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Last updated on: April 12th, 2023
Hours & Pay Regulations
Normal Working Hours
The working hours of an employee shall not exceed eight hours a day and 40 hours in a week.
Overtime
If an employer requires or permits an employee to work in excess of the standard hours of work, the employer shall pay to the employee one and one-half times the employee’s regular wages for all hours worked in excess of:
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- 8 in a day; or
- 40 in a week.
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An employer shall make reasonable efforts to give an employee who is required to work overtime reasonable advance notice of this requirement.
Time off with pay instead of Overtime
A written agreement between the employee and the employer may agree that wholly or partly instead of overtime pay, the employee will take time off with pay instead of overtime pay. An agreement referred above shall be deemed to include at least the following provisions:
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- That the employee shall receive time off calculated by multiplying the hours of overtime worked by the employee by time and a half;
- That if time off with pay is not provided, taken, and paid, the employee shall be paid at the overtime rate for all the overtime hours with respect to which time off was not provided, taken, or paid;
- That time off with pay instead of overtime pay shall be earned by the employee and provided, taken, and paid to the employee within a 12-month period as stated in the agreement or, if no 12-month period is stated, within a calendar year.
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Overtime Pay during General Holiday
If a week contains a general holiday to which an employee is entitled, the references to hours in a week which is 40 hours shall be reduced by eight hours for each general holiday in the week; and, in calculating the overtime hours worked by an employee in that week, no account shall be taken of hours worked by the employee on the general holiday. The Employment Standard Act §§ 8 – 10.
Short Work Weeks
An employee or a majority of a group of employees may, as part of a collective agreement or if there is no collective agreement, in a written agreement between the employee or group of employees and the employer agree that the employee or group of employees may work a regular day of work in excess of eight hours but not in excess of 12 hours provided that the total hours of work of each employee shall not exceed 80 hours in a two week period.
If an employer requires or permits an employee to work in excess of 80 hours in a 2 weeks period, the employer shall pay the employee one and one-half times the employee’s regular wage. The Employment Standard Act §§ 11.
Breaks
An employer shall ensure that each employee has a rest period of at least 8 consecutive hours free from work between each shift worked except for an emergency. The Employment Standard Act §§ 14.
Work On Rest Days
An employee during his hours of work shall wherever practicable have at least two full days of rest in a week and Sunday shall be one of the normal days of rest in the week. The Employment Standard Act §§ 12.
Public Holidays
General holiday means New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, National Aboriginal Day, Canada Day, Discovery Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day and includes any day substituted for any such general holiday.
Entitlement to Holidays with Pay
Every employer shall give to each of their employees a holiday with pay in respect of every general holiday falling within any period of their employment. If a general holiday falls on a day that is a non-working day for an employee, the employee is entitled to and shall be granted a holiday with pay on a working day immediately following the general holiday.
General Holiday Pay Entitlement
The amount an employee must be paid as general holiday pay depends on whether they work regular hours and how they are paid.
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- An employee who works regular hours and is paid an hourly rate must be paid the equivalent of their regular rate of pay for their normal hours of work. For example, an employee who works 8 hours per day, which never varies, is entitled to 8 hours of pay.
- An employee who works regular hours and is paid a salary must be given a day off without a reduction in their normal salary.
- An employee who works regular hours and is paid a commission or on a piece work basis must be paid their average daily wage, exclusive of overtime or bonus, earned in the week of the holiday.
- An employee who works less than the standard hours or who works irregular hours must be paid general holiday pay of 10% of the wages (excluding vacation pay) earned for the hours worked in the 2 calendar weeks immediately prior to the week in which the holiday falls. This would include any overtime earned during that period.
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Calculation of Wages for Working on a Holiday
If an employee is required to work on a day that is a holiday under this Part, the employee shall, in addition to the regular payment made:
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- Be paid not less than the applicable overtime rate for all hours worked on that day; or
- Be paid their regular rate of pay for the hours worked on that day and be given a day off which may be added to the employee’s annual vacation or granted as a day off at a time convenient to the employer and employee.
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Substitution of other Non-Working Days
An employee who is not required to work on a general holiday shall not be required to work on another day that would otherwise be a non-working day in the week in which that holiday occurs unless paid at a rate at least equal to the applicable overtime rate.
Exceptions
An employee is not entitled to be paid for a general holiday on which the employee did not work:
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- If the general holiday occurs during the first 30 calendar days of the employee’s employment by the employer;
- If the employee did not report to work on the general holiday after having been called into work on that day;
- If the general holiday fell on a day when the employee had already been absent for 14 consecutive days immediately before the holiday on a leave of absence without pay requested by the employee; or
- If, without the consent of their employer, the employee had not reported for work on either the last scheduled working day preceding or the first scheduled working day following the general holiday, except when the employee’s absence was permitted.
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The Employment Standard Act §§ 28-35
Annual Leave
Every employee is entitled to and shall be granted a vacation with vacation pay of at least 2 weeks in respect of every completed year of employment.
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- “Vacation pay” means four percent of the wages of an employee during a year of employment in respect of which the employee is entitled to a vacation.
- “Year of employment” means the continuous employment of an employee by one employer for a period of 12 consecutive months beginning with the date the employment began or any subsequent anniversary date thereafter.
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Time for Vacation and Payment
The employer of an employee who has become entitled to a vacation with vacation pay:
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- Shall grant to the employee vacation to which the employee is entitled, which shall begin no later than 10 months immediately following the completion of the year of employment for which the employee became entitled to the vacation; and
- Shall, at least 1 day before the beginning of the vacation, or at an earlier time the regulations prescribe, pay to the employee the vacation pays to which the employee is entitled in respect of that vacation.
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Vacation including General Holiday
If a general holiday occurs during the vacation granted to an employee, the vacation to which the employee is entitled shall be extended by one day, and the employer shall pay to the employee, in addition to the vacation pay, the wages to which the employee is entitled to that general holiday.
End of Employment before End of Year
If the employment of an employee by an employer is terminated before the completion of the employee’s year of employment, the employer shall, within seven days from the date of termination, pay to the employee:
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- Any vacation pays then owing by the employer to the employee in respect of any prior completed year of employment; and
- Four percent of the wages of the employee during the completed portion of the employee’s year of employment. Despite this, an employer is not required to pay an employee any amount unless the employee has been continuously employed by the employer for a period of 14 days or more. If an employee works irregular hours or does not work at least 5 days a week, it is sufficient if the employee has worked their usual workdays and usual hours in a 2-week period.
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The Employment Standard Act §§ 19-27
Minimum Wage
As of April 1, 2023, the minimum wage is $16.77 per hour. All employers must pay employees the hourly minimum wage or higher.
The minimum wage is subject to change and may not be up to date. Kindly access the link to get the current wage rates.
Meal Breaks
An employer shall ensure that each employee has a meal break of at least 30 minutes at intervals that will ensure that:
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- If the employee works 10 hours or less on the day in question, then the employee will not work longer than 5 consecutive hours between eating periods; and
- If the employee works more than 10 hours on the day in question, then the employee will not work longer than 6 consecutive hours between eating periods.
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For the purpose of computing the hours worked by an employee, the period allowed the employee for eating shall not be counted as hours worked unless the employee is required to work during those periods. The Employment Standard Act §§ 13.
Special Leave
An employee is entitled to a period of 17 consecutive weeks as unpaid maternity leave. An employee is entitled to a leave of absence from work, without pay, if the employee has completed 12 months of continuous employment by the employer. The Employment Standard Act §§ 36-37.
An employee who has completed 12 months of continuous employment with an employer is entitled to parental leave without pay for a period of up to 63 weeks when the employee:
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- Becomes the birth mother of a child;
- Becomes the birth father of a child, or assumes the care and custody of the employee’s new-born child, or of their or their spouse’s new-born or adoptive child; or
- Adopts a child under the laws of the Yukon or of a province and submits to the employer a written request for leave under this section at least four weeks before the day on which the employee intends to begin the parental leave.
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The employee must complete the parental leave no later than 78 weeks after the birth or adoption of the child or of the date on which the child comes into the employee’s care and custody.
An employee who has requested a leave of absence for a period under this section may return to work before the period is over with the consent of their employer, or by giving to their employer four weeks’ notice in writing of the day they intend to return to work. The aggregate amount of parental leave that may be taken in respect of an event described above:
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- In the case of leave being taken by one employee only, is not to exceed 63 weeks;
- In any other case, it is not to exceed 71 weeks.
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Both parents may take parental leave at the same time if the employee who is first on parental leave cannot reasonably be expected to care for the child by themselves because of injury, illness, or death, or other hardship in the family.
Maternity and Parental leave must be Continuous
If an employee intends to take parental leave in addition to maternity leave, the employee must begin the parental leave immediately on expiry of the maternity leave without a return to work after the expiry of the maternity leave, unless the employer and employee otherwise agree, or an applicable agreement otherwise provides. This does not apply to an employee who returned to work from maternity leave before this Act comes into force. The Employment Standard Act §§ 38-40.
An employee’s entitlement with respect to an employer is 1 day without pay for every month the employee has been employed by that employer less the number of days on which the employee has previously been absent due to illness or injury, but an employee’s maximum net entitlement at any time shall not exceed 12 days. The Employment Standard Act §§ 59.
If an employee’s family member dies, the employee is entitled to and shall be granted bereavement leave without pay for up to one week provided that the funeral of the employee’s family member falls within that week. The Employment Standard Act §§ 60.
Every employee is entitled to and shall be granted a leave of absence from employment of up to 28 weeks to care for or support to a family member of the employee if a qualified medical practitioner or qualified nurse practitioner issues a certificate stating that the family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks from the day the certificate was issued.
A leave of absence under this section may only be taken in periods of not less than one week’s duration. The aggregate amount of leave that may be taken by two or more employees under this section in respect of the care or support of the same family member shall not exceed 28 weeks in the period referred.
If requested in writing by the employer either before the employee begins par his or her leave or within fifteen days after the employee returns to work, the employee must provide the employer with a copy of the certificate. The Employment Standard Act §§ 60.01.
An employee who has completed six months of continuous employment with an employer and who is a family member of a critically ill child is entitled to a leave of absence from employment without pay for a period of up to 37 weeks in order to care for or support that.
The aggregate amount of leave that may be taken by two or more employees in respect of the same child or the same children who are critically ill as a result of the same event must not exceed 37 weeks, as the case may be. A leave of absence may only be taken in periods of not less than one week’s duration. The Employment Standard Act §§ 60.02.
An employee is entitled to a leave of absence from employment without pay for a period of up to 17 weeks if the employee has completed six months of continuous employment with an employer; is a family member of a critically ill adult; requires the leave to care for or support the adult; and has a certificate issued in respect of the adult.
The certificate has to be issued by a qualified medical practitioner or qualified nurse practitioner which states that the adult is a critically ill adult and requires the care or support of one or more of their family members and, sets out the period during which the adult requires that care or support. The period during which the employee may take a leave of absence at starts on the first day of the week in which the certificate is issued; and ends on the last day of the week in which either of the following occurs:
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- The critically ill adult dies,
- The expiry of 52 weeks following the first day of the week.
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The aggregate amount of leave that may be taken by two or more employees in respect of the same critically ill adult is not to exceed 17 weeks during the period referred above. A leave of absence under this section may be taken only in periods of not less than one week’s duration.
An employee who wishes to take a leave of absence under this section must give the employer notice in writing at least two weeks before the leave starts unless the circumstances necessitate a shorter period. The employee must give the employer a copy of the certificate. The Employment Standard Act §§ 60.02.01.
An employee who has completed six months of continuous employment with an employer is entitled to a leave of absence from employment without pay for a period of up to 104 weeks if the employee is the parent of a child who has died and it is probable, considering the circumstances, that the child died as a result of a crime.
An employee who has completed six months of continuous employment with an employer is entitled to a leave of absence from employment without pay for a period of up to 52 weeks if the employee is the parent of a child who has disappeared and it is probable, considering the circumstances, that the child disappeared as a result of a crime. The Employment Standard Act §§ 60.03.
An employee who is a member of the reserve force and has completed six consecutive months of continuous employment with an employer or a shorter period that is prescribed for a class of employees to which the employee belongs is entitled to a leave of absence from employment to take part in the following operations or activities:
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- An operation in Canada or abroad including preparation, training, rest or travel from or to the employee’s residence that is designated by the Minister of National Defence;
- An activity set out in the Regulations;
- Annual training for the prescribed period or, if no period is prescribed, for a period of up to 15 days;
- Training that they are ordered to take by the National Defence Act (Canada);
- Duties that they are called out on service to perform as per the National Defence Act (Canada);
- Service in aid of a civil power
- Treatment, recovery or rehabilitation in respect of a physical or mental health problem that results from service in an operation or activity.
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Reserve Force – Annual Vacation
Despite any term or condition of employment, an employee may postpone their annual vacation until after the day on which a leave of absence that is taken for the reserve force ends. The Employment Standard Act §§ 60.05 – 60.13.
