15 minutes of rest given on consecutive days can be hours of work. The Supreme Court made it clear in the night shift case Cartonazes La Plana When interpreting your collective agreement. The judgment established that this break will be counted in the day, so these 15 minutes of work do not have to be compensated.
The dispute reached the Supreme Court Break time that employees have already enjoyed. Ruling No. 691/2025 of July 2, 2025, dismissed the company’s appeal against the recognition of those 15 minutes as effective working hours.
Calculation of legal minimum and rest
Article 34.4 of the Labor Code states that if the daily working day is continuous and lasts more than 6 hours, a break of at least 15 minutes must be provided. He also added that That time is considered working time. When the collective agreement or employment contract so determines. The rest established in this article shall not be deemed to be effective acts.
The Cartonazes La Plana graphic arts agreement, which was at issue in this case, establishes that, in general, rest periods are not taken into account in the annual calculation of hours. However, he made an exception in the case of night shift. Supreme Court judgments have established that, if the conditions are fulfilled, The rest period is considered as working time for employees who work night shift. The specified condition was that their hours of attendance reached 40 per week.
The minimum rest period is different for workers under 18 years of age.. The concerned department lays down a minimum of 30 minutes in cases where the continuous daily working day lasts more than 4 and half hours. The rest period between two working days is not the same as the daily rest period. The rest of the day should, as a general rule, be at least 12 hours. Collective agreements may establish more favorable conditions.
We have already analyzed the differences between “How much rest you should take during your working day in Spain, governed by the Workers’ Statute”. After Cartonazes learned of La Plana’s verdict, Questions can be asked about it. Whether these rest periods count as effective work needs to be checked in the collective agreement. These provisions may offer different treatment for rest depending on the shift.
This can be explained with a simple example: If an 8-hour workday includes a 15-minute rest that is counted as working hours, these 15 minutes are already considered within those 8 hours. If rest periods are not taken into account, 8 hours of work with a 15-minute break equals 8 hours and 15 minutes spent on the employee’s work.
You must read the text of the law very carefully regarding the establishment of the rest period.. Section 4 of Article 34 establishes a threshold of continuous daily work of more than 6 hours, so a day of exactly 6 hours does not by itself give rise to that minimum break for an adult. If the collective agreement or employment contract includes provisions on this matter, they may establish that a break of, for example, 30 minutes is mandatory. The law provides for rest within the working day; The exact time at which this occurs is not regulated by this provision.
Take breaks while teleworking and in front of screens
If the employee works at home, the rest conditions do not change. Article 4 of the Remote Work Act establishes that, except for the rights inherent in individual provisions, The same rights apply to remote work as work provisions in normal workplaces. Article 13 establishes that, although work schedules may be flexibly organized, regulations regarding work and rest periods must be respected. Mere remote work does not convert rest time into effective work time.
People who work regularly and a relevant part of their day with a screen They may refer to other sources. Royal Decree 488/1997 Article 3 contains a provision regarding the use of veils. If the assessment identifies a risk to safety or health, it is determined that continuous work on the screen should be reduced, by alternating with other work or by taking a break if this option is not possible. These breaks, the duration of which is not set by this rule, are intended to prevent or reduce the risk of working with a screen.
Most beneficial company agreement and terms
Sections on collective agreements and employment contracts should not be overlooked. Although they specify working hours and allow rest periods, there may be other sources.
Thus, the Professor of Labor Law at Rey Juan Carlos University, María Areta MartinezAlso refer to the Journal of Labor Jurisprudence provisions of the company that may be useful in this context. This may be a more beneficial condition recognized by a company agreement or employer.
The author refers to a judgment of the National Court of January 30, 2026, No. 20/2026, regarding service personnel in the Survey Board. In this, it was rejected that a more beneficial condition was recognized for the break to count as effective work. The fact that the rest period was not taken in certain cases was not sufficient to demonstrate that right. Before entering into a discussion about whether certain minutes of rest should be counted as hours worked, check to see if there is a clause in the contract or agreement, a company agreement or a more beneficial stipulation that supports this calculation.
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