Do i have the right to refuse overtime?
Short answer
In Quebec, an employee may refuse to work more than 2 hours beyond their regular daily hours, or more than 14 hours in any 24-hour period — whichever period is shorter — as well as more than 50 hours a week (s. 59.0.1 of the Act respecting labour standards).
In detail
The Act sets ceilings beyond which a refusal is allowed. For a person whose daily hours vary or whose work is done on a non-continuous basis, the threshold is 12 hours in any 24-hour period. In a remote area or in the James Bay territory, the weekly threshold is 60 hours.
This right of refusal does not apply where there is danger to the life, health or safety of people, where there is a risk of destruction or serious deterioration of property, or in another case of superior force. Nor does it apply if the refusal would go against the person's professional code of ethics.
An employee may also refuse to work after six consecutive days, since they are entitled to a weekly rest period of at least 32 consecutive hours (s. 78).
Penalizing someone for exercising a right provided for by the Act is a prohibited practice (s. 122). The recourse is a complaint to the CNESST within 45 days.
What to document
Your actual hours day by day, the exact time at which you refused, who you told and how (text, email, verbally), the reply you received, and any step taken against you afterwards — a schedule change, a warning, fewer shifts. It is the sequence in time that makes a connection visible.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Act respecting labour standards (CQLR, c. N-1.1) — Légis Québec
- Act respecting labour standards — full text (CanLII)
- Au bas de l'échelle — Hours of work
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.