---
title: Scheduling breaks
description: Let Teamlead distribute breaks across your employees according to your location's break settings, or adjust breaks by hand.
---

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# Scheduling breaks

## Let Teamlead distribute breaks across your employees according to your location's break settings, or adjust breaks by hand.

With **Generate breaks**, Teamlead distributes the breaks across your employees. It takes working times, shifts and staffing into account.

### Before you start

There must be a break skill (a skill with type **Break**). Under **Settings** \> **Breaks**, each break shows which **Skill** it gets, from how many working hours it applies (**Minimum number of working hours on a day before this break applies**) and in which time slots it may fall (**Time slots**). See [Settings: general, breaks, holidays, work locations and shifts](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/settings-general-breaks-holidays-work-locations-and-shifts?hsLang=en).

### How to do it

1. Go to **Schedule** or open a shift template.
2. Open the actions menu (three dots) and choose **Generate breaks**.
3. Choose the **Period** (in a shift template, the **Days**), the **Breaks** and the **Employees**. Click **Next**.
4. Teamlead shows the proposed breaks and the number of changes. Click **Apply**, or **Previous** to change something.
5. Click **Save** in the schedule.

![The Generate breaks window with period, breaks and employees](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/hubfs/kennisbank/pauzes-inplannen-en.png?v=20261020f)

### Adjusting a break by hand

- Move: drag the break block to a different time. Then make the skill before or after it longer, so there is no gap.
- Add: choose the break skill in **Select a skill** and paint the time slot.

### Good to know

- Breaks fall within the shift, not right at the start or the end.
- Teamlead spreads breaks, so a skill that must always be covered (such as a reception) stays covered.
- Too many people on a break at the same time? Give the break more **Time slots**, so Teamlead has more room to spread them.
- The **Employees** list only shows employees who are employable today.
- Is a break unpaid? Then turn on **Unpaid break** for the break skill (**Skills** page). That time then does not count as working time, for example in the weekly hours (see [What does the clock next to a name mean?](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/what-does-the-clock-next-to-a-name-mean?hsLang=en)).
- **Automatically fill** also schedules breaks, using the same settings.

### Not working?

- Message **No active shift template found for the selected period.** The period contains a day without a published schedule. Choose a shorter period. Do you use continuous scheduling? Then **Generate breaks** on the schedule page only works up to and including the date in **Published until**.
- Message **Generating breaks failed. Try again.** Try again. If it keeps failing, email support@teamlead.io.

### See also

- [Editing the schedule](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/editing-the-schedule?hsLang=en)
- [What does the clock next to a name mean?](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/what-does-the-clock-next-to-a-name-mean?hsLang=en)
- [Automatically fill](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/automatically-fill?hsLang=en)
- [Settings: general, breaks, holidays, work locations and shifts](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/settings-general-breaks-holidays-work-locations-and-shifts?hsLang=en)

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- [For planners and team leads](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#main-content)

    - [Schedule](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#schedule)
    - [Shift templates and automatic scheduling](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#shift-templates-and-automatic-scheduling)
    - [Leave](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#leave)
    - [Staffing and forecast](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#staffing-and-forecast)
    - [Adherence and statistics](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#adherence-and-statistics)
- [For administrators](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-administrators?hsLang=en)
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