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Timesheet Template (Canada)
Enter time in and time out — breaks are deducted and overtime is calculated as you type. Download as Excel or PDF, or print it for signing. Nothing leaves your browser.
- Weekly, biweekly and semi-monthly formats to match your pay cycle
- Overtime thresholds differ by province — see the notes below the sheet
- Excel download keeps live formulas, no Microsoft account required
General information only, not legal advice. Overtime thresholds and record retention vary by province and territory; federally regulated employers follow the Canada Labour Code.
Fill in your timesheet
2023-12-31 – 2024-01-13
| Date | Day | Time in | Time out | Unpaid break (min) | Hours on site | Hours worked | Overtime | Project / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-12-31 | Sun | |||||||
| 2024-01-01 | Mon | |||||||
| 2024-01-02 | Tue | |||||||
| 2024-01-03 | Wed | |||||||
| 2024-01-04 | Thu | |||||||
| 2024-01-05 | Fri | |||||||
| 2024-01-06 | Sat | |||||||
| 2024-01-07 | Sun | |||||||
| 2024-01-08 | Mon | |||||||
| 2024-01-09 | Tue | |||||||
| 2024-01-10 | Wed | |||||||
| 2024-01-11 | Thu | |||||||
| 2024-01-12 | Fri | |||||||
| 2024-01-13 | Sat |
Totals
- Total hours
- 0:00
- Regular hours
- 0:00
- Overtime hours
- 0:00
- Unpaid breaks
- 0:00
- Week 2023-12-310:00
- Week 2024-01-070:00
Download or print
The Excel file keeps live formulas for hours and all totals, so it recalculates when you edit it. The regular-versus-overtime split is written as a calculated value, because the threshold depends on your province.
Employee signature
Supervisor signature
Record-keeping in Canada
Every Canadian employer must keep accurate records of the hours each employee works. Federally regulated employers follow Part III of the Canada Labour Code — 8 standard hours a day and 40 a week, overtime at 1.5 times after 40 hours, records kept 36 months. Provincially regulated employers follow their own employment standards act, and the overtime threshold is the field that differs most: Ontario and Alberta use 44 hours a week, British Columbia uses 8 hours a day and 40 a week with double time beyond 12 hours in a day, and Quebec uses 40 hours. Retention also varies — Ontario 3 years, British Columbia 4 years, Quebec 6 years.
Records may be kept on paper or electronically, as long as they are accurate, complete and available for inspection at the workplace.
What your records must show
- Employee's name and address
- The date of each day worked
- Hours worked each day and each week
- Start and finish times where the schedule varies
- Overtime hours and the rate paid
- Eating periods and any agreement to split or waive them
- Wage statements issued for the period
How long to keep it
3 years
Who enforces it
Employment and Social Development Canada (federal) or the provincial employment standards branch
Penalties
Employment standards officers can order back wages with interest and issue administrative monetary penalties. Where records are missing, the employee's evidence of hours worked is generally accepted.
Overtime by jurisdiction
- Federally regulated (Canada Labour Code Part III)
- 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week standard; overtime at 1.5x beyond 40; standard maximum 48 hours a week; records kept 36 months.
- Ontario (ESA)
- Overtime at 1.5x after 44 hours a week. Eating period of 30 minutes after 5 consecutive hours. Records kept 3 years.
- British Columbia (ESA)
- Overtime at 1.5x after 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, and 2x beyond 12 hours in a day. Records kept 4 years.
- Quebec (LNT)
- Overtime at 1.5x after 40 hours a week. Payroll records kept 6 years; schedules must be given at least 5 days in advance.
How to use this timesheet in Canada
Whether you're covered by the federal Canada Labour Code or a provincial employment standards act, keeping accurate timesheets is the foundation of compliant payroll — and the overtime threshold that applies depends heavily on which province you're in. This template calculates federal overtime at 1.5x after 40 hours and flags the provincial variations you need to check separately.
What a timesheet is and why it matters in Canada
A timesheet is the day-by-day record of hours actually worked, including breaks — distinct from a schedule, which only shows planned shifts. Every Canadian employer, federal or provincial, must keep accurate records of hours worked, and the specific requirements (retention period, overtime threshold, required fields) vary by jurisdiction.
Federally regulated employers — banking, telecommunications, interprovincial transport — follow Part III of the Canada Labour Code. Everyone else follows their province's employment standards act, and the differences between provinces are significant enough that a generic 'US-style' timesheet template routinely gets Canadian overtime wrong.
Federal and provincial record-keeping requirements
Federally, standard hours are 8 a day and 40 a week, with overtime at 1.5x beyond 40 hours and a standard weekly maximum of 48 hours. Records must be kept for 36 months.
Provincially, the picture changes: Ontario and Alberta set the overtime threshold at 44 hours a week rather than 40; British Columbia uses a daily threshold of 8 hours (with double time beyond 12 hours in a day) in addition to the weekly 40-hour threshold; Quebec uses 40 hours. Retention periods also differ — Ontario 3 years, British Columbia 4 years, Quebec 6 years.
Most provinces require an eating period of at least 30 minutes, unpaid, after 5 consecutive hours of work — though the exact rule and whether it can be waived by agreement varies.
- Employee's name and address
- The date of each day worked
- Hours worked each day and each week
- Start and finish times where the schedule varies
- Overtime hours and the rate paid
- Eating periods and any agreement to split or waive them
How to fill in this timesheet
- 1
Add employee and employer details
Enter the employee's name and the employer/business name at the top of the sheet.
- 2
Choose your pay period
Select weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly to match your payroll cycle — biweekly is the most common pattern used across Canadian workplaces.
- 3
Enter time in and time out
Fill in the start and finish time for each shift. Overnight shifts crossing midnight are handled automatically.
- 4
Check the unpaid break
A 30-minute unpaid break is suggested once a shift passes 5 hours, matching the most common provincial rule — but confirm the exact rule for your province, since it does vary.
- 5
Review the federal overtime split
This tool calculates overtime at 1.5x after 40 hours a week, the federal rule. If your province uses a different threshold — 44 hours in Ontario/Alberta, or a daily 8-hour threshold in British Columbia — check that separately; the exported totals still show every hour worked.
- 6
Download or print for signing
Export as Excel with live formulas, PDF, or print for signature.
Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly — which fits?
Biweekly is the most widely used pay period across Canadian employers and aligns cleanly with a 14-day timesheet.
Semi-monthly (the 1st–15th and 16th–end of month) suits salaried roles paid twice a month rather than every two weeks.
Weekly suits hourly and shift-based roles where overtime needs to be checked every single week, since both federal and most provincial overtime rules are calculated on a weekly basis.
What generic templates get wrong for Canada
Almost every free timesheet template online assumes a single flat 1.5x-after-40-hours rule and doesn't mention that Ontario and Alberta use 44 hours, or that British Columbia layers a daily 8-hour threshold with double time beyond 12 hours — three genuinely different systems within one country.
Retention periods are rarely covered at all: federal is 36 months, but Ontario requires 3 years, British Columbia 4, and Quebec 6 — a business operating in more than one province needs to know which rule actually applies to its records.
Quebec's Loi sur les normes du travail also requires schedules to be given at least 5 days in advance in many cases, a detail that generic English-language templates never mention.
Sources
Timesheet questions, answered
What is the overtime threshold in Canada?
It depends on jurisdiction. Federally regulated employers use 40 hours a week. Ontario and Alberta use 44 hours a week. British Columbia uses 8 hours a day (with double time beyond 12 hours) as well as 40 hours a week. Quebec uses 40 hours a week.
How long do I need to keep timesheets?
Federally, 36 months. Provincially it varies: 3 years in Ontario, 4 years in British Columbia, and 6 years in Quebec for payroll records.
Is a 30-minute break required in Canada?
Most provinces require an unpaid eating period of at least 30 minutes after 5 consecutive hours of work, though the exact wording and any right to waive it by agreement differs by province.
Does this template calculate British Columbia's daily overtime correctly?
This template calculates the federal weekly rule (1.5x after 40 hours). British Columbia's daily threshold and double-time rule beyond 12 hours in a day need to be checked separately against the hours recorded here.
Can I use this timesheet for a Quebec-based business?
Yes — the hours-recording grid works the same way, but Quebec's specific rules (40-hour weekly threshold, 6-year payroll retention, advance-schedule requirements) should be checked against your own obligations under the Loi sur les normes du travail.
Do salaried employees need a timesheet in Canada?
Employment standards legislation generally focuses on hourly and non-exempt employees, but keeping accurate records for salaried staff is still good practice and may be required depending on the role's exemption status.
