Canada is the second-largest country in the world by landmass, but its entire population is equivalent to the single US state of California. With 17.2 million people working across 10 provinces and three territories, much of the employment law falls under regional jurisdictions.
Standard hours of work
The standard hours of work for an employee in a federally regulated industry are:
- 8 hours in a day (any period of 24 consecutive hours)
- 40 hours in a week (the period between midnight on Saturday and midnight on the Saturday that immediately follows)
Federally regulated employees are all entitled to one full day of rest each week, which usually falls on a Sunday.
During a week when one or more holidays occur, the standard hours of work are reduced by eight hours for each holiday.
Overtime hours of work
Any hours worked in excess of the standard hours of work are considered overtime hours.
Overtime pay at a rate of a minimum of 1.5 times the regular hourly wage for those hours would apply, with the following exceptions:
- Managers and professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, dentists, architects, and engineers, are exempt from overtime.
Maximum hours of work
In most cases, the maximum number of hours worked in a week is 48.
This can be exceeded in exceptional circumstances including permits, for emergency work, under an averaging plan, or a modified work schedule.
