How Overtime Pay Works in BC

These are the minimums in the Employment Standards Act (ESA), section 40. Your employment contract or union agreement can offer more — it can never offer less, because the Act's minimum standards can't be contracted out of.

Under ESA section 40(1), an employer must pay 1.5 times your regular wage for every hour over 8 in a day, and double your regular wage for every hour over 12 in a day. The daily rule stands on its own: a 10-hour day earns 2 hours at time-and-a-half even if you only work three days that week.

The daily trigger is what makes BC different from most other provinces. Ontario, for example, has no daily overtime at all — only a weekly threshold (44 hours there, not 40). In BC, long days are worth a premium whether or not the week is long.

Under ESA section 40(2), an employer must pay 1.5 times your regular wage for every hour over 40 in a week. For this calculation, a week runs from Sunday at 12:00 a.m. to midnight the following Saturday.

The weekly rule has a catch that matters: under section 40(3), only the first 8 hours of each day count toward the 40-hour weekly total, no matter how long you actually work that day. So five 10-hour days add up to 40 hours for weekly overtime purposes — 50 hours on the clock, but no weekly overtime, because the extra 2 hours each day were already paid as daily overtime.

In practice, weekly overtime in BC mostly arises when you work more than five days in a week. Five 8-hour days come to exactly 40, so a sixth day is where the weekly premium kicks in.

Daily and weekly overtime are calculated separately, and the same hour is never paid overtime twice — that's what the first-8-hours rule guarantees. The two can both apply in a single week, but only to different hours.

A common misunderstanding is that BC pays "whichever is greater" of daily or weekly overtime. That's not how the Act works here — that comparison applies in some other provinces. In BC, you get the daily overtime for your long days plus the weekly overtime for hours over 40 counted on the first-8-hours basis. The worked example below shows both applying in the same week.

Under ESA section 37, an employer and an employee can agree in writing to average hours over 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks instead of applying the daily and weekly thresholds each week. Averaging suits compressed schedules — four 10-hour days a week, for example — where the standard rules would pay daily overtime every single day.

While an averaging agreement is in effect, the standard overtime rules in section 40 do not apply. Overtime is instead worked out against the averaged schedule: generally, time-and-a-half for hours over an average of 40 a week across the averaging period, and for hours over the hours scheduled in a day. The agreement must be in writing, and it can't reduce your pay below what the Act requires overall.

Two related rules are worth knowing. Under ESA section 36, you are entitled to 32 consecutive hours free from work each week; hours you work during that rest period are paid at 1.5 times your regular wage. And under section 42, you can ask in writing to bank your overtime as paid time off instead of taking the extra pay — the banked time is credited at the overtime rate, so an hour at time-and-a-half banks 1.5 hours of time off.

Not everyone is covered. The Employment Standards Regulation (Part 7) excludes managers from the hours-of-work and overtime rules, and sets special rules or exclusions for some occupations, including certain professionals and high technology professionals. The test is your actual duties, not your job title — being called a manager doesn't make you one under the Act, and the rules apply to hourly and salaried employees alike.

The ESA also doesn't apply to federally regulated workers — bank, airline, railway, telecom, and federal government employees, among others — who are covered by the Canada Labour Code instead. If you're not sure which law covers you, the Employment Standards Branch (1-833-236-3700) can tell you.

Do I get overtime if I work long days but under 40 hours a week?

Yes. Daily overtime is calculated separately from weekly overtime, so a 10-hour day earns 2 hours at time-and-a-half even if the week's total stays under 40 hours. The weekly threshold is a second trigger, not a condition.

Does weekly overtime stack on top of daily overtime?

Not for the same hours. Only the first 8 hours of each day count toward the 40-hour weekly total, so an hour already paid at a daily overtime rate is never counted again. But the two can both apply in one week to different hours — six 10-hour days earn 12 hours of daily overtime plus 8 hours of weekly overtime.

What is an averaging agreement?

A written agreement under section 37 of the Employment Standards Act that averages your hours over 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks instead of applying the daily and weekly thresholds each week. It suits compressed schedules like four 10-hour days. While an averaging agreement is in effect, the standard overtime rules in section 40 do not apply — overtime is worked out against the averaged schedule instead.

Are managers entitled to overtime in BC?

No. The Employment Standards Regulation excludes managers from the hours-of-work and overtime rules, along with certain professionals and high technology professionals. But the test is your actual duties, not your job title — being called a manager does not make you one under the Act.

• Employment Standards Act, RSBC 1996, c. 113, ss. 35–42 — in particular s. 37 (averaging agreements), s. 40 (overtime wages), and s. 42 (banking overtime).
• Employment Standards Regulation, BC Reg. 396/95, Part 7 (variances and exclusions).
• Government of British Columbia, Employment Standards Branch — Interpretive Guide, ESA Part 4, Section 40.
• Government of British Columbia — "Working in British Columbia" fact sheet, updated June 2026.

This guide is general information about BC employment standards, not legal advice. If your situation is disputed or unusual, contact the Employment Standards Branch or a lawyer.