S.I. No. 57/1998:

ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME (BREAKS AT WORK FOR SHOP EMPLOYEES) REGULATIONS, 1998.

ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME (BREAKS AT WORK FOR SHOP EMPLOYEES) REGULATIONS, 1998.

I, TOM KITT, Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 7 (3) and 12 (3) of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (No. 20 of 1997), as adapted by the Enterprise and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1997 ), and the Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 330 of 1997 ), hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Organisation of Working Time (Breaks at Work for Shop Employees) Regulations, 1998, and shall come into operation on the 1st day of March, 1998.

2. In these Regulations--

"the Act" means the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (No. 20 of 1997);

"retail trade or business" includes the business of--

(a) a barber or hairdresser,

(b) hiring goods otherwise than for use in a trade or business,

(c) a pawnbroker,

(d) retail sales by auction,

but does not include the sale of programmes or catalogues at theatres or other places of entertainment;

"shop" includes--

(a) any premises in which any retail trade or business is carried on,

(b) any premises in which goods are received direct from customers for cleaning, repairing, altering or laundering,

(c) any wholesale shop,

(d) any warehouse occupied--

(i) for the purpose of a retail trade or business, by the person carrying on such retail trade or business, or

(ii) by a wholesale dealer or merchant for the purposes of the business carried on by him or her in a wholesale shop,

but does not include--

(i) so much (if any) of a premises referred to in a preceding provision of this definition as is not used for any purposes aforesaid or, in the case of a wholesale shop, is not used for the purposes mentioned in the definition of "wholesale shop" in this Regulation,

(ii) any premises used for, or so much (if any) of a premises referred to in a preceding provision of this definition as is used for, the purpose of--

(I) a hotel,

(II) the preparation of food or the catering for any persons as respects their requirements in respect of food or drink, or

(III) any business carried on pursuant to an intoxicating liquor licence;

"shop employee" means an employee who does shop work;

"shop work" means work in or about a shop;

"wholesale shop" means any premises occupied by a wholesale dealer or merchant where goods are kept for sale wholesale to customers resorting to the premises.

3. In relation to the following class of employee, namely, an employee--

(a) who is a shop employee,

and

(b) whose hours of work as such an employee include the hours from 11.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.,

the minimum duration of the break to be allowed by the employer under secton 12(2) of the Act to him or her shall be one hour and that break shall, unless its commencement between those hours would result in section 12(4) of the Act not being complied with, commence between the hours aforesaid.

GIVEN under my hand, this 27th day of February, 1998.

TOM KITT, T.D.,

Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide that shop employees whose hours of work include the period from 11.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. shall, after 6 hours work, be allowed a break of one hour which must commence between those hours (provided such commencement would not result in the break occurring at the end of the working day).