Start and end your breaks from the clock-in card on the Schedule tab — or on the store's kiosk. What you see depends on your store's break rules.
Start and end a break
- While you're on the clock, tap Start break.
- If your store has named breaks, pick one under Start a break — each shows its length and whether it's Paid or Unpaid. A Required tag marks a break you must take in full; it only shows when your store enforces its breaks. Tap Cancel to go back.
- When you're back, tap End break.
If your store hasn't set up named breaks, Start break starts your break straight away.
Breaks you have to take in full
When a required break is running, the card says when you can come back — On break · Back at 6:00 AM. If your store enforces required breaks and you tap End break too early, you'll see You can clock back in at 6:00 AM. with a countdown. Tap Retry (or End break) once the time is up.
When a break is due
At stores that follow a state's break rules, the card reminds you when a break is coming up — Meal break due by 10:44 AM or Rest break due by 9:44 AM — and turns orange if you're late: Meal break overdue — take it now.
Your store may also send you a notification:
Notification | When |
|---|---|
Break due — Take your 30-min meal break before 2:00 PM. | 15 minutes before the break is due. |
Break overdue — Your 30-min meal break was due by 2:00 PM — take it now. | When it's overdue. Your manager on duty is told too. |
The question when you clock out
Some stores ask about your breaks every time you clock out. Under Before you clock out you'll see:
Did you take all the meal and rest breaks you were entitled to today?
- Yes — I took all my breaks as required by policy.
- I had the opportunity but freely chose not to take one.
- No — work prevented me from taking one.
Tap the answer that's true — you're then clocked out. Your manager sees it with your punch. Cancel keeps you on the clock. If your store links its break policy, a View policy link is shown too. Your store may use its own wording.
If your phone is set to Spanish, the question and answers are shown in Spanish.
Good to know
- Paid or unpaid: a paid break counts as time worked; unpaid break time is taken off your hours. Under My Hours each shift shows its unpaid break time, for example 30m break. Without named breaks, Mays goes by how long the break was: under 20 minutes it's a paid rest break, and 20 minutes or more an unpaid meal break. That also applies to a break that was still running when you clocked out.
- Clocking out ends your break if you forgot to end it.
- On the kiosk you take breaks the same way from the Clock tab — see Shared kiosk devices and PINs.
- After tapping an NFC tag, the punch screen offers Start break next to Clock out while you're working. (Older Android versions offer only one button — start your break from the Schedule tab, or update the Mays app.)
- On Android, the break list's Cancel button is at the bottom, and swiping the break question away counts as Cancel.
- Break notifications can't be turned off in the app.
- Managers set these rules per location — see Labor & compliance.