Employees who do not work the same days every week Regular days are determined by looking at whether an employee worked at least 5 times on that day in the previous 9 weeks. This rule is sometimes called 'The 5 of 9 rule'.
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.
Basic rules For shifts 10 hours or longer, an employee is entitled to two 30-minute breaks. An employee is not entitled to any breaks if their shift is 5 hours or less. If an employer and an employee agree, the break may be taken in 2 periods of at least 15 minutes.
In Alberta, the obligation to provide common law severance arises when an employer terminates an employee without cause, and the employee's entitlement to notice is not fixed by their contract or limited to the statutory minimums set by the Employment Standards Code.
Generally speaking, yes an employer may require that their employees take breaks, even if they are not required to provide them under the law; there is nothing in the law that would prevent them from doing so.