Are Salaried Employees Entitled to Overtime in Canada?

Often, yes. Being paid a salary does not by itself create an overtime exemption. Jurisdiction, actual duties, occupation, industry and schedule determine coverage.

Quick answer

A salaried employee can still earn overtime. The key questions are whether the employee is covered by the governing overtime standard, whether an exemption applies to the actual duties, and how the law defines the regular rate.

Use a coverage test, not a pay-label test

Choose the jurisdiction. Federal standards apply only to federally regulated workplaces; most employees use a province or territory.
Check coverage and exemptions. Managerial, supervisory or professional exclusions differ across Canada.
Identify the applicable threshold. Daily, weekly and modified schedules differ.
Calculate the statutory regular rate. The governing law—not a generic salary conversion—controls.

What official guidance says

Jurisdiction	Salary treatment
Ontario	Salaried employees who are not exempt are entitled to overtime. The official policy manual explains a regular-rate calculation based on salary earned for the work week and non-overtime hours.
British Columbia	Official guidance states that weekly, monthly or yearly salary does not prevent overtime after the applicable daily or weekly threshold. Managers are excluded from hours and overtime provisions.
Alberta	Government guidance says hourly, weekly, monthly and annual salary employees must receive overtime when covered; management and supervisory exclusions require review.
Federal	The general federal hours provisions exclude specified managers, superintendents, employees exercising management functions and listed professions; covered employees use federal overtime rules.

A manager title is not the whole analysis

Employment standards generally examine the work actually performed and the governing definition. A job title, employment contract or salary amount cannot safely answer the question alone.

Do not assume a contract can waive minimum standards

Where an employee is covered, a contract term saying that salary includes all overtime may not remove statutory rights. Confirm the rule in the governing jurisdiction.

An equivalent hourly rate is not automatically the legal regular rate

Dividing annual salary by 2,080 hours creates a common comparison rate, but statutory calculations can define the regular rate differently. Match the calculation to the official rule and exclude overtime hours from the denominator where the law requires that treatment.

Use the Salary to Hourly Calculator only for an arithmetic comparison—not as a statutory overtime decision.

Records that help answer the question

Daily start, finish and unpaid break times;
the employer’s defined work week;
salary period and wage statements;
job duties actually performed;
averaging, modified-schedule or time-off agreements; and
the applicable employment-standards exception or regulation.

Compare general overtime thresholds

Start with the national comparison, then open the official source for the applicable jurisdiction.

View Overtime Rules Across Canada

Official sources

This guide explains general principles and selected official examples. It is not a legal conclusion about a specific role.