2.3 Employment Standards in Canada

Human Resource Management Day to Day

Paul works at a warehouse in Richmond, B.C. He has been scheduled to work on Easter Sunday, and is excited as his friends have told him that he will be entitled to double time, meaning he will be paid twice his normal hourly rate. He is sad that he won’t be able to join in an Easter egg hunt with his children, but clearly the benefits of accepting the shift outweigh the negatives. Later that week, when he receives his paycheque, he sees his extra pay was not included so he brings the error to his supervisor’s attention. His supervisor, startled, replies that Easter Sunday isn’t actually a statutory holiday, so Paul is not entitled to any extra pay.

Employment standards are the minimum standards that an employer must comply with. While unionized employees usually receive more than the minimum standards, a collective agreement can never provide for less than required in the Employment Standards Act, so the standards apply to both union and non-union employees. The precise standards vary from province to province, but most jurisdictions in Canada address:

• Documentation and record retention
• Minimum wage
• Minimum age
• Meal and rest breaks
• Minimum/maximum shift lengths
• Uniforms and clothing
• Annual vacation and vacation pay
• Notice provisions
• Payroll deductions

That said, there are sometimes exceptions to all of these, depending on an employer’s industry or an employee’s role. For instance, some work environments don’t have a “standard” day – that could include farm workers who harvest crops, coders working in technology firms, long-haul truckers, or individuals who live in camp and work in silviculture or the oil patch.

 Record Keeping

Employers must keep records, in English, for all their employees and they must retain those records for a specified period after an employee’s employment ends. In B.C., records must be retained for a minimum of two years after an employee’s employment ends. Records that must be retained include the following:

• Personal data (name, date of birth, phone, address)
• Key dates
• Wage rates and structure, as well as benefits
• Records of payments and deductions, including holidays and vacation
• Time bank data
• Reimbursements (e.g., cleaning uniform)

Statutory Holidays

Statutory holidays vary from province to province. In some jurisdictions, Remembrance Day is a statutory holiday, and in others, it isn’t. This means that employees who have worked a certain number of hours would be entitled to be paid on the holiday, even if your business is closed. If your business is open on the holiday, they could be entitled to overtime pay in addition to another paid day off in lieu of the holiday.

Compensation for Length of Service

In Canada, you cannot fire someone without “just cause” and without notice. If an employee hasn’t done anything wrong, you must give most employees a certain amount of notice that their job will be terminated, and the amount of notice is usually calculated according to a standard formula. This gives employees an opportunity to find work before they are without a paycheque. It should be noted that common-law provisions for the amount of notice is generally much greater than that provided for in the Employment Standards Act. If an entire business is closing or restructuring, there may be additional notice requirements.

Minimum Wage in Canada

Minimum wages vary across Canada, but even within a province there can be differences. Some provinces have a “training wage,” which is lower than the minimum, for workers who are just entering the work force and have no prior work experience. Some provinces have a special minimum wage for servers, and in some industries, like agriculture, individuals may be paid by the pound of products harvested, rather than an hourly wage.