Taxi cab drivers - Employment standards exceptions

There are special provisions to the rules outlined in the Employment Standards Code for workers employed as taxi cab drivers.

Basic rules

  • The overtime rule for operating a taxi is 10 hours per day or 60 hours per week, whichever is greater.

Taxi cab driver

A taxi cab driver is a person employed to:

  • drive an automobile that is driven for hire to a traveler’s destination
  • provide a service other than that of a fixed route
  • charge for service using any combination of a metered, time or distance based fare calculation

The following are not taxi cab drivers for the purposes of these provisions:

  • drivers who:
    • operate a bus
    • operate on a scheduled route
    • transfer patients
    • are not for general hire
    • are chauffeurs and not available to the public or do not charge a fare
  • other employees in the taxi cab industry

Hours of work and pay

The standard overtime rule of hours worked in excess of 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week, whichever is greater, does not apply to taxi cab drivers.

Exceptions to the minimum standards for regular and overtime hours

Employees must receive overtime:

  • for hours worked in excess of 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week, whichever is greater

Regular rules for overtime pay rates and banked overtime apply.

Additional Employment Standards

In addition to the special provisions outlined above, all other minimum standards for employment apply to taxi cab drivers. Additional information on these rules can be found at:

How the law applies

Part 3, Division 7 of the Employment Standards Regulation outlines the provisions for taxi cab industry employees.

Disclaimer: In the event of any discrepancy between this information and Alberta Employment Standards legislation, the legislation is considered correct.