle with scheduling or taking breaks more than others? 
• Do the timekeeping records accurately reflect what’s happening in that location?

You can also use this time as an opportunity to identify subtler problems that don’t directly affect break compliance, such as:

• Are employees getting the hours they want?
• Do you have a stable procedure in place for call-ins, or are the same employees covering and working more than they should? 

5. Address discrepancies with employees at all levels

If you find disparities between regulations and real life, you must address them as soon as possible. This may require various strategies, such as:

• Reminding all employees of the proper clock-in and clock-out procedures
• Stressing the importance of accurate timekeeping to employees at all levels
• Speaking to managers about why these meal and rest break compliance gaps are occurring
• Hiring more people for locations where breaks have been skipped due to workload
• Teaching managers how to incorporate breaks into work schedules more effectively

6. Ensure continual monitoring is taking place

While it isn’t technically part of the audit process, continual monitoring will make everything easier. Continual monitoring means spending time reviewing policies and timekeeping records during daily operations, not just when it’s time for an audit. 

The right tool can make continuous monitoring easy by alerting you or individual managers about any potential problems with break scheduling, such as an employee missing their breaks consistently. You can also communicate with managers about how they follow scheduling procedures.

7. Schedule regular audit follow-ups

Break compliance audits need to happen regularly. Depending on your business, they may need to occur more than once a year. You should decide the frequency of internal audits to ensure constant compliance. 

You can then make things easier by scheduling audits during slower periods, allowing ample time for a thorough review without the pressure of falling behind.  

How to pick the right break compliance audit tools for your business

Compliance with the FLSA and state break laws is a serious matter. It’s vital that you use the right tools to monitor your compliance so you can catch problems as quickly as possible. But how do you know which tools are best for your business and its specific needs? 

Consider these questions as you assess a tool or system that can help you with break compliance auditing:

• Is it reliable? Does the tool have good reviews? Does it base its information on official sources? (For example, Deputy’s pay rule library is built on official government resources.) Is the customer service team set up to provide personalized service?
• Is it scalable? If you plan to scale your business, is the audit tool able to grow with you? It’s frustrating to learn how software works and integrate it into your processes, only to have to switch to a new one.  
• Does it suit your industry’s unique needs? If your business runs on shift workers, that’s very different from salaried workers. You need tools that will help you schedule multiple employees while considering different skill sets and roles, minimizing overtime, and ensuring coverage in the case of last-minute call-outs. 
• Can it handle more than one location? Doing a compliance audit can be difficult if you have multiple locations, so is the tool going to make it easier? You want a tool that lets you handle multiple locations in one system. 
• Can it manage compliance laws for multiple states? Will it be able to adapt to each state’s compliance laws, or will you have to adjust it manually? 
• Is there any automation? Having automated tasks can make daily operations and scheduling easier. Options like automated break reminders can save you a lot of time and help every employee stay compliant with local laws.

Compliance audits don’t have to be exhausting

While there’s a lot of information to compile and organize, break compliance audits can be streamlined with enough preparation and the right tools. 

Learn more about how Deputy can help you stay compliant during and between your break compliance audits.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that protects employees who need to take extended time (up to 12 weeks) off work for specific reasons. The official guidelines are extensive and detailed, and the penalties enforced on employers who don’t comply are stiff.

Keep reading to learn all about FMLA guidelines for employers, along with:

• The rules employees and employers need to follow
• Which protections apply to employees
• How to make FMLA administration and compliance easy for everyone 

Employer criteria under the FMLA

Most private and public employers must adhere to the FMLA rules. The law applies to employers with 50+ employees working 20 or more weeks in the current or previous calendar year. 

The employee count includes anyone who:

• Works in the US or its territories
• Is on the payroll records
• Is on paid or unpaid leave
• Works part-time, full-time, seasonally, or on a temporary basis

Employee eligibility for FMLA leave

Employees are eligible to take unpaid FMLA leave if they: 

1. Work for an employer that meets the requirements outlined above
2. Worked for the company for at least 52 weeks (does not have to be consecutive; part-time, seasonal, and temporary work counts)
3. Worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period (overtime is included)
4. Work at a location where there are at least 50 employees within 75 miles 

Eligible reasons for taking time off under the FMLA include: 

• Giving birth to, caring for, or adopting a child (for all parents)
• Caring for an immediate family member with severe health issues
• Developing a health condition that prevents them from doing their job
• Supporting a family member on active military duty 

How the FMLA applies to shift-based jobs

The FMLA does have limitations and stipulations for employees, particularly those doing shift work. Examples include:

• The amount of time offered: Under the FMLA, employees can take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave. Depending on the reason, an employee may need to take more than 12 weeks off, and any additional time taken could cause issues with employment.
• Tenure-based requirements: Many employees, especially shift workers, aren’t eligible for FMLA leave based on how long they’ve worked for the employer. Shift-based work can have high turnover rates.
• Different rules for spouses: If spouses work for the same employer, they can be limited to a total of 12 weeks of leave, rather than being able to take 12 weeks each after the birth/adoption of a child or to care for a sick family member.
• Who is considered immediate family: The FMLA defines immediate family as a spouse, child, or parent. By this definition, immediate family does not include in-laws or siblings, which can cause problems for employees who need to care for those family members.
• It’s unpaid: Many shift workers may not take FMLA leave because they need to support themselves and cannot afford to take unpaid leave. This may lead them to try to swap shifts with other employees or potentially call in sick.

Employees may also worry about FMLA leave affecting a promotion, even when they qualify for it.

Case study: Trek schedules on the go

Trek, a multi-location bicycle manufacturing company, struggled with scheduling and juggling time off and labor law compliance. They turned to Deputy for help—our mobile app made rescheduling and approving time off easier since it can be done on the go. 

They saw a 30% increase in overall productivity because managers weren’t spending all day on scheduling. 

FMLA rules for employers and employees

Employers and shift workers must meet certain requirements to adhere to the regulations of the  FMLA.

Rules for employers

Here is what employers must do under the FMLA.

Hang FMLA posters

All FMLA-covered employers must post detailed information in plain view so employees can easily read it. The information on the poster must include:

• What the FMLA is
• How to apply for a covered leave of absence
• How to file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division

The text on the poster should also reflect all languages spoken by employees in the workplace. 

Employers can find an official FMLA poster on the Department of Labor website—it’s free. Failure to follow this rule will result in a civil monetary penalty for each separate offense. 

Final note: FMLA information should also be in the employee handbook. If there is no handbook, provide detailed information at the time of hiring. 

Provide eligibility and rights and responsibilities notices

All employers need to provide employees with an Eligibility Notice, whether written or oral, that informs each employee whether they’re eligible for FMLA leave. Additionally, if the employee isn’t eligible for FMLA, the notice must include a stated reason for the ineligibility. 

Employers need to provide this notice within five business days of the initial FMLA leave request. If the employee cannot speak English, this notice must be given in a language they understand. Employers don’t have to provide an Eligibility Notice if an employee leaves again within the same 12 months or leaves for a different reason and their eligibility hasn’t changed. 

The Rights and Responsibilities Notice lists the employee’s responsibilities and entitlements during their leave. It must be given to each employee who receives an Eligibility Notice, once again in a language the employee understands. If the leave has already started, an employer can mail this notice to the employee. 

Give employees a designation notice

Employers need to designate leave as FMLA and provide a Designation Notice. The notice shows the employee that the leave is listed under the FMLA and outlines any requirements the employee may have while on leave. For example, an employee might need to pay their portion of the insurance premiums while away from work, as they won’t be automatically deducted from their paychecks if the leave is unpaid.

Properly calculate FMLA leave

FMLA leave calculations must be exact because only the employee’s regular working hours count toward the requirement. In other words, an employer may have to calculate by the hour, and they cannot count any holidays the employee would already have off as part of their leave unless the employee is taking a full week off and a holiday falls within that time. 

Scenario: A seasonal food service location has employees who work only during part of the year. Those responsible for calculating FMLA leave would have to look at multiple years of employee history to determine whether an employee reached the minimum hours requirement to qualify for FMLA leave.

Maintain health insurance benefits and keep their job available

Employers must maintain an employee’s position and any applicable benefits, including health insurance, as long as they fulfill their responsibilities while on leave. If the same role is not available when an employee returns, one of equal level (such as pay, benefits, and working conditions) must be offered. Employers also must give the employee any unconditional pay increases that occurred while they were gone, such as cost-of-living raises.

If an employee is laid off while on FMLA leave, the employer needs to prove the layoff would have happened whether the employee was present or away from work. For example, if an entire department is laid off, that would have impacted the employee, regardless of leave status.

Keep proper records

It’s the employer’s responsibility to keep all records organized and confidential. All physical and electronic records must be kept for at least three years. The information in these records should include:

• Employee’s name, address, and job title
• Pay rate information
• Average hours worked per pay period
• Additions and deductions from wages
• When FMLA leave is taken
• Hours of FMLA leave used 
• Copies of FMLA notices provided by both employers and employees 
• Documents with employee benefits or employer policies and practices regarding leave
• Premium payments for employee benefits
• Records of any dispute between the employer and an employee regarding the designation of leave as FMLA leave

To ensure confidentiality, all records regarding an employee’s health or their family’s health should remain separate from their personal records. 

Rules for employees

Employees also have rules they need to follow to qualify for FMLA leave and while on leave. 

Give proper notice

An eligible employee must inform their employer that they need FMLA leave at least 30 days in advance unless there are extenuating circumstances. The notice can be written or oral and must provide sufficient information to indicate that the leave qualifies under the conditions of the FMLA. It should also say when the leave will start and how long the employee needs to be off.

Scenario: An employee’s family member has experienced a sudden illness and requires care. The 30-day notice requirement may be waived to accommodate this unexpected circumstance.

Complete all documents and certifications

Employees requesting FMLA leave must fill out all documents and certifications their employer requires. Examples may include a medical certification verifying the need to take leave, completed by a healthcare professional.

If an employee doesn’t complete the required documents or certifications within the 15-day turnaround time, then the employer has the right to deny the request for FMLA leave. 

Provide additional information requested

Employers may ask for additional information, and employees should provide it as long as it’s reasonable. An example could be an employer requesting more information about an employee’s relationship with a family member to ensure it complies with the FMLA regulations.

An employer is also permitted to ask for additional information about any health conditions an employee is dealing with, such as treatment timelines, but can’t ask about treatments specifically. 

Pay health insurance premiums

Employees must continue paying into their health insurance during their FMLA leave to keep it — even when they aren’t receiving a paycheck. The employer should include details about how and when to pay premiums in the FMLA documentation provided to the employee.

Case study: Mud Bay needed better processes for employee scheduling

For over three decades, Mud Bay has provided quality pet products. Originally, each Mud Bay store used an Excel spreadsheet for scheduling, a manual process that required significant time and effort. They also had a separate system to track employee time. This method wasn’t ideal, particularly when employees called out at the last minute, and business leaders were trying to manage proper compliance for each state’s location, affecting the store’s ability to operate.

This is where Deputy came in. Using our software, Mud Bay was able to manage multiple tasks in one single solution, eliminating stress, freeing up time, and allowing employees to swap shifts easily and take sick time as needed. 

Establishing rules for shift workers to request FMLA

The FMLA is an essential piece of legislation protecting employees, but it is also quite complex, particularly for employers navigating the fine print. There are steps you can take to make things less challenging for both you and your employees. 

Simplify the process of requesting leave

First and foremost, make it simple for employees to request leave. Create a process with clear steps that all employees understand and can follow. 

Establish consistent processes

Next, set up processes that automatically enter approved leave requests into the schedule, which will help to minimize conflicts or unfilled shifts. Consider how you can plan ahead for upcoming leave. For example, start the process as soon as you receive notice that an employee will be taking parental leave.

Maintain compliance 

Also, you can ensure your business is aligned with many of the FMLA’s guidelines for employers by helping employees understand the law and how it applies to them. Use all available resources and tools to ensure labor law compliance when scheduling employees’ breaks and leaves. For example, the Deputy pay rule library contains information on compliance rules and benefits you can apply to your workplace. Book a demo today.