TAFE NSW is scheduling more meetings during staff lunch breaks.
Enough is enough. Meetings belong in work time, and staff must be paid to attend.
Members are reporting a growing number of informal “toolbox” and “Town Hall” meetings being held during lunch breaks. These meetings may also be described as information sessions, but they are still work. Your lunch break is unpaid time, and it should not be taken over by the employer’s business.
You do not have to work through your lunch break
During your unpaid lunch break you are off the clock – you are not required to attend meetings, answer emails or calls, or perform any other work. It is your time to spend however you choose.
If a meeting is scheduled over your lunch break and management suggests you “bring your lunch”, the answer is no. Attend the meeting as work time and take your full lunch break at a rescheduled time.
CPSU NSW has escalated this issue with TAFE NSW Industrial Relations and will keep members updated.
What you can do
- Take your full lunch break – it’s your time, and you don’t have to work through it.
- Speak up! If you’re asked to attend a meeting or work during your lunch break, or if lunchtime meetings are happening in your workplace, talk to your local delegate or contact CPSU NSW.
Your time. Your break. Your Union.
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