The Employment Standards Act (ESA) mandates that most employees must be granted a 30minute break, or eating period, for every five consecutive hours of work. Meal breaks are unpaid unless the employee's employment contract requires payment.Every employee is entitled to and shall be granted an unpaid break of at least 30 minutes during every period of five consecutive hours of work. The Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA) requires that all employees be granted one 30minute break for every 5 consecutive hours of work. For a 12hour shift in Ontario: Employers must provide two 30minute breaks during a 12hour shift, with one break every five hours of work. Most employees (there are some exemptions) can take one 30minute break for a meal, after their first 5 hours of work. LawHelp Interactive is a website that helps you fill out legal documents for free. Listed below are brief descriptions of common types of child care programs in New York State. Officials say alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity.