Quote:
Originally Posted by Cole
Is that so? What laws are being broken?
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Employment Standards act.
Introduction
These are the general rules in Ontario about hours of work and overtime pay. There are exceptions and special rules for some employees under the
Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). To see if your occupation is subject to special rules or exemptions see the
Special Rule Tool.
Your employer cannot intimidate you, fire you, suspend you, reduce your pay, punish you in any way or threaten any of these actions for exercising your ESA rights.
Hours of work
The maximum daily and weekly limits on hours of work are:
- 8 hours a day (or the number of hours in your regular work day, if it is more than 8),
- 48 hours a week.
Rest periods and eating periods
Your employer must give you at least:
- 11 consecutive hours off work each day (a “day” is a 24-hour period – it does not have to be a calendar day);
- 8 hours off work between shifts (unless the total time worked on the shifts is 13 hours or less, or you and your employer have otherwise agreed in writing); and
- 24 consecutive hours off work each work week (or 48 consecutive hours off every two work weeks).
You must also get a 30-minute eating period after no more than five hours of work. You can agree with your employer to split this eating period into two shorter breaks.
Weekly Limits of Work
The maximum number of hours most employees can be required or allowed to work in a week is 48 hours.
Things to Consider
- If an employer plans to have a work week that is longer than 48 hours or to average hours of work for overtime purposes, the Applications for Approval of Excess Hours or for Averaging Hours of Work provides step-by-step instructions. It is also strongly suggested that employers visit the Hours of Work & Overtime Tool for a more complete understanding of these employment standards.
- Requiring or allowing employees to work more than 48 hours per week without the approval of the ministry’s Director of Employment Standards is a violation of the Employment Standards Act (ESA), unless:
- the employee is exempt;
- one of the ESA’s “exceptional circumstance” provisions applies; or
- in certain cases, an approval application is pending.
Weekly or Bi-weekly Rest
Employees must receive at least:
- 24 consecutive hours off work in each work week; or
- 48 consecutive hours off work in every period of two consecutive work weeks.