The Statute states that it is essential to respect the minimum daily and weekly rest periods provided for in the Law, and also that the working day must be 40 hours per week, calculated as an annual average, and may only have an irregular distribution of 10% of this, in cases that are included in a collective agreement or contract.
However, the general conditions expressed in the Workers' Statute are as follows:
- When the working day is complete, and therefore exceeds half a day, the worker has the right to a break.
- When the working day exceeds six hours, the worker has the right to a break of at least 15 minutes.
- Therefore, the so-called "coffee break" is a period of time that can be considered as effective working time, and there is no need to recover it, if it is recognized by the corresponding collective agreement or employment contract.
- The minimum mandatory rest period between workdays, that is, between the end of one and the beginning of the next, must be at least 12 hours.
- The weekly rest period must be one and a half days without interruption, and can be accumulated for periods of 14 days.
Finally, it should be noted that, in this regulation there are exceptions such as minors, and some sectors such as the hotel industry, since these are cases in which there are different protection needs.