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'.
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.
However, when employers do offer short breaks (usually lasting about 5 to 20 minutes), federal law considers the breaks as compensable work hours that would be included in the sum of hours worked during the workweek and considered in determining if overtime was worked.
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.
The ESC outlines specific break requirements for provincially regulated employees based on their shift length: 4-hour shift: No break required, but employers must allow bathroom use. 5-hour shift: One 30-minute break (can be split into two 15-minute breaks if agreed upon by the employer and employee).
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.
(4) An employer shall not dismiss, suspend, lay off, demote or discipline an employee because the employee has refused to work overtime under subsection (1) or take such a refusal into account in any decision to promote or train the employee.
 
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                    