Overtime pay · Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia overtime pay.
When overtime starts in Nova Scotia, what it is worth, and what a week of long shifts actually pays.
Nova Scotia pays overtime at 1½ times your regular wage after 48 hours in a week — the highest weekly threshold of any Canadian jurisdiction.
There is no daily overtime. Several listed occupations are paid 1½ times the minimum wage rather than their own rate, and transport and construction have longer multi-week thresholds.
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Nova Scotia overtime rules
- Weekly threshold: overtime starts after 48 hours in a week.
- No daily threshold: a long single shift is not overtime on its own — only the weekly total counts.
- Overtime rate: 1.5× the regular rate.
At 48 hours, Nova Scotia has the highest weekly overtime threshold in Canada. There is no daily threshold. A defined set of occupations is paid 1½ times the minimum wage after 48 rather than 1½ times their own rate — oil and gas, managers and supervisors, primary fish, aquaculture and agricultural processors, flat-rate auto mechanics and body technicians, some professionals and their trainees, IT professionals and shipbuilders. Transport is overtime after 96 hours in a two-week period, and construction and property maintenance after 110 hours over two weeks. Fixed-cycle averaging agreements are permitted.
Who is exempt
Most farm employees; apprentices under an apprenticeship agreement; people in government-sponsored training plans; non-profit playground and summer camp staff; real estate and car salespeople; off-premises commissioned salespeople other than established routes; licensed insurance agents; fishing-boat employees; logging and forest industry employees; live-in health and personal care providers; janitors and superintendents residing in the building; athletes; and employees under a collective agreement.
Source, last verified 2 September 2026: Nova Scotia Labour Standards — Overtime.
Frequently asked questions
When does overtime start in Nova Scotia?
After 48 hours in a week, at 1½ times your regular wage. That is the highest weekly threshold in Canada — Ontario is 44 and most of the west is 40.
There is no daily overtime threshold in Nova Scotia.
Which Nova Scotia jobs get overtime at the minimum wage rate?
A defined list: oil and gas other than retail, managers and supervisors and confidential-capacity employees, primary fish, aquaculture and agricultural processors other than meat, flat-rate auto mechanics and body technicians, some professionals and their trainees, IT professionals other than basic support, and shipbuilders other than retail.
Those employees get 1½ times the minimum wage after 48 hours rather than 1½ times their own higher rate.
What are the construction and transport overtime rules in Nova Scotia?
Transport is overtime after 96 hours in a two-week period. Construction and property maintenance is 1½ times the regular wage after 110 hours over two weeks.
Employees doing municipal street work revert to the ordinary rule of 1.5 times the regular rate after 48 hours a week.
Who is exempt from overtime in Nova Scotia?
A long list, including most farm employees, apprentices, real estate and car salespeople, licensed insurance agents, fishing-boat employees, logging and forest industry employees, live-in care providers, resident janitors and superintendents, and athletes.
Employees covered by a collective agreement are also outside the statutory overtime rules, since the agreement governs instead.
Estimate only — not legal advice
This calculator produces an estimate from the published employment-standards minimums. It is not legal advice and it is not a determination of what you are owed. Overtime rules in Nova Scotia are set by Nova Scotia Labour Standards, and a long list of occupations is exempt or subject to a different threshold.
Collective agreements, employment contracts, exemptions for your occupation, averaging agreements and permits can all change the answer. For a binding answer, contact the employment-standards office named above or a lawyer.