CRUTES law firm is warning that employers who do not allow their workers to take proper lunch breaks could face serious legal consequences.

According to research by Post-it Notes, seven out of ten people eat at their desk.

Further research has shown that the average lunch break taken by a UK worker is six minutes shorter than it was six months ago and now stands at 19 mins 42 seconds. A separate survey of 2,000 workers, on behalf of Travelodge, found that more than 25 per cent of workers ate breakfast at their desk.

But Newcastle and Teesside firm Crutes said under the Working Time Regulations, after a working period of six hours, an adult worker is entitled to a 20-minute, uninterrupted rest break.