Employees can agree to work hours that do not give them eight hours of rest, but an employer cannot punish an employee for not agreeing to work. Employees who work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period are entitled to overtime pay. During the 24 hour period beginning 3 p.m. on May 3 and ending 3 p.m. on May 4, the employee worked 16 hours. This employee must be paid eight hours regular pay and eight hours overtime pay. Employees who usually work 20 hours or more per week get 24 consecutive hours away from work once every seven days.
Persons employed in the retail trade get two consecutive days off every seven days.
Most employees who work six hours or more get an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes within every five hours of work. Employees do not have to be paid for meal breaks, but if an employee has to do some work or be at an employer s disposal during a meal break, the employee must be paid for the time. If the employer and a majority of employees agree, the Director of Labour Standards can issue a permit allowing employees to take their meal break at another time or allowing the employer to not give a meal break at all. A permit is not required if a written agreement is obtained from the trade union representing the employees. If the employer does not have to give a meal break, employees must be able to eat while working once they have worked for five hours.