Meal break (eating period)

A buyer meets the term when taking over rosters of shift workers and checking whether the schedules comply. Section 20(1) of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 sets the rule. The Ministry’s guide says employers must provide eating periods but need not provide other types of breaks. See employment due diligence.

The exception and pay

Section 20(2) says the rule does not apply if the employer and employee agree, whether or not in writing, that the employee gets two eating periods totalling at least 30 minutes in each consecutive five-hour period. Under s.21, an employer need not pay for an eating period in which no work is performed unless the employment contract requires it. The guide adds that meal breaks, paid or unpaid, are not hours of work and do not count toward overtime. It also says certain industries and job categories are exempt from the hours of work rules.

What to check

• Whether rosters leave a gap in every run of five consecutive hours.
• Any split-break arrangements and how they were agreed.
• Whether contracts or policies promise paid breaks.
• Whether the seller treats any role as exempt, and on what basis.

See also rest period between shifts. This entry covers Ontario only; check the rules where you are.