Are Your Sales Staff Overtime-Exempt?
Updated September 2026
It Depends on the Province, and the Type of Sales Role
If you have salespeople on your team, you may have heard that sales employees don't get overtime.
Sometimes that's true.
Sometimes it's very much not.
Sales roles are one of those areas where overtime rules can get surprisingly complicated. The rules vary across Canada, and exemptions can depend on what the employee sells, where they sell it, how they're paid, and sometimes how much control they have over their working hours.
An outside salesperson travelling to customer locations may be treated very differently from an inside salesperson sitting at a desk, even if both employees have "Account Executive" on their business cards.
And paying someone commission doesn't automatically make the problem disappear.
Here's what Canadian employers should know as of September 2026.
The Short Version
There is no Canada-wide rule that says salespeople are overtime-exempt.
Depending on the province, exemptions may apply to:
Outside or travelling salespeople
Employees paid wholly or partly by commission
Automobile salespeople
Real estate salespeople
Insurance or securities salespeople
Direct sellers
Certain other specialized sales roles
Meanwhile, an inside salesperson earning salary plus commission may still be entitled to overtime.
That's why the title "Sales Representative" tells us almost nothing about whether the employee is actually exempt.
Alberta
Alberta has several specific exemptions for salespeople.
Certain salespeople are exempt from overtime, including people selling automobiles, trucks, buses, farm machinery, heavy equipment, manufactured homes and residential homes.
There is also an important exemption for travelling salespeople.
Generally, this applies to salespeople who:
solicit orders mainly outside the employer's place of business;
sell goods or services that will later be delivered to the buyer; and
are paid wholly or partly by commission.
Route salespeople are specifically excluded from this exemption.
Certain licensed real estate, securities and insurance salespeople, as well as qualifying direct sellers, can also be exempt.
For employees who don't meet an exemption, Alberta's regular overtime rules generally apply after 8 hours per day or 44 hours per week, whichever is greater.
Employer takeaway: A salesperson isn't exempt simply because they earn commission. Where and how they sell matters.
British Columbia
BC also has special rules for some types of commissioned salespeople.
For example, salespeople selling heavy industrial or agricultural equipment and certain vessels are excluded from overtime requirements, along with some other employment standards provisions.
Automobile, truck, recreational vehicle and camper salespeople are also excluded from overtime requirements.
But don't make the mistake of assuming that every commissioned salesperson in BC is automatically overtime-exempt.
An employee can still be an employee covered by employment standards even if they're paid entirely by commission.
For employees who aren't exempt, BC's regular overtime rules generally apply after 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week, with additional overtime requirements after 12 hours in a day.
Employer takeaway: Look at the specific sales role. "Commission salesperson" by itself isn't enough to determine overtime eligibility.
Manitoba
Manitoba is another province where the details matter.
Commission salespeople can still be entitled to overtime. Manitoba specifically provides rules for calculating overtime for employees paid by incentive, including commission salespeople.
There are, however, exemptions for certain salespeople under Manitoba's Employment Standards Regulation, so the nature of the role and where the selling occurs still need to be reviewed.
There is also a separate high-income exemption that can apply to employees who substantially control their own hours and earn at least twice Manitoba's Industrial Average Wage.
For June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027, that threshold is $122,026.32 per year.
Both conditions matter.
Otherwise, Manitoba's standard overtime rules generally apply after 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.
Employer takeaway: Commission does not automatically equal overtime exemption, and neither does a high salary.
Ontario
Ontario has a significant exemption for certain outside commission salespeople.
Generally, a salesperson may be exempt from overtime and several other Employment Standards Act requirements when they:
are a salesperson rather than a route salesperson;
receive some or all of their compensation as commission; and
normally make their sales away from the employer's place of business.
That last part is important.
An outside salesperson who spends most of their time meeting clients in the field may qualify.
An inside salesperson making calls, sending emails and conducting sales meetings from the employer's workplace may not.
For employees who aren't exempt, Ontario's general overtime threshold is 44 hours per week.
Employer takeaway: Don't assume your Account Executives are exempt simply because they're commission-based. Look at how the sales are actually made.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan has a fairly specific exemption.
A salesperson may be overtime-exempt when they:
are paid entirely by commission;
usually make sales away from the employer's place of business; and
regularly travel to two or more cities, towns or villages at least 20 kilometres apart.
Motor vehicle salespeople are also exempt.
Notice how specific that is.
A commission salesperson who spends most of their week selling by phone or video call from one location is not necessarily captured by the same exemption.
For salespeople who aren't exempt, Saskatchewan provides rules for calculating overtime when employees are paid by commission or a combination of salary and commission.
Employer takeaway: "Our salespeople are 100% commission" still doesn't answer the overtime question.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia also exempts certain salespeople from its overtime rules.
T
his includes real estate and automobile salespeople, along with certain commissioned salespeople who make sales outside the employer's premises.
The outside-sales exemption does not generally apply to employees working an established route.
For employees who don't qualify for an exemption, Nova Scotia currently uses a 48-hour weekly overtime threshold.
However, employers should know that Nova Scotia has announced that the general overtime threshold will decrease to 44 hours per week effective April 1, 2027.
Employer takeaway: Outside commissioned sales can be treated differently from inside sales, and Nova Scotia's broader overtime rules are changing in 2027.
Prince Edward Island
PEI is particularly interesting because its employment standards legislation changed in June 2026.
Under the previous framework, commission salespeople whose primary source of income came from commission could fall outside much of the Employment Standards Act.
PEI introduced a new Employment Standards Act effective June 30, 2026, and employers should be careful about relying on older guidance or employment practices developed under the previous legislation.
The province's standard work week is now 44 hours, reduced from the previous 48-hour threshold.
Employer takeaway: If you employ commission salespeople in PEI and your compensation or overtime practices were developed under the old legislation, review them against the new 2026 rules.
Quebec
Being paid by commission does not automatically eliminate overtime entitlement in Quebec.
Commission-based employees must still receive at least minimum wage, and for most employees overtime is calculated after 40 hours per week.
There are exemptions and special situations under Quebec's labour standards legislation, so employers should still review the particular role.
Employer takeaway: Commission is a method of compensation, not automatically an overtime exemption.
New Brunswick and Newfoundland & Labrador
Employers should be cautious about applying an "outside sales" rule borrowed from another province to employees in New Brunswick or Newfoundland and Labrador.
Unless the employee falls within a specific exemption under the applicable legislation, ordinary employment standards requirements may still apply.
This is exactly why a national sales team shouldn't automatically have one overtime classification applied across the country.
Yukon
Yukon specifically identifies travelling salespeople among employees excluded from certain hours-of-work provisions.
For employees who are covered by the regular rules, overtime generally applies after 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.
Again, the distinction is not simply "salesperson versus non-salesperson." The nature of the sales role matters.
Northwest Territories and Nunavut
Employers with salespeople in Canada's territories should not assume that commission automatically creates an overtime exemption.
In the Northwest Territories, the standard overtime thresholds are generally 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and the territory specifically notes that overtime calculations can differ for employees paid on a basis other than time, including commission.
Nunavut also has employment standards rules governing hours of work and overtime, and employers should confirm whether a particular employee falls within an applicable exemption.
Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales Matters
This is probably the most important takeaway from the entire article.
Imagine two employees have exactly the same title: Account Executive
Employee A spends most of the week travelling to client sites, meeting prospects and making sales outside the employer's place of business.
Employee B works from the company's office, calling leads, sending proposals and closing deals through Teams.
They both receive a base salary plus commission.
Depending on the province, one may qualify for an overtime exemption while the other may not.
The title doesn't decide it.
The compensation plan doesn't necessarily decide it either.
The actual work does.
What About Remote Salespeople?
Remote work has made this even more interesting.
Traditional employment standards legislation was written when "outside sales" usually meant someone physically travelling around a territory meeting customers.
Today, a salesperson might work entirely from home while selling to customers across Canada.
Are they "outside sales" because they're outside the employer's office?
Not necessarily.
Working from your home office and selling remotely is not automatically the same thing as making sales away from the employer's place of business for the purpose of an employment standards exemption.
Employers with remote sales teams should be especially careful about assuming an old outside-sales exemption applies to a modern remote sales role.
"They're Paid Commission" Isn't an Overtime Strategy
This is probably the most common misconception we see with sales employees.
Commission does not automatically eliminate overtime.
In fact, several provinces specifically explain how employers are supposed to calculate overtime for commission-based employees who are entitled to it.
The same applies to salary.
A salesperson earning:
$60,000 salary + commission
isn't automatically overtime-exempt.
Neither is someone earning:
$100,000 OTE
or someone with the title:
Senior Account Executive.
T
he question is whether that particular employee meets an exemption under the employment standards legislation that applies to them.
Don't Forget the "Sales Manager"
Here's another common trap.
Promoting someone to Sales Manager doesn't necessarily make them overtime-exempt either.
Manager exemptions generally depend on what the employee actually does, not simply whether the word "manager" appears in their title.
If your Sales Manager spends most of their time carrying an individual sales quota, prospecting, closing deals and doing essentially the same work as the rest of the sales team, it's worth taking a closer look at whether a management exemption really applies.
What Should Employers Do?
If you have sales employees, particularly across multiple provinces, review each role rather than creating a blanket rule that "sales doesn't get overtime."
Look at:
Where the employee physically works
Which province's employment standards legislation applies
Whether they're primarily inside or outside sales
Where sales are normally made
Whether they travel and how frequently
Whether they're paid salary, commission or a combination
Whether they're selling a product or service covered by a specific exemption
Whether another exemption, such as a legitimate management exemption, applies
How you're currently tracking their hours
Whether your employment agreements and compensation plans reflect the actual overtime requirements
And remember: your compensation plan can't override employment standards legislation.
If an employee is legally entitled to overtime, writing "salary includes all overtime" or "this position is overtime-exempt" into an offer letter doesn't necessarily make it so.
Misclassification can leave employers facing years of unexpected wage liability.
This article was reviewed and updated in September 2026. Employment standards legislation changes regularly, and exemptions can depend on an employee's specific duties and circumstances. This article provides general information and is not legal advice.
Need help figuring out whether your sales employees are properly classified? Amanda & Amber Business Consulting can help you review roles, compensation practices and HR compliance across your Canadian workforce.
Have questions about IT overtime eligibility? Check out our guide here.
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