A guide to managing your paid and unpaid breaks during your shifts.
- Introduction to breaks in Deputy
- How to check your breaks on your current shift
- How to check your breaks for future shifts
- Taking an unscheduled break
- Taking a scheduled break
- Starting/ending a break via:
- FAQs
Introduction to breaks in Deputy
You can clock on and off for scheduled and non-scheduled breaks via Deputy web, mobile apps, Kiosk or Apple watch.
A scheduled break means that your manager has specified in the schedule what time you should take your break during your shift. Break planning in this way allows your employer to manage multiple team members' breaks during a shift and ensure adequate coverage in the schedule.
An unscheduled break means taking a break at a time you choose during your shift.
- Lunch (unpaid)
- Rest Breaks (unpaid)
Note: your organisation may have renamed your breaks to another name to align more with what your organisation calls its breaks.
When you open your shift details you will be able to see what breaks have been designated for your shift.
How to check your break details on your current shift
For the shift you are on now, you can see your assigned break allowances by tapping on the shift Area (in purple) on the Home screen.
How to check your break details for future shifts
For your upcoming shifts, you can see your assigned break allowances by tapping on the shift directly or the All Upcoming Shifts section on the Home screen.
You can see the breaks that have been allocated for the shift and if you tap on the Breaks section, as highlighted below, you can see if the break has been scheduled for a specific time:
Or you can see if the break times have not been scheduled to be taken at a specific time during the shift.
Taking an unscheduled break
An unscheduled break is a break you've been designated to take but without an assigned time to take it.
You can see whether your manager has assigned a time for you to take your break as shown here.
Tap on the break details and you can see that a break duration has been set but no start or finish time has been assigned.
After you have started your shift and are you ready to take a break (without an assigned time) go to the Home screen then tap on Start Break. On the next screen tap on which break you are taking (paid or unpaid) and tap Start.
Break started is displayed and then the number of minutes remaining on your break is displayed.
Once your break is over just click End Break to resume your shift.
If your manager has enabled a setting to ensure you don't finish your break early then you won't be able to end a break until the full time allocated to the break has elapsed and you will see the below message.
If you have a second break available to you for the shift you can start and stop that break in the same way as described above.
Taking a scheduled break
A scheduled break is a break you've been designated to take at an assigned time. Your manager might schedule breaks to ensure your workplace has sufficient coverage when multiple team members are taking breaks throughout the shift.
Before you start your shift, you can see what time your manager has assigned for you to take your break:
1. From the Home screen and tap on the shift link showing the Area and shift you are scheduled to work.
2. Your scheduled breaks are shown including the start and finish times and whether the break is paid or unpaid. In the example below the Team member has been assigned a 15min paid break from 3:15 to 3:30pm and a 30min unpaid meal break from 5:00 to 5:30pm.
Once you have started your shift you will see the amount of time that has already elapsed on your shift is displayed and the time remaining until your scheduled meal break is also shown.
When it's time to start a scheduled break:
1. Tap on Start Break
2. Select your break (if required) and tap Start.
Once your break has started, the time elapsed for the break will be shown and when your break is over just click End Break to resume your shift.
If your manager has enabled a setting to ensure you don't finish your break early then you won't be able to end a break until the full time allocated to the break has elapsed and you will see the below message.
Different ways to start and end a break
The above examples show how to start and end break on the Deputy Android mobile app but it's also possible to start and end breaks via:
Deputy web application
You can Start and End breaks from the Me page on the Deputy web application.
Deputy Kiosk for iPad and Deputy Timeclock for Android
After signing into the Deputy Kiosk for iPad click on Start Break or say "start break" to begin your break.
After signing into the Deputy Timeclock for Android click on Start Break or say "start break" to begin your break.
Deputy mobile apps
You can start your break from the Home page of the Deputy mobile app.
It's also possible to access a shortcut to starting and ending your break on the Deputy iOS mobile app by hard pressing on the Deputy App icon to reveal the 3D Touch menu as shown below:
Deputy Apple Watch app
You can start and end breaks from the Deputy app on your Apple watch (watchOS version 8 or later supported) as well as being able to add a complication to display on your watch face when you are on break.
FAQs
Why can't I end my break early?
If your manager has enabled a setting to ensure you don't finish your break early then you won't be able to end a break until the full time allocated to the break has elapsed.
I'm ending my shift and just realised that I forget to clock in and out for my break.
If your manager has enabled a setting then Deputy will automatically highlight a break not taken by the end of shift. If you took the break but forgot to clock the break you may be able to add the break to your timesheet at the end of your shift if your manager has enabled this setting to allow people to edit timesheets.