THE NATIONAL HEARING EVALUATES THAT COMPANIES DISCOUNT THEIR WORKERS THE TIME TO SMOKE OR TAKE COFFE
After the implementation of the new day records, how to compute the “dead times” that workers dedicate to smoking or drinking coffee comes into conflict.
The Social Court of the National Court has issued a ruling (144/2019, 10 Dec. Rec. 232/2019), which guarantees that companies compute the time of the sandwich or the coffee break as a dead time for what It must be discounted.
Never before have these momentary absences been recorded or counted as rest or non-work time; which have always been considered as times included in the workday.
The decision of the Court is that it is not a mere liberality or tolerance of the employer, but a willingness to attribute a right to the worker, which in the case does not appear. Therefore, the new transfer system is valid and the time spent on smoking, drinking coffee or breakfast can be discounted.