Canada Labour Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2)

Marginal note:Shift changes

• 173.1 (1) If an employer changes a period or shift during which an employee is due to work or adds another work period or shift to the employee’s schedule, the employer shall give the employee written notice of the change or addition at least 24 hours before

  • (a) in the case of a change, the employee’s original work period or shift is to begin or, if the work period or shift that results from the change is to begin earlier than the original work period or shift, before the period or shift that results from the change is to begin; and

  • (b) in the case of an addition, the work period or shift that was added is to begin.

• Marginal note:Exceptions — threat

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the change to or addition of a work period or shift is necessary to deal with a situation that the employer could not have reasonably foreseen and that presents or could reasonably be expected to present an imminent or serious

  • (a) threat to the life, health or safety of any person;

  • (b) threat of damage to or loss of property; or

  • (c) threat of serious interference with the ordinary working of the employer’s industrial establishment.

• Marginal note:Exception — subsection 177.1(1)

  (3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a change to or addition of a work period or shift following a request made under subsection 177.1(1).

Marginal note:Overtime pay or time off

• 174 (1) Subject to any regulations made under section 175, when an employee is required or permitted to work overtime, they are entitled to

  • (a) be paid for the overtime at a rate of wages not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of wages; or

  • (b) be granted not less than one and one-half hours of time off with pay for each hour of overtime worked, subject to subsections (2) to (5).

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (2) An employee is entitled to time off for overtime worked only if,

  • (a) at their request, they and the employer enter into an agreement in writing providing for the taking of time off, subject to paragraph (b) and subsections (3) to (5), on a date or dates agreed on by them and the employer; and

  • (b) the time off is taken within a period of three months after the end of the pay period in which the overtime was worked, or within any longer period set out in

    • (i) if the employee is subject to a collective agreement, the collective agreement, or

    • (ii) if the employee is not subject to a collective agreement, the agreement referred to in paragraph (a) or any other agreement in writing entered into by them and the employer.

• Marginal note:Maximum period

  (3) The longer period referred to in paragraph (2)(b) shall not be more than 12 months for an employee who is not subject to a collective agreement.

• Marginal note:Time off not taken within specified period

  (4) If the employee does not take all or part of the time off within the applicable period referred to in paragraph (2)(b), the employer shall, within 30 days after the day on which that period ends, pay the employee’s wages for the overtime for which the time off was not taken, at a rate of wages not less than one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of wages on the day on which they worked the overtime.

• Marginal note:Termination of employment

  (5) If an employee ceases to be employed before the employee takes all or part of the time off referred to in paragraph (1)(b), the employer shall, within 30 days after the day on which the employee ceases to be employed, pay the employee’s wages for the overtime for which the time off was not taken, at a rate of wages not less than one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of wages on the day on which the employee worked the overtime.

• Marginal note:Application of section 189

  (6) Section 189 applies for the purposes of this section.

Marginal note:Right to refuse

• 174.1 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), an employee may refuse to work the overtime requested by the employer in order to carry out the employee’s family responsibilities referred to in paragraph 206.6(1)(b) or (c).

• Marginal note:Reasonable steps

  (2) An employee may refuse to work overtime only if

  • (a) they have taken reasonable steps to carry out their family responsibility by other means, so as to enable them to work overtime; and

  • (b) even though the steps referred to in paragraph (a) have been taken, they are still required to carry out that responsibility during the period of the overtime.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (3) An employee is not to refuse to work overtime if it is necessary for them to work overtime to deal with a situation that the employer could not have reasonably foreseen and that presents or could reasonably be expected to present an imminent or serious

  • (a) threat to the life, health or safety of any person;

  • (b) threat of damage to or loss of property; or

  • (c) threat of serious interference with the ordinary working of the employer’s industrial establishment.

• Marginal note:Prohibition

  (4) An employer shall not dismiss, suspend, lay off, demote or discipline an employee because the employee has refused to work overtime under subsection (1) or take such a refusal into account in any decision to promote or train the employee.

Marginal note:Regulations for the purpose of this Division

• 175 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) modifying any provision of this Division for the purpose of the application of this Division to classes of employees who are employed in or in connection with the operation of any industrial establishment if, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, the application of those sections without modification

    • (i) would be or is unduly prejudicial to the interests of the employees in those classes, or

    • (ii) would be or is seriously detrimental to the operation of the industrial establishment;

  • (b) exempting any class of employees from the application of any provision of this Division if the Governor in Council is satisfied that it cannot reasonably be applied to that class of employees;

  • (b.1) respecting rest periods under section 169.2, including defining the terms “shift” and “work period” for the purposes of that section;

  • (c) providing that section 174 does not apply in circumstances where work practices specified in the regulations are followed that in the opinion of the Governor in Council make the application of that section either unreasonable or inequitable; and

  • (d) providing for the calculation of hours worked by employees of any class who are employed in any industrial establishment or in any class of industrial establishment.

• (2) [Repealed, 2017, c. 33, s. 198]

Marginal note:Excess hours under permit

• 176 (1) On the application of an employer or an employer’s organization, the Head, having regard to the conditions of employment in any industrial establishment and the welfare of the employees, may, by a permit in writing, authorize hours to be worked by any class of employees set out in the permit in excess of the maximum hours of work specified in or prescribed under section 171, established under section 172 or prescribed by regulations made under section 175.

• Marginal note:Justifying permit

  (2) No permit may be issued under subsection (1) unless the applicant has satisfied the Head

  • (a) that exceptional circumstances exist that justify the working of additional hours;

  • (b) that the employer had posted a notice of the application for the permit, for at least 30 days before its proposed effective date, in places readily accessible to the affected class of employees where they were likely to see it; and

  • (c) that the employer had informed the trade union in writing of the application for the permit, if those employees are represented by a trade union.

• Marginal note:Duration of permit

  (3) A permit under subsection (1) shall be issued for the period specified therein, which shall not be longer than the period during which it is anticipated that the exceptional circumstances that justified the permit will continue.

• Marginal note:Additional hours may be specified

  (4) A permit under subsection (1) may specify either

  • (a) the total of the number of additional hours in excess of the maximum hours specified in or prescribed under section 171 or by regulations made under section 175, or

  • (b) the additional hours that may be worked in any day and in any week during the period of the permit.

• Marginal note:Report

  (5) If a permit has been issued under this section, the employer for whom or on whose behalf the permit was issued shall report in writing to the Head, within 15 days after the expiration of the period specified in the permit or within such time as the Head may fix in the permit, stating the number of employees who worked in excess of the maximum hours specified in or prescribed under section 171 or by regulations made under section 175 and the number of additional hours each of them worked.

Marginal note:Emergency work

• 177 (1) The maximum hours of work in a week specified in or prescribed under section 171, established pursuant to section 172 or prescribed by regulations made under section 175 may be exceeded, but only to the extent necessary to prevent serious interference with the ordinary working of the industrial establishment affected, in cases of

  • (a) accident to machinery, equipment, plant or persons;

  • (b) urgent and essential work to be done to machinery, equipment or plant; or

  • (c) other unforeseen or unpreventable circumstances.

• Marginal note:Reporting additional work

  (2) Where the maximum hours of work in an industrial establishment have been exceeded under the authority of subsection (1), the employer shall report in writing to the Head, and also to the trade union if the affected employees are subject to a collective agreement, within 15 days after the end of the month in which the maximum was exceeded, stating the nature of the circumstances in which the maximum was exceeded, the number of employees who worked in excess of the maximum and the number of additional hours each of them worked.

DIVISION I.1Flexible Work Arrangements

Marginal note:Right to request

• 177.1 (1) An employee who has completed six consecutive months of continuous employment with an employer may request from the employer a change to the following terms and conditions of employment:

  • (a) the number of hours that the employee is required to work;

  • (b) the employee’s work schedule;

  • (c) the employee’s location of work; and

  • (d) any terms and conditions that apply to the employee and that are prescribed by regulation.

• Marginal note:Contents of request

  (2) The request shall be made in writing and shall include

  • (a) the employee’s name;

  • (b) the date on which the request is made;

  • (c) a description of the change to the terms and conditions of employment that is requested;

  • (d) the date on which the change would take effect and, if the change is intended to be temporary, the date on which the change would cease to have effect;

  • (e) an explanation of the effect that, in the employee’s opinion, the requested change would have on the employer and the manner in which, in the employee’s opinion, the employer could manage that effect; and

  • (f) any information that may be prescribed by regulation.

• Marginal note:Employer’s decision

  (3) An employer to whom a request is made shall make one of the following decisions:

  • (a) grant the request;

  • (b) offer to grant the request in part or to make an alternative change to the terms and conditions of employment; or

  • (c) refuse the request on one or more of the following grounds:

    • (i) the requested change would result in additional costs that would be a burden on the employer,

    • (ii) the requested change would have a detrimental impact on the quality or quantity of work within the employer’s industrial establishment, on the ability to meet customer demand or on any other aspect of performance within that industrial establishment,

    • (iii) the employer is unable to reorganize work among existing employees or to recruit additional employees in order to manage the requested change,

    • (iv) there would be insufficient work available for the employee if the requested change was granted, and

    • (v) any ground prescribed by regulation.

• Marginal note:Notice of decision

  (4) The employer shall, as soon as possible and not later than 30 days after receiving the request, give written notice to the employee of their decision. The notice in respect of a decision made under paragraph (3)(b) or (c) shall include written reasons for refusing the requested change or for not granting a part of it.

• Marginal note:Power to change terms and conditions

  (5) The employer may, for the purpose of granting a request made by an employee under paragraph (3)(a) or for the purpose of giving effect to a written agreement with the employee following an offer made under paragraph (3)(b), change the employee’s terms and conditions of employment. However, when there is any other provision under this Part or any provision of any regulations made under this Part that authorizes the employer to make a change to those terms and conditions, they shall make the change under that provision.

• Marginal note:Collective agreement

  (6) An employer shall not change, under subsection (5), a term or condition of employment contained in a collective agreement unless the change is agreed to in writing by the employer and the trade union.

• Marginal note:Prohibition

  (7) An employer shall not dismiss, suspend, lay off, demote or discipline an employee because the employee has made a request under subsection (1) or take such a request into account in any decision to promote or train the employee.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (8) The Governor in Council may make regulations limiting the number of requests that an employee may make in any year and specifying the information that shall be included in a notice under subsection (4) or an agreement referred to in subsection (5).

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (9) For greater certainty, nothing in this section limits an employer’s duty to accommodate an employee under any other Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Application of section 189

  (10) Section 189 applies for the purposes of this Division.