34. Meal and Tea Breaks

This Part shall apply in common to all Trades and Services Staff except where otherwise expressly provided.

34.1 A Trades and Services Staff member shall not be required to work for more than 5 hours continuously without a meal break.  However, a staff member may elect to work up to six consecutive hours without such a break for a meal.

34.2 A meal break will be at least 30 minutes but not more than one hour. 

34.3 Time taken as meal breaks shall not be paid for and shall not be counted as time worked.

34.4 Trades and Services Staff are given a paid 10-minute morning tea and afternoon tea break.

34.5 After working 10 hours on any day as one continuous period, including any ordinary time worked, a Trades and Services Staff member shall be entitled to an unpaid meal break of 30 minutes and to be paid an overtime meal allowance of $16.10, provided that he/she is required to resume working overtime after that meal break.

34.6 If the overtime continues for a further 5 hours after the meal break, a further unpaid meal break of 30 minutes shall be taken and another overtime meal allowance of $16.10 shall be paid, provided that the Trades and Services Staff member is again required to resume working overtime after that subsequent meal break.

34.7 Meal breaks may be deferred in emergency situations.