Is the lunch break paid?
Normally it is not — and that surprises many. The break is excluded from working time unless the employment contract or collective agreement says otherwise. But there is an important exception few people know about. If you are forbidden to leave the workplace and cannot use the break freely, that period must be counted as working time — and therefore paid. The break itself must be given: an employee whose daily working time exceeds six hours is entitled to a break no later than after four hours worked, and it may not be shorter than 30 minutes. The employer has no duty to pay for the meal itself — meal benefits are a tax relief, not an employee right.
📋 The rules
- A break is due where the day exceeds 6 hours
- No later than after 4 hours worked
- No shorter than 30 minutes
- Normally not counted as working time
- But if you may not leave — it must be
🔓 Exceptions
- An adolescent is entitled to a break once working time exceeds four and a half hours
- If the work makes a break impossible, the employer must allow eating during working time
- If the break is split, each part must last at least 15 minutes
⚠️ Penalties & fines
A breach with no more specific provision costs €35–350 for a natural person and €70–1,100 for a legal entity. But the practical point is different: if the break legally counts as working time — because you were not allowed to leave — but was not paid, you can claim the outstanding remuneration. And do not expect "€700" for lunches. That figure is not a per-employee meal allowance. It is the employer's organisation-wide annual tax-relief formula: the average number of employees multiplied by €700, capped at 5% of the annual gross payroll and normally requiring at least six employees. The old €480 figure no longer applies — it belongs to the previous regime.
📎 Official sources
❓ Frequently asked
Is the break paid?
Normally not — it is excluded from working time unless the contract or collective agreement says otherwise. But if you may not leave the workplace, that period is working time and must be paid.
How long must the break be?
No shorter than 30 minutes, and it must be given no later than after four hours worked. The entitlement arises where the employee's daily working time is longer than six hours.
Must the employer pay for meals?
No. Providing meals is not an employee right but an employer option — and it carries a tax relief where a collective agreement provides for it and the statutory conditions are met.
What does the €700 mean?
It is not a per-employee meal sum. It is the employer's combined annual relief formula: the average number of employees multiplied by €700, capped at 5% of the annual gross payroll.
What if no break is given at all?
That breaches the Labour Law and the employer faces a fine. Where the nature of the work makes a separate break impossible, they must at least enable the employee to eat during working time.
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