Section 17(1) sets out the daily and weekly maximum hours that an employer may require or allow an employee to work: Daily maximum: eight hours per day or, if there is an established work day that is longer than eight hours, the number of hours in that work day. Weekly maximum: 48 hours per work week.
Breaks Based on Shift Length Shift LengthBreak Entitlement Less than 5 hours No scheduled break 5 hours 1 x 30-minute break 8 hours 1 x 30-minute break 12 hours 2 x 30-minute breaks
No. The only break mandated by law is an unpaid lunch break of at least 30 minutes, and it must be provided after five hours on the job.
Ontario Breaks Based on Shift Lengths 8-hour shift: Employees get one 30-minute break. The employer is not required to provide another break until after another five hours. 12-hour shift: Employees get two 30-minute breaks, one after every five hours of work.
Basic Entitlements In an 8-hour shift, the ESA requires that an employee be given a 30-minute meal break. This break must be provided within the first 5 consecutive hours of work. If you work an 8-hour shift, this means you are entitled to one uninterrupted 30-minute meal break.
It's a common practice to break the 30 minutes into two 15-minute breaks but remember that the full 30 minutes must still be provided within that same five-hour window. The ESA mandates that employees must have at least 11 consecutive hours off between shifts.
Ontario Breaks Based on Shift Lengths 8-hour shift: Employees get one 30-minute break. The employer is not required to provide another break until after another five hours. 12-hour shift: Employees get two 30-minute breaks, one after every five hours of work.
Ontario's Stance on Breaks In Ontario—the Canadian province with the highest number of full-time workers—the Employment Standards Act (ESA) mandates that most employees must be granted a 30-minute break, or eating period, for every five consecutive hours of work.
For most 8-hour shifts, employers typically allot two short breaks (10-15 minutes) along with a 30-minute meal break. On 12-hour shifts, the pattern often includes three short breaks plus a longer meal break.
For an 8-hour work shift, employees are entitled to a minimum 20-minute uninterrupted break if they work more than six hours. The break should not be taken at the beginning or end of the shift, and employees must be allowed to take it away from their workstation.