3. Learn about hours of work

As a farm worker, your hours of work, pay, breaks, and days off are set in your employment contract.

There are different rules about hours of work for farm workers than other workers in Ontario. And the rules depend on whether you came to Canada through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program or the Agricultural Stream.

Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program

If you came through this program, your rights depend on whether you came from the Caribbean or Mexico. Read more about what should be in your contract if you're:

• a worker from the Caribbean
• a worker from Mexico

Agricultural Stream

In most cases, if you came through this program, you do not get:

• rest periods during the day or week
• time off between shifts
• meal breaks
• limits on how many hours you work in a day
• limits on how much you work in a week

You might be able to work out something different in your employment contract.

Public holidays

Ontario has 9 public holidays, including Canada Day, Labour Day, and Thanksgiving. Your employer does not have to pay you extra when you work on public holidays. And they can make you work on public holidays if they want to.

Safety at work

Your employer cannot make you work for so many hours in a row that it's not safe for you or other workers.

In Ontario, workplace safety laws say that employers must keep the workplace safe. For example, if you're using heavy machinery or working with dangerous equipment, you must have enough time off so you get a safe amount of sleep.