´Sandwich Break´ Legal Information for Employees

There has been a recent ruling by Supreme Court about the ´sandwich break´ that may lead to the erroneous conclusion that all employees have the right to a paid sandwich break.

According to art. 34.4 of the Statutes for Employees every employee has the right to a break, commonly known as ´descanso de bocadillo´ when working at least a 6 hour continous shift.

Whether you should be paid during this break and whether the breaktime counts to determine the length of your workday, depends on the conditions of either your contract, or your Convenio.

The Supreme Court case was about Convenios that determined that workers that were contracted before date X were entitled to remuneration of the sandwich break, and workers that were contracted after date X were not. On grounds of illegal discrimination the Supreme Court ruled that the latter were entitled to pay during their break, same as their colleagues that were contracted before date X.

Please note: The information provided is based upon our understanding of current legislation. It is not legal advice but is provided freely to enable you to be properly informed. We recommend that if you are considering taking action, you should seek professional advice.