This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Ban unpaid lunch breaks to restore the 8-hour work day.
We want the government to stop more companies from switching from an 8-hour work day with a paid half-hour lunch break to a 9-hour work day with a 1-hour unpaid break, by making lunch breaks paid for all. Giving people more time to spend with their families and friends at the end of the day.
More details
More and more companies are switching from an 8-hour work day with a half-hour lunch break to a 9-hour work day with a one-hour break.
Companies are doing this as extending the lunch break to an hour allows them to make it unpaid. This means employees are at work for an extra hour each day for the same pay. This increases stress while reducing productivity as multiple studies have shown a 6-hour work day is the best for productivity as humans can only maintain focus for a limited time.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
We can only accept petitions about things the Government or Parliament are directly responsible for.
Decisions about the hours employees work are a matter for individual employers and employees, not the UK Government or Parliament.
We could accept a petition calling on the Government to increase workers' rights to paid breaks, but this would not stop employers from requiring employees to work more than eight hours.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.