Daily Rest (Hviletid)
The Daily Rest constraint checks that an employee has rested long enough between the end of one working day and the start of the next. The EU Working Time Directive sets this daily rest at 11 hours.
When to use
Use this constraint when:
- You must follow the daily rest rule of the EU Working Time Directive (in Danish, hviletid)
- A collective agreement or a works-council agreement sets a different minimum rest for a group
- You want breaches to show on the timesheet, not only in the work time compliance report
Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Rest Minutes | The continuous rest required before a working day may begin, in minutes. 660 is the directive’s 11 hours. | Required |
How it works
Rest is measured from check in/out only:
- On each day the employee checks in, mTime takes the first check-in of that day.
- It looks back for the latest check-out before it, up to a week back.
- The time between the two is the daily rest. If it is shorter than Minimum Rest Minutes , the day is flagged.
A few details:
- The breach belongs to the day that started too soon, not the day that ended late. A late Monday evening followed by an early Tuesday flags Tuesday.
- Breaks during the day don’t count as rest. Only the gap before the day’s first check-in is measured, so checking out for lunch and back in again is never judged.
- Every day with a check-in is checked, including weekends and public holidays — rest is about the hours between shifts, not about which days are working days.
- No check-in, no check. Days without a check-in, and employees who register hours without checking in and out, are never flagged: there is nothing to measure rest from. The same goes for the first check-in after more than a week without any.
- Open check-ins are ignored until the check-out is added.
- Days after today are not checked.
What the employee sees
The day is marked on the timesheet, and the period overview shows a message such as Only 9 hours of rest before this working day; 11 hours required. If the constraint is under Blocking constraints , the timesheet cannot be submitted while the breach stands; under Non-blocking constraints it is a warning only. Checking in is never prevented.
The compliance report
The work time compliance report measures daily rest for every employee who checks in and out. It uses the Minimum Rest Minutes configured on the employee’s work time policy, or 11 hours when no policy configures this constraint. If several policies applying to the same employee configure it, the report uses the strictest value.
Examples
EU directive: 11 hours
- Add the Daily Rest (Hviletid) plugin under Non-blocking constraints
- Set Minimum Rest Minutes
to
660
An employee checks out at 22:00 on Monday and checks in at 07:00 on Tuesday. That is 9 hours of rest, so Tuesday is flagged with a warning.
Agreed shorter rest of 8 hours
A works-council agreement allows 8 hours of rest for a shift team:
- Create a work time policy that applies to that team
- Add the Daily Rest (Hviletid) plugin
- Set Minimum Rest Minutes
to
480
The same Monday 22:00 / Tuesday 07:00 pattern now passes, and the compliance report measures the team against 8 hours.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| No breach is shown although the employee worked late | The rule only measures check in/out. If the employee registers hours without checking in and out, there is no rest to measure |
| The breach is on the “wrong” day | It is placed on the day that began too early, which is where the rule is broken |
| A rest across a week of leave is not flagged | Nothing is measured when the previous check-out is more than a week back — the employee has plainly rested |