This article was last reviewed July 17, 2023.

Now Sling offers more break settings options!

Skip ahead if you're an employee.

To adjust your company's Breaks settings, you must be an admin of an account. Managers will be able to see how the settings have been configured, but do not have access to change settings.

From your Dashboard or name, select Settings > Schedule.

On that screen, you'll see there are options for Break type, Break category, and Default break duration, just like before.

Now, in addition to the Standard break type, admins have the ability to enable Automated break functions as well!

Note: Like many of the account settings, the break settings options can only be accessed through the web at this time.

Once the Automated breaks function has been selected, you can indicate the details for how Meal breaks and Rest breaks will operate when they are activated.

Indicate whether each type of break you enable is paid or unpaid. Then you can set the automation rules.

For example, if your region's labor laws require staff to receive a rest break for every 4 hours that they work, you would enter that criteria within the Rest break details:

In the example above, employees' rest breaks will be counted as paid time, and staff will be able to start a rest break after they have worked at least two hours of their shift. (You can scroll down to see examples of what break notifications look like from an employee's perspective.)

You can also indicate whether you would like to permit employees to complete their breaks earlier than scheduled by toggling on the option for Early return. The early return option is available for each type of break that you enable.

When you review timesheets, you'll be able to spot discrepancies or potential violations as they will appear in red. This provides an opportunity for you to review break policies with employees when you notice patterns, or to make adjustments to break procedures to ensure that your staff is in compliance.

If automated breaks have been enabled for your company, employees will receive reminders to take their breaks according to the length of their shifts, and the rules applied.

Employees will clock into shifts as normal, but after a certain length of time has passed, when they use the option to Start their break, they will also see that they can select the type of break that they are starting.

For accounts that have both meal and rest breaks, employees can choose to start their rest break or their meal break:

When you begin a break, you'll see what time you started, so that you can keep track of when you'll need to return to work.

You'll also be able to receive reminders that your break is ending.

If you attempt to end your break too early and your employer does not allow for the early ending of breaks, you will get a notice indicating that you have more time left on their break:

When employees clock out for the end of their shift, they'll notice any breaks they did not take or ended earlier highlighted in red. That way if there is something they need to provide details about, they can include a note within their timesheet for managers to review.

All employees will be able to see Dashboard notifications within the Sling app (as long as they have not been disabled), but it's important that they have also enabled push notifications in order to receive reminders directly on their phones.

Learn how to adjust your notification settings to make sure you're receiving push notifications from Sling here.

Learn how to edit a timesheet as an admin here, and how to edit a timesheet as an employee here.