In a busy GP surgery, it can feel like the phones never stop ringing and there’s always one more patient to see. Amidst the rush, staff breaks can easily become shortened, interrupted or worked through. 

That raises a common question for practices: do staff have to be paid for their breaks? 

The answer, under UK law, is sometimes. 

In this blog, Sarah Young outlines the basics that all Practice Managers and GP Partners need to understand.

The Legal Basics: Working Time Regulations 1998

The law says that most adult workers are entitled to a 20-minute uninterrupted rest break if they work more than six hours in a day.

However, the Regulations do not require that this rest break is paid. 

Of course, contractual break entitlements are often more generous, with employees working a full day usually entitled to a longer lunch break of 30 minutes, or an hour. 

Whether a break should be paid depends on (1) the contract of employment and (2) what actually happens in practice.

(1)    What does the contract say?

• Some surgeries include paid breaks as part of their employment package. If it’s written in the contract, the practice must honour it, even if the break is uninterrupted.

• Salaried employees are generally not entitled to separate pay for their break because they are paid a salary for the role as a whole, rather than each hour worked, unless additional time worked gives rise to a national minimum wage or overtime issue. 

Hourly-paid employees, or those paid by reference hours worked, or if they fall into the overtime / national minimum wage issue, may be entitled to pay for a break: read on! 

(2)    What’s happening in practice?

Even where a contract says breaks are unpaid, the reality of the working day matters.
Breaks are likely to count as working time and therefore be paid, where:

• staff can’t fully step away from duties

  o    If receptionists must stay at the front desk and answer the phone “just in case,” their break isn’t truly uninterrupted, and should therefore be paid.

  o    Similarly, if clinicians or nurses are expected to remain on standby for urgent patient needs or queries, that time is still working time.

• breaks are regularly interrupted

  o    If an employee has to cut short their break to assist a patient, handle a call, or answer a question, that break is effectively work and should be treated (and paid) as such.

When Breaks Can Be Unpaid

Breaks can be unpaid if:

• The employee is free to leave the premises (or step away completely from their duties).

• They can use the time as they wish, without needing to stay “on call.”

In short, the key test is whether the employee is truly free from work. 

Practical Challenges in GP Surgeries

In reality, the pace of general practice means staff often find themselves grabbing five minutes between patients or eating lunch while finishing admin. Over time, this can contribute to fatigue, stress and burnout.

To stay compliant and protect staff wellbeing, surgeries should:

• Review rota patterns to ensure everyone gets a genuine, uninterrupted break. Whether it is paid or not, a true rest break is important for health and wellbeing and also to comply with the Working Time Regulations’ requirements.

• Be realistic about workload and patient flow.

• For hourly paid staff, pay for interrupted or on-call breaks unless the contract makes it explicitly clear that this is not required and it does not give rise to a minimum / living wage issue. If it’s happening frequently, be mindful of wider issues like stress, burnout and looming sickness absence, grievances or even constructive unfair dismissal claims.

• Clarify policies in writing, so everyone understands their entitlement.

In Summary

In a GP surgery, it’s not just about whether a break exists, it’s about whether staff are truly free to take it. While breaks don’t automatically have to be paid, they should be paid where staff are still effectively working or available for work during that time.

By setting clear policies and respecting genuine rest periods, surgeries can stay on the right side of the law and keep their teams energised for what really matters: caring for patients.

If you’d like to talk through any of the content from this blog in more detail, please get in touch. 

Contact our Primary Care team on care@porterdodson.co.uk