What does the law say about coffee breaks?
An employee must not work for more than five hours in a row without getting a 30-minute eating period (meal break) free from work. The law does not require an employer to provide any breaks in addition to this eating period. However, if the employer does provide another type of a break, such as a coffee break, and the employee must remain at his or her workplace during the break, the employee must be paid at least the minimum wage for that time.

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/factsheets/fs_faq.html

This is a site and what it says about Ontario Canada labor laws....specific to breaks. It appears the employer is NOT required to give breaks to employees working less than five hours.

Hi Meme,

I used to work in Human Resources, and had responsibility for our company's policies in Canada. You live in Ontario, right?

I have attached a good easy to understand link to Ontario labor law, but here is what is says about breaks:

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An employee must not work for more than five hours in a row without getting a 30-minute eating period (meal break) free from work. The law does not require an employer to provide any breaks in addition to this eating period. However, if the employer does provide another type of a break, such as a coffee break, and the employee must remain at his or her workplace during the break, the employee must be paid at least the minimum wage for that time.

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Basically, this says that you can work up to 5 hours with no break at all. As soon as you go over 5 hours, you are mandated to get a break. If you feel your employer is breaking this law, here is the hotline number:
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If an employee thinks the employer is not complying with the ESA, he or she can call the Employment Standards Information Centre at 416-326-7160 or toll free at 1-800-531-5551 for more information about the ESA and how to file a complaint. Complaints are investigated by an employment standards officer who can, if necessary, make orders against an employer-including an order to comply with the ESA. The ministry has a number of other options to enforce the ESA, including requesting voluntary compliance, issuing an order to pay wages, an order to reinstate and/or compensate, a notice of contravention, or issuing a ticket or otherwise prosecuting the employer under the Provincial Offences Act.

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http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/factsheets/fs_faq.html

Whoa Shelly--you and I are on ESP or something! Exact same post! :-)

haha

HAHA, great minds think alike and fingers move the same on the keyboard, lol.........I love to google, I learn alot that way. The link I gave has easy question and answers, so I thought you might be able to understand it better mem. Unfortunately alot of employers limit the shifts to five hours so they do not have to give paid breaks. Sorry for that. Hugs

I don't know anything about Canadian law. I googled the topic for Canada but found nothing mandating breaks. Maybe someone from Canada will respond to your question.

Oops spoke to late!

OHIO law..get 15min break every 2 hours

Okay But My shift Is Five Hours? So I shouldnt get a break?
I use to get a 15min when i started this job now they kinda just took it away.. I asked why I didnt really get an answer thet just tryed to confuse me cuz they know that isnt hard to do with me. lol

well you should still get a break nooo matter whatttttttttttttttttttttttt,,,even if it is only 5hours..something just not right..

Unfortunately, according to Ontario law, if your shift is FIVE hours, then no, you are not legally entitled to a break. I guess you'd be entitled if your shift was longer than five hours, though.

That sucks!!!

damn glad i dont live in canada..thats bullshit

Ah! that is stupid..shit I need a new job..I dont think I would be as upset if they didnt give me a 15min break for a year.
The odd thing(diffrent company in the same buliding but still under the same laws so not a union) She has a 5 hour shift and gets a 15..
Ah I really do hate my job now..but I could push though now ..Im geting my lince asap and getting a new job

hope it all works out for you..what kinda work you do anyway if you dont mind me asking?

mem, you may have gotten it before, but they were not legally obligated to give it to you. They have the option to take it away if you only work 5 hours. If you work 5 and a half hours, they have to give you the break.

Maybe once they realized they didnt HAVE to give it to you, they chose not to since they pay you if you take the break.

I think the best way to approach it, is to be nice about it. Tell them you would appreciate the break since you tire easily or something. Thing is, if they give it to you, they have to give it to everyone and they may not be willing to do that.

ooooooo fuck CANADA...never heard of some stupid shit like that befor....slave drivers thats what they are