# Taking breaks

Start and end breaks in the Mays app, pick the right break, see when one is due, and answer the break question when you clock out.

For: Employees · On: iOS, Android · [Help Center](https://www.mays.app/help) › [Time clock](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock) · Last updated October 13, 2026 · Mays Team

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

1. While you're on the clock, tap **Start break**.
2. 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.
3. When you're back, tap **End break**.

![Start a break in the app: Rest break, 10 min · Paid, marked Required, and Meal break, 30 min · Unpaid](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__taking-breaks__01-start-a-break.ceed5d5e19.png)

If your store hasn't set up named breaks — or none of them apply to a shift as short as yours — **Start break** starts your break straight away. That break is never a required one: you can end it whenever you're back.

![On a required break: On the clock since 5:44 AM, On break · Back at 6:00 AM, and the End break and Clock out buttons](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__taking-breaks__02-on-break.62bbf3d4a2.png)

## 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 10:18 PM*. If your store enforces required breaks and you tap **End break** too early, you'll see *You can end your break at 10:18 PM.* with a countdown. Tap **Retry** (or **End break**) once the time is up.

![The break-too-short message: On break · Back at 10:18 PM, You can end your break at 10:18 PM. You can end it in 29:54, with a Retry button](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__taking-breaks__03-break-too-short.cac58c99c0.png)

## 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.*

![Before you clock out: Did you take all the meal and rest breaks you were entitled to today? with the three answers and a Cancel button](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__taking-breaks__04-before-you-clock-out.c03d57eab7.png)

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 — unless your store wrote its own wording, which is shown as your store wrote it.

## 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*. When you tap **Start break** without picking a named break, 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](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/kiosk-mode).
- **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](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/labor-compliance).

## Related articles

- Time clock: [Clocking in and out on your phone](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/clock-in-on-your-phone) — Clock in and out, and take breaks, from the Schedule tab of the Mays app — plus what the messages mean when the app won't let you clock in.
- Time clock: [Labor & compliance (per location)](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/labor-compliance) — Where: Locations & Users → Locations → a location → Scheduling tab → Labor & compliance card.
- Time clock: [My Hours and estimated pay](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/my-hours-and-pay) — See your hours for each pay period and an estimate of your pay before taxes under My Hours in the Mays app.
- Time clock: [Shared kiosk devices and PINs](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/kiosk-mode) — Turn a store tablet or phone into a shared kiosk where staff sign in with a 4-digit PIN to clock in, take breaks and do their tasks — and manage kiosks from the web.
- Mobile apps: [Notifications](https://www.mays.app/help/mobile-apps/push-notifications) — Mays notifies you in the app about shifts, tasks, approvals and chat. See them all under the bell, choose which ones reach your phone, and fix notifications that don't arrive.

## Still need help?

Send us a support request and a real person on the Mays team will get back to you.

[Contact support](https://www.mays.app/contact?topic=support) · [Call +1 (561) 286-3939](tel:+15612863939)

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/taking-breaks