Paid and unpaid breaks calculator for Ireland
What unpaid breaks really cost you.
Your details
Updated for tax year 2026This calculator runs in your browser and needs JavaScript, which is switched off right now. Nothing has gone wrong. What unpaid breaks really cost you. Below the form you will find how the calculation works and the official sources, and that reads without JavaScript.
Fill in the form to see your result.
The result is based on the figures you entered and the rules published for the selected tax year. Your actual pay depends on your Revenue record, your contract and your employer’s payroll.
https://workpayie.com · General information only. This is not tax, legal or financial advice for your situation.
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A worked example: a 9-hour shift with a 30-minute unpaid break
Five shifts a week at €13.50 an hour.
| Hours at work a week | 45 h |
|---|---|
| Unpaid break time | -2.5 h |
| What that time is worth | €33.75 |
Statutory minimum break for a 9-hour shift: 30 minutes.
How to read it
A nine-hour shift must include at least a 30-minute break, of which 15 minutes can be taken in the first four and a half hours. The law requires the break; it does not require it to be paid, and most contracts do not pay it. So this figure is not money you are owed — it is the cost of the working pattern, and it is the number to use when comparing a job with a 30-minute unpaid break against one with a 15-minute paid one. What is not lawful is a break you cannot actually take, or one you spend at your station.
The figures in this example are produced by the same engine as the calculator above, using the 2026 tax year data. If a rule changes, they change here too.
Breaks calculator
Statutory rest breaks are not working time and there is no legal right to be paid for them. Over a year that adds up. Enter your usual shifts and see the difference between the hours you are at work and the hours you are paid for — and whether your breaks meet the statutory minimum.
This is an estimate
The result is based on the figures you entered and the rules published for the selected tax year. Your actual pay depends on your Revenue record, your contract and your employer’s payroll.