How long is the regular office work lunch break in your country?
September 15, 2025
In Finland quite often it is 45minutes – 1h. Often people go to some nearby restaurant that offer lunch.
How is work lunch culture in your countries?
36 comments
Switzerland 🇨đź‡can confirm it’s similar here… depending on the location/size of the company they might have a canteen with subsidized food, but if not you technically get a daily allowance so you can go out to eat if you want. Eating at your desk is frowned upon… timing is slightly later than in Finland – isn’t it usually like 11/11:30? – though with around 12 being normal
Typically 30 minutes to 1 hour and two smaller 15 minutes breaks through the day. How people do it depends on the office.
Smaller offices people will bring a packed lunch or go out to eat, larger offices/multinationals might have a canteen where you can order food.
20 minutes is the legal minimum for a 6+ hour shift, but 30 minutes is the norm for a 7.5 hour shift in my experience.
Personally speaking when I worked 10-12 hour shifts, I would have a 45 minute break or a 30 and 15 minute break.
People usually eat lunch at their desks, go to the break room, or go somewhere quiet. Usually people bring a packed lunch e.g. sandwiches, soups, chicken & rice, but if there’s a canteen sometimes people will go there.
When I worked at restaurants and cafes people would eat free or discounted food from there.
In Netherlands it is often quite strict about being just 30 minutes for 8 hour shift.
In Belgium i’ve heard of 1 to 2 hour lunch break.
Germany:
There isn’t a general rule rather every employees decision according to preferences unless you work at an assembly line, customer service etc.
If the employees can decide for themselves:
If there is a company operated canteen in-house, mostly 30 minutes (because the employees often prefer that to be able to go home in the evening as early as possible).
Otherwise 45-60 minutes.
30 minutes is the default in Belgium as far as I know. Unpaid of course, so you can take longer if your your boss allows flexible hours
Depends on the company…. For where I work, as long as I need (as long work gets done). So mostly for me around 1 hour.
Here in Germany 1h break time is quite common. Either 1h for lunch in one go or the hour is spread over the day, eg 15m breakfast + 45m lunch ( or different combinations). I used to work in a company with 15m breakfast, 30min lunch and 15m coffee break.
It’s manatory by law to have at least a 30m break after 6h of work and 45m after 9h.
30 minutes usually, we have on site canteen, on work places that don’t people usually bring their own food – going out for lunch is rare in Denmark.
I don’t get why anyone would spend an hour or more for lunch – I’d rather go home earlier.
I currently have a 1 hour break, but I used to have 1 x 30m and 2 x 15m breaks in a previous job which was a lot more physically demanding. It was important to have rest breaks to eat & hydrate, as we couldn’t consume food or drink in the work area. I can eat and drink at my desk now, so having tea breaks isn’t important in my current job.
You usually have 60 minutes break in total.Â
So if you have 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon – you would have 30 minutes lunch.
If you have flex, that break can of course be extended.
In the Netherlands the standard is:
30 min break unpaid if working hours are longer then 4 hours. So working hours are 8.30 to 5 when talking about an “8 hour shift”.
After 2 hours a short 15 min break paid. Mandatory by the inspection and unionized.
A lot of jobs are part-time. So the clocks are ticking and breaks are strict.
Depends on the industry if it may vary, but this is the most likely one will encounter.
Standard lunch is bread with cold cuts. And milk. There is no real lunchtime culture. But this has been improved. On the short breaks ppl eat some fruit like an apple.
In Denmark, a regular lunch break is typically 30 minutes.
In the public sector, lunch breaks are usually paid and count as part of your working hours, but that also means you’re expected to be available if something work-related comes up.
In the private sector, lunch breaks are generally unpaid, unless your contract or collective agreement says otherwise.
We have 30 minutes. But at our company you can take longer, as long as you make your 8 hours work. Most people choose 30 minutes so they have more “home time”
Spain.
Depending on the job, it ranges from half an hour (factories) to two hours (offices). Two hours is crazy, but if you have a hiding place to hide away, it’s the perfect time for a siesta.
In France, the absolute legal minimum is 20 min
In practice, there can be branch specific rules, negotiated between worker union and employer federations. And on top of that, you can have enterprise level even more specific rules.
When I was a teenager, I had a few summer jobs, each with different rules.
My first office job had fixed hours, with a 2h pause, which allowed me to bike back home to eat with my parents.
The year I worked in a factory, we had 2 20 minutes breaks during the shift, but no real lunch breaks since shifts started or ended at lunch time.
When I worked at a bank, we had a mandatory 45 min lunch break. Even if I took 30 min to eat, I was forbidden to return to the office due to strict union rules.
In most of my jobs since, I’ve had flexible hours. The offices are opened from 8 to 20, and I have to be there for 8 hours, with the legal mandatory pause after 6 work hours.
Same rules applies for remote work, except I sometimes start even earlier for some off hours maintenance tasks
I work in an office M-F 9-5:30 – I have an hour unpaid which my contract states should be taken in the middle of the day at my discretion. My current job is flexible so some people take 30mins during the day and then finish 30mins earlier.
I used to work in the legal profession, both in private practice and public sector. Every place I worked, lunch was an hour and 15 minutes, and a 15 minute break in the morning. Of course, that was if you were working in the office. If you had a case in court, you’d be lucky to get any break at all. At least, that was the legal staff. In the public sector, the clerical staff were all on flexitime, so many were taking the minimum lunch break – I think it was half an hour, so they could build up extra leave, and they also got a break in the afternoon.
One hour is common in offices. In like factories and similar it’s more like 40-45 minutes (I worked in a factory where it was scheduled 42 minutes for instance). I work in an office and our time reporting system automatically deducts one hour and that can’t be changed, on the other hand no one cares about the specified work hours there. If I work from home and don’t take any lunch break I’ll just quit work an hour early or so, and if I eat in 30 minutes at the office it’s the same.
1 hour is the standard in Bulgaria, and it is not included in the work hours – if you are expected to work 8 hours (the standard), that for example 9 to 6 (9 astronomical hours period, including 1 hours lunch break off work).
Uh, I’ve never had a 45min lunch break unless I’ve combined a coffee break 12min to my lunch break 30min and been a bit late since my boss is very relaxed about that kind of thing, as long as work gets done. So I would say lunch is 30 minutes in Finland, with some leeway depending on the job and its culture.
In Hungary it’s usually around 45min – 1h. A lot of people eat at their desk something they brought, or in the kitchen if the office has one. There are also lunch services that deliver to your workplace and usually put all the food in the central fridges. They’re often good quality and decent price. You can also get diet ones. People in general can’t really afford to eat out, especially in Budapest because there most restaurants are aimed at Western tourists that make many times what the average person here makes.
For me 30 minutes paid. But nobody, even the boss, seems to give a f if people sit 15 minutes more or go for a walk after sitting and eating for 30 minutes.
But it really depends on wherever the job is public or private and what you do.
In Italy by law lunch break for those jobs that have more than 6 continuative work hours needs to be at minimum 10 minutes and at max 2 hours, but each job is regulated by the respective National Collective Labour Agreement.
Normally it’s of 1 hour, usually it starts between 12:30 and 13:00 and ends between 13:30 and 14:00.
Depending on the office/workplace and location the workers either go to a nearby restaurant or bar to eat or bring their lunch from home eating it in a dedicated break room or outside.
Every company has its own rule, for example I do 8 to 5, with lunch between 12:30 and 13:30. My brother does 7 to 3pm without lunch break, for us lunch at 3:30 is not a problem.
By law its 30 minutes at least, if the worktime is 8 hours or more. Most businesses operate somewhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Unpaid, unless your not free to leave the place of work or do not have a sutiable accomodation for lunch.
What, who gets an hour off in Finland? Every job I ever had included a 30-minute lunch break (unpaid). Granted, we also had coffee breaks that were paid.
I’ve worked service jobs and social service postions.
Pretty much the same as in Finland. Most of my colleagues take 45-60 minutes. Personally, most days I just eat a sandwich/leftovers at my desk.
You can divide up your mandated break times as you like, though after 6 hours you must stop for 30 minutes. No one’s watching the clock at my office though, and we don’t have to punch in/out. So, everyone can do what they like.
We have a canteen, but I think the price-quality ratio is poor, it’s nothing great, plus its usually a bit crowded since we share it with a few surrounding buildings. I went regularly before covid, but had one of those lock-down epiphanies that I didn’t miss our canteen at all. We also have a break room/kitchenette with a table and microwave, kettle, coffee machine, fridge, etc. It’s just one small table and not very cozy, so I don’t use it much.
They were forcing us 2 hours…pushed back until we reduced at 1…but I agree we need at least one to refresh thoughts.
In Slovenia, labor law entitles employees to a 30-minute paid meal break for every completed 4 hours of work.
When I work from home: usually 20-30 minutes, but sometimes 1.5 hrs. At the office we always go for a long-ish walk + a lunch back at the office so often it takes longer than an hour. As long as the boss man is okay with this I am too.
I work at an IT company with very flexible work hours / rules so this probably does not represent the norm for the Netherlands.
In Croatia, eveyone has the right for 30 minute break if one works more than 6 hours per day. This pause is included in the work hours, so we technically work 7.5 hours per day. However, in reality, lots of overtime work is not paid
Netherlands: 30 minutes. Lunch break not included in work hours (I mean you work 8 hours apart from your break)
But often people even eat at their desks to save time.
Not really defined, can be 20 minutes for some, 2.5 hours for others
In Poland for office jobs the legal requirement is a 15 min paid lunch break that is included in your working hours. So if you work 8-16, the 15 min is included there. For factory workers it’s different I think. I also worked in an office on the grounds of a factory and we had a 30 min paid lunch break because the union had negotiated it for all workers. Overall I very much prefer our system of having a lunch break included in the daily 8h to what others are describing for countries from Western Europe (unpaid break on top of the daily 8h, basically prolonging the time spent at ‚work’).
36 comments
Switzerland 🇨đź‡can confirm it’s similar here… depending on the location/size of the company they might have a canteen with subsidized food, but if not you technically get a daily allowance so you can go out to eat if you want. Eating at your desk is frowned upon… timing is slightly later than in Finland – isn’t it usually like 11/11:30? – though with around 12 being normal
Typically 30 minutes to 1 hour and two smaller 15 minutes breaks through the day. How people do it depends on the office.
Smaller offices people will bring a packed lunch or go out to eat, larger offices/multinationals might have a canteen where you can order food.
It can take up to 2 hours, depend on your work shift, but also can be down to half an hour. Realy dépends on you working field
20 minutes is the legal minimum for a 6+ hour shift, but 30 minutes is the norm for a 7.5 hour shift in my experience.
Personally speaking when I worked 10-12 hour shifts, I would have a 45 minute break or a 30 and 15 minute break.
People usually eat lunch at their desks, go to the break room, or go somewhere quiet. Usually people bring a packed lunch e.g. sandwiches, soups, chicken & rice, but if there’s a canteen sometimes people will go there.
When I worked at restaurants and cafes people would eat free or discounted food from there.
In Netherlands it is often quite strict about being just 30 minutes for 8 hour shift.
In Belgium i’ve heard of 1 to 2 hour lunch break.
Germany:
There isn’t a general rule rather every employees decision according to preferences unless you work at an assembly line, customer service etc.
If the employees can decide for themselves:
If there is a company operated canteen in-house, mostly 30 minutes (because the employees often prefer that to be able to go home in the evening as early as possible).
Otherwise 45-60 minutes.
30 minutes is the default in Belgium as far as I know. Unpaid of course, so you can take longer if your your boss allows flexible hours
Depends on the company…. For where I work, as long as I need (as long work gets done). So mostly for me around 1 hour.
Here in Germany 1h break time is quite common. Either 1h for lunch in one go or the hour is spread over the day, eg 15m breakfast + 45m lunch ( or different combinations). I used to work in a company with 15m breakfast, 30min lunch and 15m coffee break.
It’s manatory by law to have at least a 30m break after 6h of work and 45m after 9h.
30 minutes usually, we have on site canteen, on work places that don’t people usually bring their own food – going out for lunch is rare in Denmark.
I don’t get why anyone would spend an hour or more for lunch – I’d rather go home earlier.
I currently have a 1 hour break, but I used to have 1 x 30m and 2 x 15m breaks in a previous job which was a lot more physically demanding. It was important to have rest breaks to eat & hydrate, as we couldn’t consume food or drink in the work area. I can eat and drink at my desk now, so having tea breaks isn’t important in my current job.
You usually have 60 minutes break in total.Â
So if you have 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon – you would have 30 minutes lunch.
If you have flex, that break can of course be extended.
In the Netherlands the standard is:
30 min break unpaid if working hours are longer then 4 hours. So working hours are 8.30 to 5 when talking about an “8 hour shift”.
After 2 hours a short 15 min break paid. Mandatory by the inspection and unionized.
A lot of jobs are part-time. So the clocks are ticking and breaks are strict.
Depends on the industry if it may vary, but this is the most likely one will encounter.
Standard lunch is bread with cold cuts. And milk. There is no real lunchtime culture. But this has been improved. On the short breaks ppl eat some fruit like an apple.
In Denmark, a regular lunch break is typically 30 minutes.
In the public sector, lunch breaks are usually paid and count as part of your working hours, but that also means you’re expected to be available if something work-related comes up.
In the private sector, lunch breaks are generally unpaid, unless your contract or collective agreement says otherwise.
We have 30 minutes. But at our company you can take longer, as long as you make your 8 hours work. Most people choose 30 minutes so they have more “home time”
Spain.
Depending on the job, it ranges from half an hour (factories) to two hours (offices). Two hours is crazy, but if you have a hiding place to hide away, it’s the perfect time for a siesta.
In France, the absolute legal minimum is 20 min
In practice, there can be branch specific rules, negotiated between worker union and employer federations. And on top of that, you can have enterprise level even more specific rules.
When I was a teenager, I had a few summer jobs, each with different rules.
My first office job had fixed hours, with a 2h pause, which allowed me to bike back home to eat with my parents.
The year I worked in a factory, we had 2 20 minutes breaks during the shift, but no real lunch breaks since shifts started or ended at lunch time.
When I worked at a bank, we had a mandatory 45 min lunch break. Even if I took 30 min to eat, I was forbidden to return to the office due to strict union rules.
In most of my jobs since, I’ve had flexible hours. The offices are opened from 8 to 20, and I have to be there for 8 hours, with the legal mandatory pause after 6 work hours.
Same rules applies for remote work, except I sometimes start even earlier for some off hours maintenance tasks
I work in an office M-F 9-5:30 – I have an hour unpaid which my contract states should be taken in the middle of the day at my discretion. My current job is flexible so some people take 30mins during the day and then finish 30mins earlier.
I used to work in the legal profession, both in private practice and public sector. Every place I worked, lunch was an hour and 15 minutes, and a 15 minute break in the morning. Of course, that was if you were working in the office. If you had a case in court, you’d be lucky to get any break at all. At least, that was the legal staff. In the public sector, the clerical staff were all on flexitime, so many were taking the minimum lunch break – I think it was half an hour, so they could build up extra leave, and they also got a break in the afternoon.
One hour is common in offices. In like factories and similar it’s more like 40-45 minutes (I worked in a factory where it was scheduled 42 minutes for instance). I work in an office and our time reporting system automatically deducts one hour and that can’t be changed, on the other hand no one cares about the specified work hours there. If I work from home and don’t take any lunch break I’ll just quit work an hour early or so, and if I eat in 30 minutes at the office it’s the same.
1 hour is the standard in Bulgaria, and it is not included in the work hours – if you are expected to work 8 hours (the standard), that for example 9 to 6 (9 astronomical hours period, including 1 hours lunch break off work).
Uh, I’ve never had a 45min lunch break unless I’ve combined a coffee break 12min to my lunch break 30min and been a bit late since my boss is very relaxed about that kind of thing, as long as work gets done. So I would say lunch is 30 minutes in Finland, with some leeway depending on the job and its culture.
In Hungary it’s usually around 45min – 1h. A lot of people eat at their desk something they brought, or in the kitchen if the office has one. There are also lunch services that deliver to your workplace and usually put all the food in the central fridges. They’re often good quality and decent price. You can also get diet ones. People in general can’t really afford to eat out, especially in Budapest because there most restaurants are aimed at Western tourists that make many times what the average person here makes.
For me 30 minutes paid. But nobody, even the boss, seems to give a f if people sit 15 minutes more or go for a walk after sitting and eating for 30 minutes.
But it really depends on wherever the job is public or private and what you do.
In Italy by law lunch break for those jobs that have more than 6 continuative work hours needs to be at minimum 10 minutes and at max 2 hours, but each job is regulated by the respective National Collective Labour Agreement.
Normally it’s of 1 hour, usually it starts between 12:30 and 13:00 and ends between 13:30 and 14:00.
Depending on the office/workplace and location the workers either go to a nearby restaurant or bar to eat or bring their lunch from home eating it in a dedicated break room or outside.
Every company has its own rule, for example I do 8 to 5, with lunch between 12:30 and 13:30. My brother does 7 to 3pm without lunch break, for us lunch at 3:30 is not a problem.
By law its 30 minutes at least, if the worktime is 8 hours or more. Most businesses operate somewhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Unpaid, unless your not free to leave the place of work or do not have a sutiable accomodation for lunch.
What, who gets an hour off in Finland? Every job I ever had included a 30-minute lunch break (unpaid). Granted, we also had coffee breaks that were paid.
I’ve worked service jobs and social service postions.
Pretty much the same as in Finland. Most of my colleagues take 45-60 minutes. Personally, most days I just eat a sandwich/leftovers at my desk.
You can divide up your mandated break times as you like, though after 6 hours you must stop for 30 minutes. No one’s watching the clock at my office though, and we don’t have to punch in/out. So, everyone can do what they like.
We have a canteen, but I think the price-quality ratio is poor, it’s nothing great, plus its usually a bit crowded since we share it with a few surrounding buildings. I went regularly before covid, but had one of those lock-down epiphanies that I didn’t miss our canteen at all. We also have a break room/kitchenette with a table and microwave, kettle, coffee machine, fridge, etc. It’s just one small table and not very cozy, so I don’t use it much.
They were forcing us 2 hours…pushed back until we reduced at 1…but I agree we need at least one to refresh thoughts.
In Slovenia, labor law entitles employees to a 30-minute paid meal break for every completed 4 hours of work.
When I work from home: usually 20-30 minutes, but sometimes 1.5 hrs. At the office we always go for a long-ish walk + a lunch back at the office so often it takes longer than an hour. As long as the boss man is okay with this I am too.
I work at an IT company with very flexible work hours / rules so this probably does not represent the norm for the Netherlands.
In Croatia, eveyone has the right for 30 minute break if one works more than 6 hours per day. This pause is included in the work hours, so we technically work 7.5 hours per day. However, in reality, lots of overtime work is not paid
Netherlands: 30 minutes. Lunch break not included in work hours (I mean you work 8 hours apart from your break)
But often people even eat at their desks to save time.
Not really defined, can be 20 minutes for some, 2.5 hours for others
In Poland for office jobs the legal requirement is a 15 min paid lunch break that is included in your working hours. So if you work 8-16, the 15 min is included there. For factory workers it’s different I think. I also worked in an office on the grounds of a factory and we had a 30 min paid lunch break because the union had negotiated it for all workers. Overall I very much prefer our system of having a lunch break included in the daily 8h to what others are describing for countries from Western Europe (unpaid break on top of the daily 8h, basically prolonging the time spent at ‚work’).