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Alberta Law: https://www.alberta.ca/hours-work-rest.aspx

An employee is entitled to one 30-minute paid or unpaid break after the first 5 hours of work for shifts that are between 5 and 10 hours long.

My Contract:

The Employee shall be available to provide services no later than 6:00am or the time of day time required to support the technical requirements for that trading period. The Employee is expected to work no less than 8 hours on all business days. Lunch break will be after 11:30 am and further breaks will be taken at the Employee’s discretion.

My company says I cannot take a break until after 5.5 hours of work.

Is this against the law, or are there different rules for employees who are not paid by the hour?

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  • Are you entitled to a morning break as well as a lunch break? That doesn't seem to be prohibited by the contract. There's also an exception for "managers and certain professionals" but I don't know what your job is or how managers are defined with relation to this law.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jul 25, 2022 at 13:21
  • Could you confirm you're citing the correct Code? That's the federal one which applies only if you work in federally regulated industries, eg. aviation, banking, etc. Otherwise, you need to look at the provincial codes.
    – DPenner1
    Commented Jul 25, 2022 at 15:13
  • Alberta: An employee is entitled to one 30-minute paid or unpaid break after the first 5 hours of work for shifts that are between 5 and 10 hours long.
    – user46077
    Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 19:40

1 Answer 1

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There is no general exemption from the employment standards for salaried employees. Certain industries have specific exemptions.

2(1) This Act applies to all employers and employees, including the Crown in right of Alberta and its employees, except as otherwise provided in this Part. (Employment Standards Code)

Your exact situation does matter when the tribunal or courts decide if an agreement or employment contract is enforceable when it does not directly contradict an employment standard. For example, requiring a six-month notice period before an employee can resign is likely not enforceable for minimum wage employees, but for an executive officer it may be reasonable and hold up.

Is this against the law

Alberta does not require that the break to be within or immediately after the first five hours of work, if you agree to it (including by signing an employment contract).

If you do not, then

If the employer and the employee cannot agree on a break schedule:

  • The employer must provide at least 30 minutes within or immediately following the first 5 hours of the shift (at a time chosen by the employer)
  • For shifts 10 hours or longer, the employer must provide at least 30 minutes within or immediately following the first 5 hours of the shift (at a time chosen by the employer) and a second break of at least 30 minutes after the first 5 hours of the shift.

Unfortunately, in this situation, the employer may terminate you if you do not agree to a schedule convenient to their business (just like they can fire you for refusing overtime).

Not agreeing to rest periods however does not constitute a reasonable cause to dismiss an employee for cause. You are still entitled to notice periods and severances depending on your employment history and employment contract.

Between 2017 and 2020, an employee was entitled to a 30-minute break within each five hours of work under the legislation passed by the labour-friendly New Democratic government, however, this change was reversed by the United Conservatives in 2020.

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  • Thank you for your answer.
    – user46077
    Commented Aug 23, 2022 at 12:36

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