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Unions are now targeting paid breaks in court actions, and employers are at risk of overlooking this area of compliance, says former Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James.

James, now a partner at Deloitte, says this "never appeared to be a major focus before", but large and well-known employers are now ending up in court over this seemingly minor entitlement.

Paid breaks are separate from meal breaks, she notes, and have been a longstanding feature of awards and many enterprise agreements.

"Employers generally need to be assuring themselves that they understand the rules that apply to their workplace and get those rules right," she tells HR Daily, however, paid breaks are at a high risk of being overlooked "because it's seen as not a big entitlement" and employers often assume that employees are taking them...