Question:
“I work in BC at provincially-regulated company. My employer has stopped even making an attempt to give us meal breaks. There is only ever one person working, and we are allowed to run to the back to eat, but we expected to be on the floor for all but extremely brief moments. If it gets busy, we aren’t even given that opportunity, and if we don’t pick up food before our shift there is no opportunity to leave the store to get anything. If you are running late and can’t pick anything up on your way in, or don’t realize that there isn’t any overlap, then you don’t eat. Is this legal?
Answer:
With respect to meal breaks, section 32(1) of the BC Employment Standards Act requires that an employer provide a 30-minute meal break following 5 consecutive hours of work. Employers are permitted to require that employers “work” through their break however, that would then engage section 32(2) of the Act: “[a]n employer who requires an employee to work or be available for work during a meal break must count the meal break as time worked by the employee.” So work conducted over the designated meal break is to be counted towards the employee’s time worked.
If your employer refuses to give you a break or pay you for the accountable time, you can call the BC Employment Standards Branch and file a complaint. The contact information for the ESB is available at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards/complaint-process