In the States, most of us work the "rattler", AKA a 2-2-1. Two evenings, two days and one mid. Shifts are 8 hours with 30 minutes for lunch.
Our contract states we won't work more than 2 hours without a break, unless....
Average time on the sector is probably one hour. Breaks are no less than fifteen minutes and as long as your conscience (or the supe) will allow.
We can't work more than 10 hours per day and we have a minimum of 8 hours between shifts.
We're so short of people that most of the rules routinely get thrown out the window. Toss in the thunderstorms (often) and the short-staffing (always) and I've seen people plugged in for over 3 hours with very heavy traffic.
Don Brown
NATCA_ZTL Safety Rep.
(That's Atlanta Center)