Overtime pay · Quebec
Quebec overtime pay.
When overtime starts in Quebec, what it is worth, and what a week of long shifts actually pays.
In Quebec overtime starts after 40 hours in a week and is paid at time and a half — a 50% increase on the regular hourly rate.
There is no daily threshold. Shift premiums such as night or evening premiums are not included in the rate the overtime multiplier is applied to.
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Your week
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Quebec overtime rules
- Weekly threshold: overtime starts after 40 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.
The standard work week is 40 hours, and CNESST is explicit that you are working overtime past 40 hours even if the standard week where you are employed is shorter. Some sectors have their own standard week: 44 hours for security guards employed by a security firm, 47 in logging operations and sawmills, 55 in remote areas and the James Bay territory, and 60 for security guards not working for a security firm. Time off in lieu is possible at your request — the overtime hours plus 50% — and must be taken within 12 months.
Who is exempt
Students in a vacation camp or non-profit organisation, managerial personnel, employees working outside an establishment whose hours cannot be controlled, workers in fruit and vegetable canning, packaging and freezing during harvest, fishing and fish-processing workers, and farm workers. These employees must still be paid for hours over 40 — but at the regular rate, with no increase. Senior managerial personnel are excluded from the Act entirely.
Source, last verified 2 September 2026: CNESST — Overtime.
Frequently asked questions
When does overtime start in Quebec?
After 40 hours in a week, paid at time and a half. CNESST stresses that this applies even if the standard work week where you are employed is shorter than 40 hours.
There is no daily overtime threshold in Quebec.
Can I be forced to take time off instead of overtime pay?
No. Under the Act on Labour Standards, replacing overtime pay with paid leave happens at the request of the employee, or where a collective agreement or decree provides for it — it cannot be imposed on you.
The leave is the overtime hours plus 50%, and it must be taken within the following 12 months or the overtime must be paid.
Which jobs in Quebec have a longer standard week?
Security guards employed by a security firm have a 44-hour week; workers in a logging operation or sawmill, 47 hours; workers in a remote area or the James Bay territory, 55 hours; and security guards not employed by a security firm, 60 hours.
Below those thresholds the work is paid at the regular rate.
Which Quebec workers get no overtime premium?
Managerial personnel, students in a vacation camp or non-profit, employees working outside an establishment whose hours cannot be controlled, fruit and vegetable canning and freezing workers during harvest, fish-processing workers, and farm workers.
These employees must still be paid for every hour over 40 — but at their regular rate, with no 50% increase. Senior managerial personnel are outside the Act altogether.
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 Quebec are set by the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), 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.