Allowing employees to take breaks during their workday helps maintain productivity, and tracking breaks is essential for compliance. The Time Clock’s Breaks capability lets you monitor and record break hours accurately, ensuring fair break allocation and payroll-ready timesheets. With Connecteam, you can set up different break types—let’s explore how it works.
Types of Breaks
You can set up two types of breaks based on your needs: Manual or Automatic. Below, you’ll learn how each type works for employees and how it appears in timesheets.
Important Note: There’s a difference between breaks set in the schedule (Job Scheduler) and breaks configured in the Time Clock:
Scheduled breaks are suggestions for employees and do not automatically appear in timesheets.
Only breaks configured through Manual or Automatic Time Clock settings (described below) will be properly reflected in timesheets and payroll calculations.
Manual Breaks (Paid & Unpaid)
This option allows users to manually start and end breaks at flexible times. These manual breaks can be paid or unpaid.
Manual breaks allow users to start and end breaks manually at flexible times. Manual breaks can be paid or unpaid.
After activating a Time Clock on a new account, manual breaks are turned on by default. These defaults match the region of the account.
Paid manual breaks
Paid break time is included in the Daily Total hours used for payroll calculations.
Unpaid manual breaks
Unpaid break time is excluded from the Daily Total hours used for payroll calculations.
Manual breaks are ideal for employees who don’t have a fixed break schedule but still need to track the timing (and potentially the location) of breaks. When manual breaks are enabled, users will see a Break button in their Time Clock.
When using manual breaks, employees should:
Clock into the break using the Break button.
When the break ends, clock out of the break and select the job again.
Ensure the end time of the break matches the start time of the next job to keep timesheets accurate.
Automatic Breaks (Paid)
Automatic breaks automatically deduct a set amount of time after a chosen number of worked hours. For example, you can deduct a 30-minute break after 5 hours of work.
Automatic breaks are useful for compliance when you need to follow break laws or internal policies.
Automatic breaks are always unpaid, meaning the break time is subtracted from the employee’s Daily Total hours used for payroll.
Please note: Once you activate automatic breaks, they will be added to all past timesheets retrospectively.
How to Activate the Breaks
To activate and set up breaks:
From the left sidebar, go to Time Clock and open the relevant clock.
Click Settings.
Open the Breaks tab.
Choose the break type you need (breaks are disabled by default).
Manual breaks setup
Use manual breaks to create one or more break types (for example: lunch, rest).
Select Manual breaks.
Enter a break title (so users clearly understand the purpose).
Select whether the break is Paid or Unpaid.
Set the duration (from 5 minutes to 2 hours).
Click Save changes.
Note: The time shown applies only to the break reminder. It does not prevent users from taking a break before they have accrued the allotted time.
Optional: Restrict early returns
To ensure policy consistency and support compliance, enable Restrict early returns from this break. This prevents employees from clocking back in before the required break time is complete.
Automatic breaks setup
Use automatic breaks to deduct break time automatically.
Select Automatic breaks.
Set the break duration (from 5 minutes to 2 hours).
Set when it will be deducted (after a daily total of 2 to 23.5 worked hours).
(Optional) Add multiple automatic breaks if needed.
Click Save changes.
💡 Tip: Set up automatic notifications to remind employees to take breaks and to remind them when a break is ending. You can manage break reminders and other compliance settings (including restricting early returns) in Time Clock Settings > Reminders. These tools help ensure break times are properly reflected in payroll and timesheets.
This is how it will appear on your employee's mobile device:
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my employee forgot to clock into a break?
What if my employee forgot to clock into a break?
As an account admin, you can manually add a break to a user’s timesheet from both the admin dashboard and the mobile app.
Admin Dashboard
Log in to the admin dashboard.
Go to Time Clock, then open the relevant clock.
Confirm breaks are enabled: Settings > Breaks.
Open the Timesheets tab and select the relevant user.
Hover over the day where the break was missed, then under Type, select Break (instead of Shift).
Select the break type and enter the Start and End time.
You can add breaks by clicking to the left of a date for quick actions or using the Add button (top right).
If needed, adjust the rest of the shift so no issues appear on the timesheet.
All done!
Mobile App
Log in to the mobile app and open the Admin tab.
Go to Time Clock > Timesheets, then open the relevant employee timesheet.
Select the relevant date, tap Add to this day, and choose Add break.
Enter the break details and add it.
If needed, adjust the rest of the shift so no issues appear on the timesheet.
All done!
Can employees track how much break time they have left?
Can employees track how much break time they have left?
Yes. Once Restrict early returns from breaks is enabled, employees can track their remaining break time directly in the mobile app.
This is what it will look like from their perspective:
I can't see the breaks on my user's timesheet
I can't see the breaks on my user's timesheet
If you’re using automatic unpaid breaks but don’t see them on the timesheet, you may need to add the column:
Click the Columns icon on the right side.
Select Break Hours.
This adds the column so you can view the amount of time deducted from the user’s worked hours for that day.
I can't see the break time when exporting the timesheets
I can't see the break time when exporting the timesheets
For automatic unpaid breaks, exported timesheets are designed to be as payroll-ready as possible. Unpaid breaks are deducted from an employee’s Daily Total work hours to support compliance.
To view and edit raw data, use the admin dashboard, which provides more complete reporting capabilities than the exported spreadsheet.
Can I change the break time for a specific day?
Can I change the break time for a specific day?
Yes. Any admin with access to the employee timesheet can edit a break’s Start and End time.
After editing, the entry will display an orange dot, indicating it was manually edited. Hover over the entry to see which admin made the change.
What should I do if I have different break settings for different employees?
What should I do if I have different break settings for different employees?
If you need different break settings for different groups of employees, create an additional Time Clock.
With multiple time clocks, you can apply completely different settings per group. The ability to add more than one Time Clock is available from the Advanced plan (Operations hub and above).
What's the difference between breaks in my schedule and breaks in timesheets?
What's the difference between breaks in my schedule and breaks in timesheets?
Breaks set in the Job Scheduler are suggestions only and won’t automatically appear in timesheets or affect payroll calculations.
To properly track break time in timesheets and payroll, you must configure Manual or Automatic breaks in the Time Clock settings as described in this guide.
Can Automatic Breaks Be Customized Per Employee?
Can Automatic Breaks Be Customized Per Employee?
No. Automatic breaks are applied uniformly per Time Clock and cannot be customized per individual employee.
This keeps reporting and exporting consistent, since the break rules remain the same for everyone assigned to that Time Clock.
If you need different automatic break rules for specific groups of employees, create an additional Time Clock with the relevant break settings.
Can a user take their break before they have earned it?
Can a user take their break before they have earned it?
Yes. The accumulated time displayed in the settings is used only to trigger a reminder and does not prevent users from taking a break at any time. There is currently no way to prevent users from taking breaks before they have earned them.
*Manual breaks are available from the Basic plan, and Automatic breaks are available from the Advanced plan under the Operations Hub.*
*Actions such as reminding employees about breaks and restricting them from returning early are from the Advanced plan*
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