Rest, Breaks, and Pauses: The Working Hours Act's Limits on Overtime, Daily Rest, Breaks, and Schedules – and What AFS 2023:12 Requires for Rest Rooms

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Working hours is the area where most employers violate the law without anyone reacting, as the violations occur in small portions: ten minutes here, a canceled break there, a shift starting at 05:30 after one that ended at 22:00. The Working Hours Act is also one of the few labor laws with sanction fees that the Swedish Work Environment Authority can impose directly. This guide provides you with the limits with section numbers so you can write them in an email.

Regular working time, overtime, and additional time

• Regular working time: a maximum of 40 hours per week, or an average of 40 hours over a maximum of four weeks when the work requires it (Section 5). The eight-hour day is not in the law – only the weekly cap.
• On-call time (you are at the workplace and waiting): a maximum of 48 hours per four weeks or 50 per month (Section 6). On-call time is not counted as regular working time but is included in the 48-hour cap below.
• Overtime can be taken when there is a special need: a maximum of 48 hours per four weeks or 50 per calendar month, and a maximum of 200 hours per calendar year (Section 8). An additional 150 hours of extra overtime can be taken for special reasons if the situation could not be resolved otherwise (Section 8 a). Overtime as a constant staffing solution is not a “special need.”
• Additional time for part-time employees – time up to full-time – has the same cap of 200 hours per year (Section 10).
• Total working time including overtime and on-call time must not exceed 48 hours per week on average over four months (Section 10 b). This is the EU directive's cap and cannot be contracted away.
• Emergency overtime in accidents and similar situations can be taken beyond the caps, but the union must be notified (Section 9).

The Working Hours Act says nothing about compensation for overtime, inconvenient hours, or on-call time. This is determined in collective agreements and in your employment contract. Without an agreement, you are entitled to regular pay for the time – nothing more. Read collective agreements and employment certificates.

Breaks, pauses, and meal breaks

Daily rest, weekly rest, and night work

• Daily rest (Section 13): at least eleven consecutive hours of rest during each 24-hour period, and the time midnight–05 must be included. Deviations from the eleven-hour rule may be made temporarily in unforeseen circumstances, with corresponding compensatory rest. Night work may be conducted if the nature of the work, public needs, or other special circumstances require it.
• Night workers (Section 13 a): those who normally work at least three hours of the shift between 22 and 06 may not work more than eight hours per 24-hour period on average over four months; for particularly risky or strenuous work, eight hours is absolute.
• Weekly rest (Section 14): at least 36 consecutive hours of rest per seven-day period, preferably on the weekend. On-call duty where you must be ready to step in does not count as weekly rest. Temporary deviation only in unforeseen circumstances, with compensation.

A schedule where the evening shift ends at 22:00 and the morning shift starts at 07:00 provides nine hours of rest and is illegal without collective agreement support. A schedule that systematically assigns work from 23–06 without the nature of the work requiring it is also illegal. In municipalities and regions, agreements were tightened in 2023 following criticism from the EU Commission: eleven hours of daily rest now applies as the main rule even there, and the combination of work shift–on-call–work shift is strongly limited. If you have a schedule that violates this: it is a work environment issue for the safety representative, not a personal weakness.

Schedule, notice, and employer's records

For your own part: record actual working hours every day in your own log – start, end, break (and if you had to leave), overtime, on-call. A personal log kept continuously carries significant weight against the employer's reconstruction afterward, both in a wage dispute and in a work environment case.

What collective agreements can change – and not

The Working Hours Act is largely semi-dispositive: through collective agreements concluded or approved at the central level, the parties may deviate from the rules on regular working hours, on-call, overtime, additional time, daily rest, night work, weekly rest, breaks, and notice of schedule (Section 3). This is why shift schedules in industry, healthcare, and transport look the way they do – legally. However, deviations must not provide worse conditions than the EU Working Time Directive (Section 3, fourth paragraph): the 48-hour average cap, eleven hours of daily rest (with compensatory rest if deviated from), 24 hours of weekly rest, and eight hours of night work are minimums that agreements cannot fall below. An agreement that does so is invalid in that part and may result in damages.

Two conclusions. First: if there is no collective agreement, the law applies directly, and the employer cannot refer to “industry practice.” Second: if there is a collective agreement, you must read it – request the working hours chapter for your professional group before claiming that the schedule is illegal, and before accepting that it is legal.

Break area, rest area, on-call room, and dining area

The Working Hours Act states when you should be able to leave work. The regulations on the design of workplaces (AFS 2023:12) state where the body can recover. The requirements apply to all workplaces:

• Break area (Section 62): breaks and waiting times should be spent in a place with the possibility for short recovery, with a sufficient number of seats with backrests. A stool in the warehouse is not a break area.
• Rest area (Section 63): there should be, or quickly be arranged, a suitable space for temporary, undisturbed, and lying rest, with a toilet nearby. According to the general advice, a special rest room may be needed when more than 50 people work simultaneously in the same area. The space should be accessible – a rest room used as storage or a meeting room is not.
• On-call room (Sections 64–65): those on call in the sense of the Working Hours Act should have an undisturbed single room near the workplace with the possibility to heat food, as well as a toilet and shower nearby.
• Dining area (Sections 60–61): even those who eat brought food should be able to do so under satisfactory conditions, with a table and chairs with backrests and near refrigeration, heating, and washing facilities.

The right to a rest area is not conditional on you first becoming ill. Pregnancy, migraines, night work, heat, demanding shifts – all are reasons to use the room. An employer who says “it is not needed here” should show where the lying rest can then be quickly arranged.

When the break is canceled, the schedule never releases, or the room is locked

To: [manager], copy: [safety representative]
Subject: Breaks, daily rest, and rest facilities – request for action

During the period [date–date], I have worked according to the attached log. It shows that
– on [date], I worked [x] consecutive hours without a break (Section 15 of the Working Hours Act),
– the time scheduled as a break was effectively a meal break since I was required to [carry an alarm / stay on site / answer the phone]; such time should be counted as working time (Section 16),
– the daily rest between shifts on [date] and [date] was [x] hours (Section 13),
– rest facilities according to Section 63 of AFS 2023:12 [are missing / are locked / are used as storage].

I request
1. that breaks are scheduled so that I do not work more than five consecutive hours and that the length and scheduling of breaks are specified in advance,
2. that time spent as a meal break is compensated as working time for the period,
3. that the schedule is changed to ensure eleven hours of daily rest and 36 hours of weekly rest, or that the employer specifies which collective agreement allows for deviation,
4. that rest facilities for undisturbed lying rest are made available,
5. extracts from the employer's records of my overtime, additional time, and on-call time (Section 11).

A response is requested by [date]. A copy is sent to the safety representative.

[Name, date]

The papers in employment and which agreement governs: collective agreement and employment certificate. Incidents and representatives: safety representative and incident. If the schedule is used to single you out: harassment and document.

Sources

• Working Hours Act (1982:673) – Sections 3, 5–12 working hours and records
• Working Hours Act Sections 13–14 daily rest, night work, and weekly rest
• Working Hours Act Sections 15–17 breaks, meal breaks, and pauses
• Swedish Work Environment Authority: about the Working Hours Act and supervision
• AFS 2023:12 design of workplaces Sections 60–65 (meal, break, rest, and on-call spaces)
• Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC
• Work Environment Act Chapter 6, Section 6 a – safety representative's request

The guide is general information about applicable rules, not advice on your case. Collective agreements can deviate from the law on several points. Legal status checked on September 25, 2026.

For those reading under stress

The guide is intended as support when you already have a lot on your mind. You don't need to read everything at once: start with the section that matches where you are today and return when the next step becomes relevant.

Matters with authorities rarely improve by handling everything alone. Ask for help from a support person, lawyer, or relative if you can – especially before decisions with long-term effects.

Common mistakes that make the case more difficult

• Relying only on verbal promises without a brief written confirmation or follow-up email.
• Waiting to request documents until the conflict is already locked – then it becomes harder to show what was said.
• Writing so long and emotionally that the authority stops responding to the substantive issue.
• Missing deadlines for reconsideration or appeal because the decision was not read verbatim.

Mini-checklist before you leave the guide

1. Do I have the date, diary/case number, and name of the person handling the case (if you know)?
2. Do I know what the next step is: respond, request, remind, appeal, or report?
3. Have I saved emails and attachments in a place where I can find them in a week?