Lunchbreaks are a luxury many UK workers don't enjoy

Employees take far shorter lunch breaks than bosses realise – with almost half of workers saying they don’t have time to leave the office.

A YouGov survey for private health insurer PruHealth revealed that 62% of employers believe all their staff have a full lunch break at least three times a week – while only a third of employees actually do.

One in five workers said they never take their full lunchtime allowance, and 45% said they don’t leave the office.

PruHealth sales director Dave Priestley said: “There’s a gap between entitlement and reality when it comes to lunch in the UK workplace. 

“While it is understandable that occasionally people need to work through lunch to meet deadlines, it is important for employees to get into the habit of taking a break.”

A full lunch break is important to re-energise, refocus and eat healthily, all of which benefit both the worker and the company, according to Priestley.