• Rest is critical to work safety and productivity.eye rest #5 image by Adam Borkowski from Fotolia.com
  
  Whether a lunch break or vacation, days off, holidays or maternity leave, labor laws stipulate that workers are legally entitled to periodic rest breaks.
  
  

Weekly Rest

• Hard work necessitates a break now and again, and at least one day off per week.test preperation image by Bradlee Mauer from Fotolia.com
  
  The International Labor Organization Weekly Rest Industry Convention of 1921and the Weekly Rest Commerce and Offices Convention of 1957 concur in ordering that employers provide an uninterrupted 24-hour rest period weekly for employees. If a weekly rest is not possible after taking into account certain considerations, work time deductions are permitted. Despite this law, the Sabbath traditions of minorities or majorities are to be respected. The U.K., in the Terms and Conditions of Employment Worktime Regulations of 1998 No. 1833 mandate daily and weekly rest periods. In Canada, the Canada Labor Code, Part III; Canada Labor Standards Regulations, Weekly Days of Rest and Sunday Work in Employment Standards Legislation says workers can take one full day of rest in the week which can mean Sunday or any other day.
  
  

Breaks and Daily Rest

• Everyone is entitled to a break from work by law.Justice image by MVit from Fotolia.com
  
  In the U.K., in the Terms and Conditions of Employment Worktime Regulations (1998), a worker qualifies for a daily break once he has completed six hours of labor. Another daily break requirement is an eleven-hour hiatus between one daily shift and the next. According to the Code of Federal Regulations The U.S. Department of Labor, Title 29, Chapter 5, Part 785.18 C refers to the entitlement to brief rest periods at work ranging from five minutes to 20 minutes every two to four hours. The U.S. Department of Labor, Title 29, Chapter 5, Part 785.19 C statute also provides for meal breaks where workers can rest and eat. These must last from 30 to 60 minutes without being called to duty.
  
  

Annual Vacation

• Workers, belonging to the ratifying countries of the International Labor Organization C132, have a right to "an annual paid holiday of a specified minimum length" where "a minimum period of service may be required for entitlement to any annual holiday with pay." The length of the yearly vacation and subsequent payment depends on the years of service, seniority and the discretion of the country and/or organization. The International Labor Organization's C132 Holiday with Pay Convention of 1936 has been modified and revamped in favor of the Holidays with Pay Convention of 1970 where agreeing countries follow these guidelines regarding vacation. Some 35 countries have assented to this convention including Armenia, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Chad, Croatia, Germany, Finland, Portugal, Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Uruguay and Ukraine.
  
  

Maternity Leave

• Maternity leave is another mandate employers must comply with, providing time off for expectant mothers to prepare for, and new mothers to recuperate from, child birth and see to the needs of the newborn. In the Employment Relations Act of 1999 in Schedule 4, Part 1 Leave for Family Reasons Maternity and Parental Leave, the British government legislated a mandatory maternity leave which must be two weeks minimum.