Nova Scotia Employment Law

An employee who has been in continuous employment for a period of at least 12 months with an employer is eligible for an unbroken vacation of at least 2 weeks, and where an employee has been in continuous employment for more than 8 years with the same employer, is entitled to unbroken vacation of at least 3 weeks.

An employer may in agreement with an employee agree for 2 or more vacation periods, which shall not exceed the total limit of the vacation allowed and should include at least 1 week of the unbroken period.

Payment for Annual Vacation

• • • An employee will receive 4% of the employee’s wages for the 12-month period, or
    • An employee will receive 6% of the employee’s wages for the 12-month period if the period of employment is equal to or more than 8 years with an employer.

Time of Payment 

The employer must inform the date when the vacation is to begin at least 1 week in advance and the employee should be paid 1 day before the vacation begins.

Waiver of entitlement to Vacation Pay

An employer who works for an employer for less than 90 percent of the regular working hours during a continuous 12-month period can waive the entitlement to the vacation leave and can collect the vacation pay.

Vacation pay on termination

When an employee is not entitled to vacation and his employment terminates with the employer, in such case, the employer shall pay an amount equal to 4 percent or where the employer has been in the employment for a period of more than 8 years, an amount equal to 6 percent, of the wages of the employee during the time he was employed. Labour Standards Code § 32 – 35.

As of April 1, 2023, the minimum wage rate employers must pay employees is $14.50 per hour.

The minimum wage given above is subject to change and may not be up to date. Kindly access the link to get current rates.

An employee is entitled to a maximum of 3 days of unpaid leave per year. Labour Standards Code § 60G.

A pregnant employee is entitled to unpaid leave for a duration of 16 weeks preceding the expected date of delivery.  Pregnancy leave ends on such date not sooner than the date of delivery, and not later than sixteen weeks after the pregnancy leave began. Labour Standards Code § 59 and 59B.

An employee who becomes the natural parent or adopts a child or children is entitled to unpaid leave for a duration of 77 weeks. In case, a woman employee takes parental leave after the pregnancy leave, she will be entitled to unpaid leave for a duration of 61 weeks. This leave should be taken soon after the pregnancy leave before joining back to work.

If a woman employee does not take pregnancy leave, she becomes entitled to parental leave for a duration of 77 weeks which shall start from the date of childbirth/adoption and shall end not later than 18 months from the date of the birth/adoption of the child.

The maximum combined pregnancy leaves and parental leave to which a woman employee is entitled is 77 weeks. In case, where the parental leave has begun and the child is hospitalized for a period exceeding 1 week, in that case, the employee is entitled to return to work and can use the unused portion of the parental leave, after the child is discharged from the hospital. The employee is entitled to only 1 week of such deferred parental leave. Labour Standards Code § 59B – 59E.

An employee whose pregnancy does not result in live birth shall be entitled to an unpaid leave of up to 5 consecutive working days. Employees who experience the end of pregnancy after 19 weeks may be entitled to an additional unpaid leave of up to 16 consecutive weeks. Eligible employees include pregnant employees, employees whose spouses were pregnant, biological parents, intended adoptive parents, and employees who use surrogacy.

The employer may ask the employee to provide a form developed by the Labour Standards Division to support the employee’s entitlement to leave for the end of pregnancy. It is an employer’s choice whether to require the employee to provide this form to the employer.

• • • Leave for End of Pregnancy Form (Employee whose pregnancy has ended) (PDF)
    • Leave for End of Pregnancy Form (Spouse, Former Spouse, Surrogacy, Adoption) (PDF)

Labour Standards Code § 59F.

An employee is entitled to 37 weeks of unpaid leave to provide care or support to a child if the certified medical practitioner certifies the same. The leave shall end on the last day of the week in which any of the following occurs:

• • • • • The child dies;
        • Number of weeks specified in the medical certificate has been taken;
        • A 37-week period has been exhausted.

The leave can only be taken in periods of not less than 1 week’s duration and shall be taken within the 52 weeks period that begins on the first day of the week in which the child became critically ill. Labour Standards Code § 60K – 60Q.

An employee is entitled to unpaid leave for up to 5 consecutive calendar days on the death of a person in a close family relationship. Labour Standards Code § 60A.

An employee is entitled to leave for a duration as may be required to perform jury duty or attend as a witness at a place other than the place of employment of the employee. Labour Standards Code § 60C.

An employee who has been in continuous employment with an employer for at least 3 months is entitled to 28 weeks of unpaid leave to provide care or support to a person with whom the employee has a close family relationship if a person with whom the employee has a close family relationship has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks.

The leave may only be taken in a period of at least a one-week duration. Labour Standards Code § 60E – 60EA.

An employee who is a member of the Reserves and has been in continuous employment for at least 3 months or a shorter period with an employer, and is required for the purpose of services in the Canadian forces, is entitled to unpaid leave for not more than a period of 24 months in any 60 month period. Labour Standards Code § 60H – 60HA.

Employees are entitled to unpaid leave for a duration of the period in which they cannot perform their duties, because of the following reasons:

• • • • • A government agency has declared an emergency; or
        • A medical officer of health has issued a directive or order telling an employee to stay off work; or
        • The employee needs to care for a family member (or a person like family) who is affected by one of the emergency situations noted above.

Labour Standards Code § 60I.

An employee is eligible for an unpaid leave of 1 day or less at the option of the employee for the purpose of attending the citizenship ceremony and receiving the employee’s certificate of citizenship. Labour Standards Code § 60J.

An employee who has been in continuous employment for a period of at least 3 months with an employer is entitled to unpaid leave for a duration of 16 weeks to provide care or support to the critically ill adult. The leave shall end on the last day of the week in which any of the following occurs–

• • • • • The adult dies;
        • Number of weeks specified in the medical certificate has been taken;
        • A 16-week period has been exhausted.

The leave can only be taken in periods of not less than 1 week’s duration and shall be taken within the 52-month period that begins on the first day of the week in which the child became critically ill. Labour Standards Code § 60SA – 60SG.

An employee who has been in continuous employment for at least 3 months with an employer and is a parent of a child who dies or disappears as a result of crime is entitled to unpaid leave for a duration of 104 weeks and 52 weeks respectively. The leave shall only be taken during the 104 weeks and 52 weeks timeframe that begins the week when the child is found dead or disappeared and shall be taken in a single period.

In case, the child is found within 52 weeks from the week the disappearance occurred, then the employee is entitled to leave for 14 days after the day on which the child is found alive or 104 weeks of unpaid leave if found dead. In case the child is found dead, any remaining leave granted initially (52 weeks’ timeframe) ends.

If the child is found dead after 52 weeks from the time of disappearance, then the employee is entitled to an unpaid leave of up to 104 weeks from the day the child is found dead. In case the disappearance or the death of the child is not a result of the crime, the employees are eligible for 14 days of unpaid leave unless there is an agreement between the employer and employee on an earlier date of return. Labour Standards Code § 60T – 60X.

Employees who have been in continuous employment for at least 3 months are entitled to unpaid leave for domestic violence experienced by them or their child below the age of 18. The employee is entitled to 10 days of leave which an employee can take intermittently or consecutively.

The employee may also take up to 16 consecutive weeks per calendar year. Up to three days of the leave must be paid by the employer. To qualify for domestic violence leave, the employee must have worked with the employer for at least three months. Labour Standards Code § 60Y – 60ZB.