Employment Standards Assignment

1. What is the Employment Standards Act?

It is a provincial act that outlines the basic standards of the workplace.
 Who is not covered by this act?
All employees are covered by this Act, except those that are excluded by regulation, and specific parts do not cover
employees on a collective agreement, employee or an independent contractor, or are covered by the federal
government’s labour standards.
2. Minimum Wage:
 Are there two minimum wages? Explain. What are the new minimum wages going to be?
Yes, there is the general minimum wage, and the minimum wage for liquor servers. On September 15 2017, the wages
were raised from $10.85 to $11.35 for general wage, and from $9.60 to $10.10 for liquor server wage. There is going
to be a fair wages Commission to recommend future minimum wage increases.

3. Minimum Daily Pay:

 What is the minimum amount of hours that you are paid if you show up for work, even if the boss sends you
home?
The employer must pay an employee for 2 hours of work if the employee shows up, and the employer must pay the
employee for 4 hours of work if the employee was scheduled to work for more than 8 hours.
 You are scheduled to work an 8-hour shift then the boss asks you to work another 2 hours. How many hours must
s/he pay you for?
The employer must pay you your regular wage for the first 8 hours, then 1.5 times your regular wage for the next 2
hours.

 You show up for work and work 1 hour before a power failure happens so the boss sends the entire staff home.
How many hours must the boss pay each employee for the day?
2 hours
 How many times a month must your boss pay you?
At least twice a month, and within 8 days of the end of the pay period.
4. Work Breaks:
 How often does an employer have to give you a 30 minute meal break?
At least every 5 hours.
 How many coffee breaks does an employer have to give you?
None.
 What is a split shift?
A shift in which the employees shift is split into 2 or more separate parts.
5. Paydays and Payroll Records:
 You were paid for the months of January on the 3rd and 18th and for February on the 10th and 14th. Is the
employer allowed to do this? Explain your answer.

 What must appear on your written or electronic pay statement (pay stub) each pay period?

The employer's name and address;

The hours worked by the employee;

 The employee's wage rate, whether paid hourly, on a salary basis or on a flat rate, piece rate, commission or other
incentive basis;

The employee's overtime wage rate;

The hours worked by the employee at the overtime wage rate;

Any money, allowance or other payment the employee is entitled to;

The amount of each deduction from the employee's wages and the purpose of each deduction;

If the employee is paid other than by the hour or by salary, how the wages were calculated for the work the
employee is paid for;

The employee's gross and net wages;

How much money the employee has taken from the employee's time bank and how much remains

 What is vacation pay? How much is it?

Vacation pay is what employees get paid during their annual vacation. For employees that have worked five
calendar days, vacation pay is at least 4% of their total wages of the year, and for employees that have worked for
5 consecutive years, it is at least 6% of their total yearly wages.

6. Overtime:
 You earn $10 per hour. What would be your gross pay (before taxes) if you worked:
10 hours in one day? ____$110_____ 30 hours in one week? ___$300____
7.5 hours in one day? ___$75_____ 50 hours in one week? ___$550____
7. Uniforms and Special Clothing:
 You work in a mill where you are required to wear hearing (ear) protection, steel-toed boots and safety (eye)
goggles. Who must pay for this equipment?
The employer is responsible for providing the hearing and eye protection, but the employee’s responsibility to have
the proper boots.

 You work in a restaurant where you are required to wear tan coloured pants, a black collared shirt, belt and casual
shoes. Who is responsible for supplying the outfit? Explain
You are responsible for supplying the outfit because it is a general outline for an outfit, not a uniform, and there
are no special brands that need to be on the outfit.
 You work at a golf course and are required to wear a white shirt with the company logo on it. You must also wear
dark coloured pants or skirt. Who is responsible for supplying the outfit? Cleaning it? Explain.
The employer must provide the clothing because there is a special brand on the shirt (the logo). The employer must
also clean it, unless an agreement is made between the employer and all the employees.

8. Deductions:
 What deductions must you pay (or have come off your cheque)?
Deductions you are required to pay are income tax, employment insurance premiums, pension plan contributions,
and union dues.
 What deductions are optional (your choice) to have come off your pay cheque? Provide examples.
 Optional deductions include extended health or dental coverage, charitable donations, pension plan contributions,
Family Maintenance Enforcement Act maintenance payments, credit obligations, or repayment of accidental
overpayments.
9. Statutory Holidays:
 What are the two (2) conditions that you must meet in order to be paid for a statutory holiday?
You must have been employed by your employer for at least 30 days before the holiday, and you must have worked
or earned wages for at least 15 of those 30 days.
 How much do you make per hour if you work a statutory holiday? __________
If you work for less than 12 hours, you must be paid 1.5 times your regular wage, and if you work more than 12 hours you
must be paid double your regular wage.
10. Leaving the Job:
 Do you have to give your employer advance notice that you are quitting your job?
No.
 Why would it be a good idea to let them know?
Because if you leave on a positive note after giving notice(usually about 2 weeks) you are more likely to get a good
employment reference for any future employment applications.
 What does being laid off mean?
Being laid off means being terminated for reasons other than poor work.
 When would you get terminated?
Job termination is any time an employee stops working for an employer. So this could be anything: resigning,
retiring, getting fired or getting laid off.
 What are some reasons that an employer can fire you? Does the employer have to give you notice that you are
being fired?
An employer can fire an employee without notice or compensation for serious infractions such as theft of fraud,
dishonesty, assault or harassment of co-workers, or willful misconduct. The employer does not need to give an
employee notice of termination as long as s/he gives the employee compensation in its place, however, the
employer does not need to give notice or compensation if the dismissal is for a “just cause”.
 If you are fired how long does the employer have before s/he must pay all your wages?
They must be paid within 48 hours after the last day the employee works.
 What is a Record of Employment (ROE)?
It is a document that provides information on the employment history of someone. It is used by employees to claim
Employment Insurance benefits.

11. Vacation Information:

 You just started a full time job so how many weeks of holidays will you be entitled to in your first year?
____2_____ after 4 years ___2____

12. Protecting your rights:

 Why is it a good idea to record the date, time and details of an incident that may have occurred at your work?
Because the director can refuse to investigate a complaint if there is not enough evidence, or if the complaint is
deemed frivolous or not made in good faith. It is hard to deem a complaint frivolous if there are many details
about the incident.

 Why do you think it would be a good idea to keep a record of the days and hours you have worked?
So you can make sure that you are being paid all of what you are owed, and that all wage statements are correct.
13. Explain why it is your responsibility to know your rights as a worker.
It is your responsibility to know your rights as a worker because no one else is going to teach them to you, and it is much
easier for an employer to take advantage of workers when they don’t know their rights. It is your responsibility to know
your rights because you will be able to know that you are being fairly and rightly treated and paid.