Employment standards · Ontario
Ontario meal break calculator.
Enter a shift start and end to see how many eating periods Ontario law requires, the latest time each one can start, and how many hours are paid.
An Ontario employee must not work more than 5 hours in a row without a 30-minute eating period free from work. If the employer and employee agree, it can be split into two periods that together total at least 30 minutes in each five-hour stretch. The break is unpaid unless the employment contract requires pay (Employment Standards Act, 2000, s.20 and s.21).
Your shift
Required breaks
Enter a shift start and end and press Calculate.
What this does and does not cover
This calculator works out eating periods from the start and end times you enter. It assumes the general Ontario rule. Some industries and job categories are exempt or have special rules under the Employment Standards Act and its regulations, and a collective agreement may set more. It does not check daily or weekly hour limits, rest between shifts, or overtime.
How the count works
The shift is the elapsed time from start to end. Each work stretch is capped at 5 hours and each eating period is 30 minutes, so one break covers a shift up to 5 hours 30 minutes at the outside, a second is needed past 10 hours 30 minutes, and so on. The “latest start” times are the last moment each break can begin without the employee working more than 5 consecutive hours. The “evenly spaced” times split the working time equally and are only a suggestion.
Splitting the break
Under s.20(2) the employer and employee may agree, in writing or not, to two eating periods that together total at least 30 minutes in each consecutive five-hour period. For example, two 15-minute breaks. That is an agreement between the two of them; an employer cannot impose it.
Paid hours
An employer does not have to pay for an eating period in which no work is performed unless the employment contract requires it (s.21). The employee must be free from work for it to count as a meal break. Even when the employer pays for it, the time is not hours of work.
Sources, read 30 September 2026: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41, s.20 and s.21 and Your guide to the ESA: Hours of work.
Frequently asked questions
How long can you work in Ontario without a break?
No more than 5 consecutive hours. After that the employee must get a 30-minute eating period free from work.
Are meal breaks paid in Ontario?
Not unless the employment contract requires it. If the employer pays for the break, the employee still has to be free from work for it to be a meal break.
Can the 30 minutes be split into two 15-minute breaks?
Yes, if the employer and employee agree. The two periods must together total at least 30 minutes in each five-hour period.
Do employers have to give coffee breaks?
No. Only eating periods are required. An employee who must stay at the workplace during another break must be paid at least minimum wage for that time.
Not legal advice
This is general time arithmetic, not legal advice, and it cannot confirm that a particular employer or job is covered by the general rule. Check with the Ministry of Labour or a lawyer. This runs entirely in your browser: nothing you enter is transmitted, stored, or logged.