When you add an unpaid break without specifying its time, it can affect the calculation of your night, Sunday, or public holiday hours.
An automatic calculation is therefore made to spread the break within the shift.
The calculation is simple:
1° Calculate the total worked time of the shift:
= shift duration - break time
2° Calculate the number of work segments:
Number of breaks + 1 = number of segments
(1 break → 2 work segments, 2 breaks → 3 segments, etc.)
3° Calculate the duration of one work segment:
= total worked time / number of segments
4° Distribute the breaks within the shift by alternating work segment and break.
If you have several breaks, they are applied in the order they were added.
Exemple 1: Shift from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a 20-min break
Worked time = 7h shift – 20 min = 6h40
Segment duration = 6h40 / 2 = 3h20
Distribution:
10:00–13:20 → work (3h20)
13:20–13:40 → break (20 min)
13:40–17:00 → work (3h20)
Exemple 2 : Shift from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a 15-min break and a 45-min break
Worked time = 7h shift – (15 + 45 min) = 6h
Segment duration = 6h / 3 = 2h
Distribution:
8:00–10:00 → work (2h)
10:00–10:15 → break (15 min)
10:15–12:15 → work (2h)
12:15–13:00 → break (45 min)
13:00–15:00 → work (2h)
What if your collective agreement includes night hours?
Example: Shift from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. → break automatically applied 10:30–11:30 p.m.
If your collective agreement increases hours by +10% from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. and +30% from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.:
For +10% hours → 5h (9 p.m.–2 a.m.) – 1h break = 4h counted
For +30% hours → 1h (2 a.m.–3 a.m.) – pause not overlapping → 1h counted