HR glossary · Safety, conduct and hours

Rest periods (daily and weekly rest)

The minimum time off employees must get between shifts and each week. Provinces set how many consecutive hours off are owed and when they apply.

Also called: daily rest, weekly rest, time off between shifts, eating and rest periods

What rest periods means

Rest periods are the minimum blocks of time off that employment standards laws require between work periods. There are usually two kinds: daily rest, the hours an employee must have off between the end of one shift and the start of the next, and weekly rest, a longer block of consecutive hours off in each week or set period.

These rules exist to stop schedules that wear people down, such as a 'clopen' (closing late at night and opening early the next morning) or weeks with no day off. In some provinces, if an employee works during their required rest, extra pay is owed.

Rest periods are different from meal breaks, which happen during a shift, and from vacation, which is earned time off over a year.

How it works

Check your province's daily and weekly rest rules, and how they interact with overtime. Look at how many hours must separate shifts, how many consecutive hours off are owed each week, whether the weekly rest can be averaged or combined over two weeks by agreement, and what happens if an employee works during it.

Build rest into your schedule. Before posting a schedule, look at the gap between each employee's last shift one day and first shift the next, and make sure each person has their weekly block off. Watch for shift swaps: two employees trading shifts can quietly create a rest problem.

Watch the exceptions. Most rules allow some flexibility in emergencies, for certain industries, or by written agreement. Use them rarely and keep records of why. An employee who keeps getting called in on days off may also be owed call-in pay or overtime.

Keep records. Your time records should show start and end times for every shift, so you can show rest periods were given. Common mistakes: scheduling closing and opening shifts back to back, using one reliable employee to cover every gap without a day off, and assuming that a part-time employee does not have rest rights.

Rest periods by province

Most provinces set a minimum daily rest between shifts and a weekly rest period, but the hours, the averaging rules and the pay for working during rest differ.

Where the work is done	The rule
Federal	A rest period of at least 8 consecutive hours between work periods or shifts.
British Columbia	At least 8 consecutive hours free from work between shifts, and at least 32 consecutive hours free from work each week. If an employee works during the 32 hours, you pay 1.5 times their regular wage for that time.
Alberta	At least 8 consecutive hours of rest between shifts.
Ontario	At least 11 consecutive hours off work in each day, and at least 8 hours off between shifts unless the two shifts total 13 hours or less. Weekly, at least 24 consecutive hours off in each week, or 48 consecutive hours off in every two-week period.
Quebec	A weekly rest period of at least 32 consecutive hours, with some exceptions.
New Brunswick	A weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours, on a Sunday if possible, with exceptions for emergencies and for employees who usually work no more than 3 hours a day.
Nova Scotia	A rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours in every 7 days, under normal circumstances.
Prince Edward Island	An unpaid rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours in every week. Under an averaging agreement, at least 36 consecutive hours of rest for each week the agreement covers, or a premium for hours worked instead.
Newfoundland and Labrador	At least 8 consecutive hours off in each 24-hour period, except in an emergency that threatens life or property, and at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week, on a Sunday wherever possible. A collective agreement or written contract can set different rest periods.

We have not yet confirmed weekly rest rules for federally regulated employers, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, or any rules for Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Check with that jurisdiction's employment standards office.

Example: Fixing a closing and opening schedule

Lucas runs a pub in Saint John, New Brunswick, with 13 staff. His schedule has one bartender closing at 1 am on Friday and opening at 10 am on Saturday, and working seven days straight during a festival week.

Lucas checks New Brunswick's rules and finds that seven days straight breaks the weekly rest rule: each employee needs at least 24 consecutive hours off every week. He also decides a 1 am close followed by a 10 am open is too tight, so he moves the Saturday opening to another bartender, gives the first bartender a full day off mid-week, and adds a step to his scheduling routine: before posting, he checks every gap between shifts and every person's day off.

Employment standards by province

Staffkin's free employment standards by province page sets out overtime and holiday rules by province, a useful starting point when building schedules.

See the rules by province

Free tools and guides for this

Questions about rest periods

How many hours off do employees need between shifts?

It depends on the province. Most set a minimum number of consecutive hours off between shifts, and some allow exceptions in emergencies.

Do employees have a right to a day off each week?

In most provinces, yes. Employment standards generally require a block of consecutive hours off each week, sometimes averaged over two weeks by agreement.

What if an employee agrees to skip their day off?

Check your province's rules. Some allow agreements, but working during the required rest can mean extra pay is owed.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 5 November 2026.