BC restaurant shifts: overtime after 8 hours, split shifts and the 2-hour and 4-hour minimum

The rules for a restaurant schedule in BC fit on a page, but they trip up owners who think in weekly hours. In BC overtime starts in the day, not only in the week, and a short shift that ends early still costs you minimum pay. The sources are the Employment Standards Branch's pages on hours of work and its interpretive guide to the Act.

When does overtime start?

Employees who work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week must be paid time-and-a-half or double-time for overtime hours. Under section 40, an employer must pay 1.5 times the regular wage for time over eight hours in a day, and double the regular wage for any time over 12 hours. Over 40 hours in a week it is 1.5 times, and for the weekly count only the first eight hours of each day are included, however long the person works on any day. This applies even if the employee does not work more than 40 hours in a week. An employee under an averaging agreement is paid overtime under section 37 instead.

An example: a cook works 14 hours on a Saturday. Eight are regular, four are at 1.5 times (hours nine to 12), and two are at double time.

What is the minimum daily pay?

Section 34 says that if an employee reports for work as required, you must pay a minimum of two hours at the regular wage whether or not they start work. If you had scheduled them for more than eight hours that day, the minimum is four hours. If they work longer than that minimum, you pay for the whole period they work.

The Branch's guidance says two exceptions exist: the employee is unfit to work or does not comply with the Workers Compensation Act. For an employee scheduled for more than eight hours, if the work is suspended for reasons completely beyond your control, including unsuitable weather, the minimum is two hours. A quiet night is not beyond your control. If the employee asks to go home and you agree, you pay only the time worked, but you must be able to show the request came from them, not from you.

How do split shifts work?

A split shift divides a work day into separate periods of work. The whole shift, including the breaks, must be completed within 12 hours. A server who works 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. is within it, because the span is 11 hours. A server working 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. is not, because the span is 13 hours.

What about meal breaks?

A 30-minute unpaid meal break is required when an employee works more than five hours in a row. If you require the employee to work or be available to work during it, you pay for the break. The Branch notes that working through a meal break does not always result in overtime pay.

How much rest must staff have?

At least 32 hours in a row free from work each week, with extra pay if the employee works during that period (for example, in an emergency). At least eight hours off between shifts: if the employee works during that window, the hours are added to other hours worked in the day, which usually means overtime rates. The Branch's example is a person on a six-hour shift who is asked to work four more hours in the afternoon, giving 10 hours and two at overtime rates.

What does this mean for your schedule?

1. Count each day, not just the week.
2. Do not post a shift that ends and restarts with less than eight hours between.
3. Keep split shifts inside 12 hours.
4. Build in a 30-minute break after five hours.
5. Price in the minimum if you plan to send people home early.
6. If you want flexibility, ask about averaging agreements, which have their own rules.

For the pay floor, read BC minimum wage for restaurants. For paid leave, see vacation pay and paid sick leave, and for holidays, statutory holiday pay.

More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.