Employees, subject to the Exemptions from and Modifications to Hours of Work Provisions Regulations, have the right to a break and a rest period. During every 5 consecutive hours of work, employees are entitled to an unpaid break of no less than 30 minutes. If the employee is required to remain available during the break, they must pay be paid for it. Moreover, employees are entitled to a continuous rest period of at least 8 hours between work periods or shifts.
There are 3 kinds of breaks stipulated by the Canada Labour Code. These are:
30-minute Break: Employees have the right to an unpaid break of at least 30 minutes for every continuous period of 5 hours of work. This break must be granted in one uninterrupted period and cannot be divided into smaller segments. However, certain professionals and managers may not be eligible for this entitlement. If the employee is required to be available during the break, such as to tend to calls, they must receive compensation for that period. Nonetheless, there may be situations where the employer may postpone or cancel this break, such as in cases of imminent or serious threats to the life, health, or safety of a person, damage to property, or interference with the normal operation of the employer’s establishment, which they could not have reasonably anticipated.
Medical Breaks: Employees have the right to take unpaid breaks for any medical reason. If an employee needs to take such medical breaks, they must provide their employer with a written request along with a certificate from a healthcare practitioner. The certificate must indicate the start and end dates of the period when the medical breaks are required, as well as the frequency and duration of each break.
Nursing Breaks: Nursing employees have the right to take unpaid breaks when necessary to nurse or express milk.
In addition, there is a minimum duration of rest between work periods or shifts:
8-hour Rest Period Between Shifts: Employees have the right to an uninterrupted rest period of at least 8 hours between each shift or work period, but this entitlement may not apply to managers and specific professionals. It should be noted that there may be situations where the employer may require employees to work beyond their scheduled hours, even if it reduces the rest period below the 8-hour minimum. This can be done in unforeseeable circumstances that present an imminent or serious threat to the safety, health, or life of a person, damage to or loss of property, or serious disruption to the employer’s establishment.
New regulations related to work hours are expected to modify or exempt some employees and impact break schedules. These can be found in the Labour Program Forward Regulatory Plan: 2022 to 2024.