Ontario Overtime Pay Calculator 2026
Calculate your overtime pay under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act. Time-and-a-half after 44 hours per week — for hourly, salaried, and commission employees.
Overtime Rules by Province — Canada 2026
| Province | Weekly Threshold | Daily Trigger? | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 44 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
| British Columbia | 40 hrs/week | ✓ Yes (8 hrs/day) | 1.5× / 2× |
| Alberta | 44 hrs/week | ✓ Yes (8 hrs/day) | 1.5× |
| Quebec | 40 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
| Manitoba | 40 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
| Saskatchewan | 40 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
| Nova Scotia | 48 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
| New Brunswick | 44 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
| Prince Edward Island | 48 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | 40 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
| Federal (Canada Labour Code) | 40 hrs/week | ✗ No | 1.5× |
Sources: Ontario ESA 2000, Canada Labour Code, provincial employment standards acts. Confirmed 2026.
Ontario Overtime Rules Explained (ESA 2026)
Ontario overtime is calculated weekly only — there is no daily trigger. Working 10 hours on Monday does not create overtime unless your total weekly hours exceed 44. This differs from BC and Alberta where daily thresholds also apply.
The ESA defines your regular hourly rate as weekly salary ÷ 44. A $1,100/week salary gives $25/hour. Overtime is then $37.50/hour for every hour beyond 44. Your salary covers hours 1–44; the overtime premium covers hours 45+.
Divide total weekly earnings (base + commissions) by total hours to get the blended rate. Overtime is 1.5× that blended rate for hours over 44. Your overtime base includes commissions, not just base pay.
Ontario courts have confirmed that if an employer permits or does not prevent overtime hours, the employee must be compensated — regardless of pre-approval policies. A policy requiring written authorization does not override the legal right to overtime pay under the ESA (Fresco v. CIBC, 2020 ONSC 75).
Ontario's threshold is 44 hours, not 40
The most common mistake Ontario workers make. Overtime is payable at 1.5× your regular rate after 44 hours in a work week — not 40. That figure comes from American practice and does not apply here. Several other provinces do use 40, which is why the wrong number circulates so persistently.
Overtime is calculated weekly, not daily in Ontario. A 12-hour day is not automatically overtime — what matters is the weekly total. Four 11-hour days is 44 hours and attracts none; five 9-hour days is 45 and attracts one hour at time-and-a-half.
Being salaried does not remove the entitlement
A widespread and expensive misconception. Paying someone a salary does not, by itself, make them exempt from overtime. Exemptions attach to the kind of work performed, not to how you are paid or what your title says.
In Ontario the main exemptions cover managers and supervisors whose work is genuinely managerial, and certain regulated professions — law, medicine, engineering, architecture, accounting, teaching. Someone called a "manager" who spends most of their time doing the same work as the staff they nominally supervise is generally not exempt. Employers get this wrong routinely, and the entitlement does not disappear because it went unclaimed.
Time off in lieu, averaging, and what can't be agreed away
Banked time is allowed, but at time-and-a-half. An hour of overtime banks 1.5 hours of paid time off, not one. It requires a written agreement, and the time must generally be taken within three months — or twelve with the employee's written agreement. Being told "we'll give you an hour back" is not lawful.
Averaging agreements can spread hours across up to four weeks, but require both written employee agreement and approval from the Director of Employment Standards. And there is a floor no agreement can cross: an employee cannot waive the right to overtime pay. A contract clause saying "salary includes all overtime" does not remove the entitlement under the Employment Standards Act.
Public holidays are a separate calculation
Ontario has nine public holidays, and they follow their own rules rather than overtime rules. Working one generally means either public holiday pay plus premium pay at 1.5× for hours worked, or your regular rate plus a substitute day off — the choice is normally the employer's, but it must be one or the other.
Keep your own record of hours. Where there is a dispute, an employee's contemporaneous notes carry real weight, and employers are required to keep records for years. Unpaid overtime can be recovered by filing a claim with the Ministry of Labour, and there is no cost to file. Check your gross figures against take-home with the paycheque calculator — overtime is taxed as ordinary income, though a large overtime week can be over-withheld and come back at filing.