The 11-hour rest rule: how much time off between shifts?

The “clopen”, closing late one night and opening early the next morning, is a staple of hospitality and retail rotas. It is also the easiest way to breach the daily rest rule without noticing. This guide explains what the rule says, who it applies to, and how to roster around it.

What is the 11-hour rest rule?

Regulation 10 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 says a worker is entitled to “a rest period of not less than eleven consecutive hours in each 24-hour period” in which they work for their employer.

GOV.UK’s rest breaks guide puts it plainly: workers have the right to 11 hours’ rest between working days. Its example: if someone finishes at 8pm, they should not start work again until 7am the next day.

Three details matter:

• Consecutive. The 11 hours must be one unbroken block. Two five-and-a-half-hour gaps do not add up.
• Every 24 hours. It is a rolling entitlement, not just “overnight”.
• On top of the other rights. It sits alongside the 20-minute in-shift break and weekly rest. Our rest break guide covers all three.

Is a clopen shift legal in the UK?

Only if the gap is at least 11 hours, or an exception applies. Some quick checks:

Remember that cashing up, cleaning down and locking up are part of the shift. If the rota says 23:00 but people actually leave at 23:40, measure from 23:40. That is where clocked times beat rota times.

Our working time calculator checks gaps and weekly hours together.

Do under-18s get more rest?

Yes. Regulation 10(2) gives a young worker (over school leaving age, under 18) a minimum of 12 consecutive hours of daily rest. GOV.UK’s young workers guidance also sets a 30-minute break after 4.5 hours and 48 hours’ weekly rest.

The exceptions for young workers are narrow. GOV.UK says they can lose daily rest or breaks only for an exceptional event, such as an accident, where there is no worker over 18 who can do the work, and the work is temporary and must be done immediately. Busy Saturday trade is not an exceptional event.

What are the exceptions to the daily rest rule?

GOV.UK’s rest breaks guide lists workers who are not entitled to the general rest types, including:

• Armed forces, emergency services or police dealing with an exceptional catastrophe or disaster.
• Workers who freely choose their hours, such as a managing director, or whose working time isn’t measured.
• Sea, air and road transport (“mobile”) workers, who have their own special rules.

Separately, there are situations where the rule can be varied but compensatory rest must be given instead.

What is compensatory rest?

GOV.UK’s compensatory rest page says workers may be entitled to compensatory rest when they don’t get their normal rest, and that it is the same length as the rest, or part of it, that they missed. The situations include:

• Shift work, where a worker cannot take daily or weekly rest between ending one shift and starting another.
• Split working days, such as a cleaner working mornings and evenings.
• Busy seasonal industries, including retail, tourism, agriculture and postal services.
• Security and surveillance work, round-the-clock staffing and emergencies.
• A collective or workforce agreement that changes the rules for a group of workers.

In practice this is not a free pass. If a shift changeover leaves someone with nine hours instead of eleven, they are owed the missing two hours back as rest. Keep a record that you gave it.

Does the 48-hour opt-out cover rest between shifts?

No. The opt-out lives in regulation 4, which sets the 48-hour average weekly limit. Its wording lets the limit be exceeded where the employer “has first obtained the worker’s agreement in writing”, and that agreement relates to the weekly limit only. GOV.UK’s opting out guidance likewise describes the opt-out purely as a choice to work more than 48 hours a week on average.

Daily rest is a separate right in regulation 10, and there is no individual opt-out from it. A worker who has signed the 48-hour opt-out is still entitled to 11 hours between shifts, a rest break and weekly rest. ACAS has a guide to opting out of the 48-hour weekly limit that also stresses the opt-out must be voluntary and that workers must not suffer a detriment for refusing.

How do you roster around the rule?

• Separate closers from openers. Plan two teams where you can, and rotate who closes.
• Use actual finish times. If closing regularly runs over, bake that into the rota.
• Watch shift swaps. Most breaches come from swaps agreed between staff, not the original rota.
• Log compensatory rest. If an exception applies, record what was missed and when it was given back.
• Flag under-18s. Mark young workers on the rota so the 12-hour gap and the 8-hour day are obvious.

For the wider picture, see UK rota laws and our guide to shift patterns.

WagePilot’s rota builder warns when a shift would leave less than the daily rest gap, and timesheets show the real clock-out time, so the gap is measured from when people actually left.

FAQs

How many hours between shifts is the legal minimum in the UK?

11 consecutive hours for adults and 12 for workers under 18, under regulation 10 of the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Can an employee agree to give up their 11 hours’ rest?

Not by individual agreement. The 48-hour opt-out does not cover daily rest. The rule can only be varied in the specific situations GOV.UK lists, or by a collective or workforce agreement, and compensatory rest is then usually owed.

Does the 11 hours include travel time home?

The rule is about rest from work, measured from the end of one working period to the start of the next. Ordinary commuting is not work, so it falls inside the 11 hours.

What happens if I break the rule?

A worker can raise a grievance or bring a tribunal claim. GOV.UK’s disputes guidance sets out the routes.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check GOV.UK or a qualified adviser for your situation. WagePilot handles the tracking automatically, but you remain responsible for your own compliance.