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Enabling the Work Breaks feature allows you to define and add break policies for your team so that you can keep track of your team’s break times.

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Adding a work break policy

To add a work break policy, navigate to Settings > All settings.

Select Work Breaks under Policies.

Click on the Add Policy button.

The Add work break policy dialog will pop up.

Fill in the following:

1. Policy name
2. Members
3. Automatically add new members to this policy
4. Choose if the break time is paid or unpaid.
5. Allotted duration of the break
6. Restrictions:
   • No restrictions – allows members to take any number of breaks.
   • Once per work session – allows members to take 1 break for every session of time. Can be limited to a break after X amount of work hours.
     
   • Allow within every few hours – allows members to take breaks within a set number of hours. Organization owners can set the frequency as well as a minimum required number of hours before the members can take breaks.
     
   • Allow after every few hours – allows members to take breaks only after a set number of hours. Organization owners can set the frequency and the minimum number of hours worked before taking breaks.
     
7. Notify members about their breaks: Members will receive a notification once their break is available to take (When applicable)
8. Hit Save to finish setting up your break policy.

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Work break notifications

Work break notifications keep members informed about their own break status and give managers visibility into how breaks are being used across the team.

By default, Hubstaff sends notifications to the member when work breaks are almost available to take, almost over, and ended.

Organization owners and managers get a separate notification. Example: If a member fails to take a break, Hubstaff sends an abandoned break notification to the manager or owner.

To review missed breaks, late breaks, or breaks that ran over across your team, organization owners and managers can check the Work breaks report. The report shows each member’s break status alongside allowed vs. actual hours, so you can spot patterns without waiting on individual notifications.

Edit work break notifications settings

Navigate to Settings > All Settings > Work Breaks > Work break notifications. Here you can toggle the Default setting to enable notifications to all team members or change individual member settings.

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Tracking time to a work break policy

Desktop Timer Application

Start tracking time for a project/task.

Click on the Break icon.

Click the Stop button to resume tracking time.

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Web Timer

Start tracking time for a project/task by pressing the Play button.

Click on the Break button next to the stop button to take a break.

Select the break policy you are taking and click on Take break.

The background will turn green while you are on break, and the break policy name will appear under the On break status. Press the Stop button to end your break.

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Mobile App

Start tracking time for a project/task by pressing the Play button.

Click on the Break button to take a break.

The background will turn orange while you are on break, and the break policy name will appear under the Taking a break status. Press the Stop button to end your break.

Note: After stopping a break, the timer will automatically stop tracking time. Select a Project/Task and tap the Play button to resume tracking.

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Choosing from several work break policies available

Depending on your work break policy restrictions, members may have multiple work breaks available at a time for them to take. Members will be able to choose one break from the drop-down list by following these steps:

Start tracking time for a project/task by pressing the Play button.

Click on the Break button next to the stop button to take a break.

Click on the Select a work break policy drop-down list to view the available work breaks.

Click on the desired work break policy from the drop-down list.

Click on the Take break button.

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Adding breaks manually

Your team can also add breaks manually once they’ve been added to a break policy.

To do this, navigate to Timesheets > View and edit > Add Time.

The Add Time dialog will appear. Toggle the work break icon then choose the date/time. Once finished, hit Save to commit your changes.

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Archiving and restoring a work break policy

Archive a work break policy when you no longer need it active, and restore it later if you need to reuse it, without losing the policy’s history or settings.

Archive a work break policy

Navigate to Settings in the left panel > All settings > Policies > Work Breaks.

Find the policy you want to archive in the list and click on the Actions button on the far right. Click Archive policy from the drop-down menu that appears.

A new window will pop-up, click Ok to confirm and archive the policy.

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Restore a work break policy

Navigate to Settings in the left panel > All settings > Policies > Work Breaks > Archived

Select Actions against the relevant policy. Click Restore policy from the drop-down menu that appears.

A new window will pop up; click Ok to confirm and restore the policy.

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Additional notes

• • • The “Once per work session” restriction: A work session begins when a member starts tracking time for the day and ends after they stop tracking time for 4 hours or more. Under this restriction, a member can take their break only once per session. For example, if a member has a 1-hour lunch break and only takes 30 minutes of it, they can’t come back later in the same session to take the remaining 30 minutes.
    • Members on break appear on the dashboard Who’s Online widget with an “on break” status next to their name. This status updates in real time.

  

Paid vs. unpaid breaks

• • Paid breaks will be included on each member’s timesheet for payroll. Unpaid breaks are not included in payroll.
  • Paid work breaks count against daily and weekly limits.
  • Paid breaks count toward PTO accruals. Unpaid breaks don’t.
  • Unpaid work breaks do not count toward minimum schedule requirements.
  • Unpaid work breaks do not count against your daily schedule minimum hours requirement, while paid breaks are counted.
  • Unpaid work breaks don’t count against your daily schedule minimum required hours. Paid breaks do.
  • When a member reaches a break limit, the timer turns negative, and any additional time tracked to that break is recorded as unpaid time.
  • Hubstaff includes both paid and unpaid breaks in the overall time totals on the Daily, Weekly, and Calendar timesheet pages.