The US Federal Code of Regulations does not oblige employers to give short breaks of 5-20 minutes during the day, but where they are given specifies that they must be paid (785.18). However, meal breaks – “ordinarily” of 30 minutes duration – need not be paid (785.19). In certain States, the rules are even clearer. For instance, in 2020, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that a 30-minute break after 6 hours work was mandatory and, if not taken, subject to pay in lieu of its absence. In the European Union/EEA, Article 4 of the Working Time Directive obliges employers to give “short breaks” after 6 hours work, but it does not dictate their duration – leaving that to national legislation or collective agreements. All countries recognise the 6 hour qualifying threshold (apart from Norway and the Netherlands where it is 5.5 hours) and none require it to be paid. The break given is 10 minutes in Italy, 15 minutes in Spain and 30 minutes in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany and the Irish Republic and one hour in Finland. However, in the Irish Republic, it also amounts to 15 minutes after 4.5 hours and in Germany to 30 minutes after 4.5 hours for workers under 18. In post-Brexit Britain, the break remains at 20 minutes.