The Employment Standards Act--Hours of Work
Excess Daily Hours of Work
Most employees in Ontario cannot be required to work more than eight hours a day, or the number of hours in an established work day if it is more than eight (e.g. an employee's regular schedule is 10 hours a day, four days a week).
An employer and an employee, or their union, can agree in writing that the employee will work more than this daily limit.
As of March 1, 2005, if the employer enters into a written agreement with a non-unionized employee to work excess daily hours, the employer must first provide the employee with the most recent information sheet, Information for Employees About Hours of Work and Overtime Pay, published by the Ministry of Labour. For more information on the information sheet and drafting written agreements for excess hours of work, see Part 4: Written Agreements.
Employers do not need to apply for approval from the Ministry of Labour for employees to work excess daily hours.
Excess Weekly Hours of Work
Most employees in Ontario cannot be required to work more than 48 hours in a work week.
An employer and an employee, or their union, can agree in writing that the employee will work more than this weekly limit.
As of March 1, 2005, employers who want employees to work more than 48 hours in a work week must:
- Give non-unionized employees the information sheet, Information for Employees About Hours of Work and Overtime Pay, published by the Ministry of Labour, before entering into a written agreement (see Part 4: Written Agreements),
- Obtain written agreement to work in excess of 48 hours up to a specified maximum number of hours in a work week from the employee, or from the union if the workplace is unionized (see Part 4: Written Agreements), and
- Apply for approval from the Ministry of Labour's Director of Employment Standards. If the Director has not made a decision on an application within 30 days, a limited number of excess weekly hours may be worked, provided certain conditions are met (see Part 3: After Submitting the Application).
Averaging Hours of Work for Overtime Pay Purposes
For most employees, overtime begins after they have worked 44 hours in a work week. After that time, employees must receive overtime pay, which is at least 1½ times the employee's regular rate of pay.
An employer and an employee can agree in writing to average the employee's hours of work over a specified period of two or more weeks for the purpose of calculating overtime pay. This means an employee would only qualify for overtime pay if the average hours worked per week during the specified period exceed 44 hours.
As of March 1, 2005, employers who want to average an employee's hours of work for the purpose of determining overtime pay must:
- Obtain written agreement from the employee, or from the union if the workplace is unionized (see Part 4: Written Agreements), and
- Apply for approval from the Ministry of Labour's Director of Employment Standards. If the Director has not made a decision on an application within 30 days, overtime averaging over a period of two weeks may begin, provided certain conditions are met (see Part 3: After Submitting the Application).
Generally, agreements to average hours of work for the purpose of determining overtime pay that were entered into before March 1, 2005, and that have not expired or been revoked, are treated the same as agreements made on or after that date.
However, an employer who has an existing agreement with an employee must still apply for approval from the Director of Employment Standards before averaging the employee's hours of work. This applies even if the Director has previously approved the agreement pursuant to s.30 of Reg. 285/01. Any approval granted by the Director under those circumstances ceased to have effect on March 1, 2005.
