The lunch break is a right provided for and recognized by Legislative Decree no. 66/2003 for a minimum of 10 minutes for all contracts that provide for a daily working schedule exceeding six hours.
Also confirmed by the Court of Cassation with judgment March 1, 2021 no. 5547, establishes that in the healthcare sector the right to use the canteen or the substitute meal voucher is due for every work shift exceeding six hours.
The Court, based on the combined analysis of the sector supplementary contract and Legislative Decree no. 66/2003 on working hours, states precisely that in the healthcare sector the right to the canteen is identified with the right to the daily break and therefore with the daily working hours exceeding six hours.Circular no. 8/2005 states that "Break periods, given the definition of working hours, are not counted as work for the purposes of exceeding duration limits. Break periods are not paid, unless otherwise provided by collective agreements.
But what does our latest National Collective Labor Agreement for Healthcare say?
Chapter II Institutions of working hours
Art. 27 Working hours.Point 4. If the daily work performance exceeds six hours, the staff, provided they are not on shift, are entitled to a break of at least 30 minutes for the purpose of recovering psycho-physical energy and possibly having a meal, according to the rules set out in art. 29 of the supplementary National Collective Labor Agreement of 20/9/2001 and art. 4 of the National Collective Labor Agreement of 31/7/2009 (Canteen).
The duration of the break and its timing are defined according to the type of working hours in which the break is included, as well as in relation to the availability of any refreshment services, the location of the Company's or Entity's offices in the city, and the size of the city itself.
For details, contact your trusted Nursing Up manager. If you do not have one, or if you want to join the sector union, contact lapaginadinursingup@yahoo.com.
