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Break lengths, reminders and ran-long flags

Tell SafeShift how long a rest and a meal break you actually give — that one number per break type times the break-over reminder and decides which breaks are flagged as ran long.

The law sets the minimum — a 10-minute rest and a 30-minute meal where breaks are mandated — but many businesses give more. SafeShift keeps one setting per location for the break you actually provide, and two features read it: the break-over reminder that pings an employee when their break time is up, and the amber ran long advisory that tells a manager a break ran well past it. Nothing here changes what counts as a violation: a short or missed break is judged against the legal minimum, never against the length you provide.

  1. 1

    Set the break lengths you provide

    Go to Settings → Locations, open the location, and find Break-over reminder. Beside it, breaks you provide shows two numbers — rest and meal, in minutes (15 and 35 until you change them). Type the break you actually give, for example rest 20 and meal 60, and click away or press Enter to save. A length can't go below the legal minimum, and each location has its own numbers.

  2. 2

    What the reminder does

    Switch Break-over reminder on and employees get a push and a text the moment the length you provide is up, if they haven't punched back in. Give 20-minute rests and the reminder lands at minute 20, never inside the break. It stays quiet if they're already back, and employees on POS clocking don't receive it. The switch is off until you turn it on — the lengths work without it.

  3. 3

    What gets flagged as ran long

    A break that runs more than 5 minutes past the length you provide is flagged as ran long, whether or not the reminder is on. With 20-minute rests, a 24-minute rest is fine and a 26-minute rest is flagged; with the defaults, a rest is flagged past 20 minutes and a meal past 40. The flag appears amber on the Compliance page, the employee card, the digest and the mobile app, and managers responsible for the location get a push.

  4. 4

    Why it is an advisory, not a violation

    The break was taken, so no premium is owed and there is nothing to acknowledge. Ran-long entries never count toward premiums, the violations tally or the Risk number — they are a heads-up that paid break time is running long, for scheduling and coaching, not for the compliance record.

Good to know

  • The legal minimums come from the location's state rules and never move: a 9-minute rest is still a short rest even at a shop that provides 20.
  • If every break at a location shows amber, the lengths are set shorter than the breaks you really give — raise them and the flags follow.
  • Changing a length applies to breaks already in progress for the reminder; flags are decided when the break ends.

If something goes wrong

We give exactly the legal 10 and 30. What should the numbers say?

Leave the defaults (15 / 35). The reminder can only fire after the full legal break, and the flag line sits 5 minutes past the length — a 16-minute rest is not worth paging a manager about, a 21-minute one is.

Can the reminder and the flag use different lengths?

No — one number per break type keeps the two features consistent, so the reminder never pings before a break that would not be flagged, and vice versa.

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