Quiet Quitting in Canada: Meaning, Examples & Employee Rights

Quiet quitting in Canada means doing your job without regularly taking on extra work beyond what is expected of you. Despite the name, quiet quitting doesn’t mean resigning or leaving your job. It describes employees setting boundaries around their workload, working hours and responsibilities.

Is quiet quitting legal in Canada? Employees can set reasonable workplace boundaries and exercise their employment rights. However, quiet quitting isn’t a separate legal right. Employers can still require employees to perform their duties, follow lawful and reasonable instructions, and meet legitimate performance expectations.

Can you be fired for quiet quitting? Yes. An employer can terminate a non-unionized employee without cause, provided it meets its legal obligations, including notice or severance pay. Simply refusing unpaid extra work doesn’t automatically establish just cause for dismissal, but refusing legitimate work instructions can create problems.

The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP help non-unionized employees in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia understand their workplace rights, respond to unfair treatment and determine whether they’re entitled to severance compensation.

Reviewed by: Lior Samfiru, Employment Lawyer and National Co-Managing Partner

On This Page:

• 1. Meaning & Examples
• 2. Is It Legal?
• 3. Can You Be Fired?
• 4. Extra Work & Overtime
• 5. After-Hours Messages
• 6. Quiet Quitting vs. Quiet Firing
• 7. Discipline & Workplace Changes
• 8. What Employees Should Do
• 9. Common Questions

What Is Quiet Quitting?

Quiet quitting is when an employee stops regularly going beyond their normal work expectations while continuing to perform their job.

The term became popular on social media as employees discussed burnout, unpaid extra work and the pressure to always be available to their employers.

For some employees, quiet quitting means maintaining a healthier work-life balance. For others, it reflects dissatisfaction with their job, management or working conditions.

The important distinction is that quiet quitting doesn’t mean an employee has actually resigned.

What Are Examples of Quiet Quitting?

Common examples include:

• Leaving work on time: Finishing at your scheduled time instead of routinely staying late.
• Setting communication boundaries: Limiting after-hours emails or calls where you aren’t required to be available.
• Declining extra responsibilities: Questioning additional duties that fall outside your existing work arrangements.
• Taking scheduled breaks: Using the meal periods, rest time and vacation you’re entitled to receive.
• Not volunteering for extra projects: Focusing on assigned work instead of consistently taking on optional assignments.
• Maintaining work-life balance: Avoiding a workplace culture that expects constant availability.

These examples aren’t automatically protected or prohibited. Whether an employee can decline a particular task, schedule or instruction depends on their employment terms and the law.

Is Quiet Quitting the Same as Doing the Bare Minimum?

Not necessarily.

An employee who completes their assigned work, meets performance expectations and follows workplace rules may simply be maintaining reasonable boundaries.

However, consistently missing deadlines, ignoring reasonable instructions or refusing essential duties is a different situation.

Employees don’t have to volunteer for every extra project, but they still have to perform their jobs.

Is Quiet Quitting Legal in Canada?

Quiet quitting isn’t illegal in Canada, but it also isn’t a legally protected status. What matters is what the employee actually does.

Employees have rights under employment standards legislation, employment contracts and other workplace laws. They can also be expected to comply with reasonable employer instructions.

For example, an employee may have a legitimate concern if an employer expects unpaid overtime that violates employment standards legislation. But an employee can’t automatically refuse every assignment that isn’t specifically listed in their job description.

Can You Refuse Work Outside Your Job Description?

Not always. Employers can assign reasonable duties that are consistent with an employee’s position and employment relationship.

Job descriptions don’t necessarily list every task an employee may be required to perform. Responsibilities can evolve as a business changes.

However, employers don’t have unlimited authority to change an employee’s job.

If your employer fundamentally changes your responsibilities, reduces your salary, demotes you or substantially changes other important employment terms without your agreement, you may have a constructive dismissal claim.

Can Your Employer Demand That You Go Above and Beyond?

An employer can establish reasonable performance standards and expectations for employees.

However, those expectations must comply with the law, including applicable rules about hours of work, overtime, protected leaves and human rights.

An employer may also have contractual obligations that limit the changes it can impose.

If your employer is substantially increasing your workload or changing your responsibilities, don’t assume you must accept every change. But don’t simply refuse the work without first understanding your legal position.

Can You Be Fired for Quiet Quitting in Canada?

Yes. An employer can terminate a non-unionized employee without cause for reasons related to performance or workplace expectations, provided the termination is otherwise lawful and the employer meets its notice and severance obligations.

However, there is an important difference between being fired without cause and being fired for cause.

Can You Be Fired Without Cause for Quiet Quitting?

Yes. An employer doesn’t need to prove serious misconduct to terminate most non-unionized employees without cause.

If an employer decides to replace an employee because it is dissatisfied with their performance or willingness to take on additional work, termination may be legally possible.

However, the employer must still satisfy its applicable legal obligations, including providing sufficient notice or compensation.

That compensation can be substantially higher than the minimum required by employment standards legislation.

Learn more about termination without cause in Canada.

Can You Be Fired for Cause for Quiet Quitting?

Simply setting reasonable workplace boundaries doesn’t automatically give an employer just cause to fire you without severance.

However, serious misconduct, persistent failures to perform essential duties or deliberate refusal to follow lawful and reasonable instructions can create disciplinary problems.

Whether misconduct amounts to just cause depends on the circumstances, including the nature of the conduct, the employee’s role and the employment relationship.

An employer’s decision to label something as “insubordination” or “poor performance” doesn’t automatically establish just cause.

See our guides to termination for cause and insubordination in Canada.

Do You Get Severance if You’re Fired for Quiet Quitting?

If you’re terminated without cause, you may be entitled to severance compensation.

For many non-unionized employees, full severance depends on factors such as:

• Age
• Length of service
• Position and responsibilities
• Salary, bonuses, commissions and benefits
• Availability of comparable employment
• The terms of an enforceable employment contract

Depending on the circumstances, severance can reach up to 24 months’ pay.

Use our Severance Pay Calculator to estimate what you could be owed.

Can You Refuse Extra Work or Unpaid Overtime?

Many employees associate quiet quitting with refusing to work additional unpaid hours.

In Canada, eligible employees have legal rights to overtime pay, but not every additional hour or request to work late creates the same entitlement.

Overtime rules differ by province and job. Certain employees are exempt from some overtime requirements, and valid employment arrangements may affect how overtime is calculated.

Does Your Employer Have to Pay for Overtime?

If you’re eligible for overtime pay and work beyond the applicable legal threshold, your employer must provide the compensation required by law.

Being paid a salary doesn’t automatically mean you’re exempt from overtime.

The overtime thresholds differ:

• Ontario: Most eligible employees receive overtime pay after 44 hours in a work week.
• Alberta: The standard rules use an eight-hour daily or 44-hour weekly threshold, subject to applicable arrangements and exceptions.
• British Columbia: Eligible employees are covered by daily and weekly overtime rules.

Other rules apply to federally regulated employees.

For more information, read our national guide to overtime pay in Canada.

Can You Refuse to Stay Late at Work?

Whether you can refuse additional hours depends on your employment obligations and the legal limits that apply to your workplace.

Employers can sometimes require employees to work overtime, but they must comply with applicable hours-of-work rules and other legal obligations.

If you’re repeatedly asked to work long hours without appropriate compensation, document your hours and seek advice rather than assuming you must work indefinitely or can refuse every request.

Can Your Employer Punish You for Asking About Overtime Pay?

Employers can’t lawfully retaliate against employees for exercising protected employment standards rights.

If your employer reduces your hours, threatens you or dismisses you because you asked about legally required overtime pay, the circumstances may give rise to a reprisal claim.

However, merely disagreeing with an employer about extra work doesn’t automatically amount to a legally protected complaint.

Can You Ignore Work Emails and Calls After Hours?

Not automatically. Your obligations to respond to after-hours communications can depend on your job, employment contract, workplace policies and applicable employment standards.

For example, some positions require employees to remain available outside regular business hours. Other workplaces have policies allowing employees to disconnect once their scheduled shifts end.

Before deciding not to respond to calls or messages, review the rules that apply to your employment.

What Does Ontario’s Right to Disconnect Law Actually Say?

Ontario requires employers with 25 or more employees in Ontario on January 1 to have a written policy about disconnecting from work.

However, the law does not automatically give employees the right to ignore all work emails, calls or messages after hours.

The policy requirement is separate from other employment standards protections, including hours-of-work and overtime rules.

An employer’s policy may provide additional protections, but employees should not assume that the existence of a policy means they can disregard legitimate work instructions.

Read our detailed guide to the Right to Disconnect in Ontario.

What About Employees in Alberta and BC?

Employees in Alberta and British Columbia must look to the employment standards, contracts and workplace policies that apply to them.

The provinces have rules addressing hours of work, rest periods and overtime. Those protections should not be confused with an unconditional right to ignore all employer communications outside scheduled hours.

Quiet Quitting vs. Quiet Firing: What’s the Difference?

Quiet quitting describes an employee changing how they approach work. Quiet firing describes an employer making the employee’s working conditions worse to encourage them to leave.

They are different workplace situations, although one may sometimes follow the other.

What if Your Employer Starts Pushing You Out?

Suppose an employee decides to stop routinely working unpaid evenings. Their employer then removes key responsibilities, cuts their pay or starts pressuring them to resign.

The employer’s actions may raise employment-law concerns, depending on the circumstances.

A significant unauthorized change to the employee’s job may amount to constructive dismissal. Retaliation for exercising a protected workplace right may also be unlawful.

If your employer is deliberately making your job harder to force you out, read our guide to Quiet Firing in Canada.

It explains the warning signs, how constructive dismissal may apply and what employees should do before resigning.

What if Your Employer Disciplines or Punishes You for Quiet Quitting?

If your employer begins treating you differently after you’ve set workplace boundaries, the reason for the treatment and the changes being made are important.

For example, your employer might:

• Give you a negative performance review
• Reduce your hours or compensation
• Remove important responsibilities
• Exclude you from meetings or professional opportunities
• Threaten disciplinary action
• Pressure you to resign

These actions aren’t automatically illegal. Employers can manage employee performance and make legitimate business decisions.

However, significant changes or actions taken for prohibited reasons may create legal claims.

When Is Workplace Retaliation Illegal?

Canadian employment laws protect employees from certain forms of retaliation when they exercise legally protected rights.

Examples can include punishment for:

• Asking about wages or overtime owed under employment standards legislation
• Taking a legally protected leave
• Raising a protected workplace safety concern
• Exercising rights protected by human rights legislation
• Making an employment standards complaint

However, not every disagreement about workload or working hours is an illegal reprisal.

Learn more about workplace retaliation.

When Does Quiet Firing Become Constructive Dismissal?

Constructive dismissal can occur when an employer fundamentally changes important employment terms without the employee’s agreement or seriously breaches the employment relationship.

Examples may include:

• A substantial reduction in salary
• A significant demotion
• Major changes to job responsibilities
• A substantial reduction in working hours
• Other serious changes to the employment relationship

An employee who has been constructively dismissed may be entitled to severance compensation, even though the employer hasn’t formally terminated their employment.

However, the legal consequences of accepting, rejecting or continuing to work under new conditions can be significant.

LISTEN: A Samfiru Tumarkin LLP employment lawyer joins Kelly Cutrara on 640 Toronto to discuss quiet quitting, workplace stress, employee rights and the risks of changing how you approach your job.

The discussion also addresses why communication and understanding your employment obligations matter before taking action.

What Should You Do Before Quiet Quitting or Resigning?

If you’re thinking about quiet quitting because you’re overworked, unhappy or being treated unfairly, take steps to understand your rights before making a decision that could affect your job.

1. Review Your Employment Obligations

Check your employment contract, job description, work schedule and relevant company policies.

Understand what your employer requires, including any legitimate after-hours or overtime obligations.

2. Keep Records of Extra Work

If you’re regularly working additional hours, keep records of your schedule, actual hours, requests from management and compensation.

You may be entitled to unpaid overtime or other compensation under the applicable employment standards rules.

3. Raise Workplace Concerns Professionally

If you’re struggling with workload or unclear expectations, consider raising those concerns with your manager or human resources department.

Where appropriate, ask for clarification about duties, deadlines, compensation or scheduling.

4. Document Significant Job Changes

If your employer responds by cutting your pay, demoting you, changing your duties or threatening you, keep records of what happened and when.

Save communications and employment documents you’re entitled to retain, without improperly accessing confidential company information.

5. Don’t Resign Before Getting Legal Advice

Voluntarily resigning can affect your severance rights. If you’re being pushed out or your employment has fundamentally changed, you may have other legal options.

A lawyer can assess whether the circumstances amount to constructive dismissal, a prohibited reprisal or another employment-law issue.

6. Review Any Termination Offer Before Signing

If your employer fires you, don’t assume you’re only entitled to a few weeks of compensation.

Even if the employer claims your performance was unsatisfactory, you may still be owed substantial severance.

Visit our Severance Package Review page to understand why your termination offer should be checked before you sign.

Quiet Quitting in Canada: Frequently Asked Questions

What is quiet quitting in simple terms?

Quiet quitting means continuing to do your job while scaling back extra work, optional responsibilities or constant availability. It doesn’t mean actually quitting or resigning.

Is quiet quitting legal in Canada?

Quiet quitting isn’t illegal, but employees must still perform their duties and follow lawful, reasonable workplace instructions. Your legal rights depend on your employment contract, applicable workplace policies and employment laws.

Can you get fired for quiet quitting?

Yes. An employer can ordinarily terminate a non-unionized employee without cause if it provides the notice or compensation required by law. Quiet quitting doesn’t automatically amount to just cause for dismissal without severance.

Can you be fired for refusing unpaid overtime?

The answer depends on whether overtime was legally required, whether you’re entitled to overtime pay and whether the employer’s instructions were lawful. Employers can’t ignore minimum employment standards or punish employees for exercising protected rights.

Can you refuse tasks that aren’t in your job description?

Not automatically. Employers can assign reasonable duties consistent with your position. However, fundamental unauthorized changes to your employment may create constructive dismissal rights.

Can you ignore emails after work in Ontario?

Not automatically. Ontario requires qualifying employers to have a written policy about disconnecting from work, but the legislation doesn’t create a blanket right to ignore all after-hours communications.

Is quiet quitting the same as quiet firing?

No. Quiet quitting describes employees reducing extra work or setting boundaries. Quiet firing describes employers deliberately making working conditions unpleasant to encourage an employee to resign. Quiet firing can sometimes involve constructive dismissal or unlawful retaliation.

Can your employer punish you for setting boundaries at work?

An employer can enforce legitimate performance expectations, but it can’t lawfully retaliate against an employee for exercising protected workplace rights. Significant unauthorized changes to employment may also give rise to constructive dismissal.

Should you resign if you’re unhappy at work?

Don’t assume resigning is your only option. If your employer has made major changes to your job or is pressuring you to leave, speak with an employment lawyer first. Voluntary resignation can affect your entitlement to severance.

Do you get severance if you’re fired for quiet quitting?

You may be entitled to severance if you’re fired without cause. Depending on your age, service, position, employment contract and other circumstances, severance can reach up to 24 months’ pay.

Having Problems at Work? Know Your Rights Before You Quit.

If your employer is pressuring you to work unreasonable hours, changing your job, punishing you for exercising your rights or trying to make you resign, don’t assume you have to accept the situation.

The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP help non-unionized employees in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia understand their rights and pursue severance compensation when they’re wrongfully or constructively dismissed.

Before you quit or sign anything, always check first.

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