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HIRING IN CANADA |
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Are all employees eligible for overtime pay?Most employees are eligible for overtime pay, whether they are full-time, part-time, students or casual workers. But certain job classifications are exempt from the overtime rules set out in the ESA, and some job classifications have different overtime thresholds. Please refer to the chart in the “How Are You Covered by the ESA?” Fact Sheet for details about job-specific exemptions to the overtime pay rules, and jobs that have a special overtime threshold. Also, employees not covered by the ESA are not governed by the rules on overtime pay. For more information, see What work is not covered by the ESA? in the Fact Sheet. Do managers and supervisors qualify for overtime pay?Managers and supervisors don’t qualify for overtime pay if the work they do is managerial or supervisory and they perform non-supervisory or non-managerial tasks on an irregular or exceptional basis. What is overtime pay?Overtime pay is at least 1½ times the employee’s regular rate of pay (time and a half). For example, if an employee’s regular pay is $8 an hour then his or her overtime rate is $12 an hour ($8 x 1½) for every hour worked after 44 in each week. When does an employee start earning overtime pay?For most employees, overtime begins after they have worked 44 hours in a work week. After that time, they must receive overtime pay. Some employees, however, may have jobs where the ESA overtime threshold is more than 44 hours in a work week. For further details refer to the chart in the “How Are You Covered by the ESA?” Fact Sheet. Is overtime calculated daily?No. Unless a contract of employment or a collective agreement states otherwise, an employee doesn’t earn overtime pay on a daily basis by working more than a set number of hours a day. Overtime is calculated only:
What happens if an employee performs both work that qualifies and work that does not qualify for overtime?The employee qualifies for overtime if at least half of the hours he or she worked in a work week were in a job that is covered by overtime provisions in the ESA.
What is an averaging agreement?An employer and an employee can agree in writing to average the employee’s hours of work over a period of not more than four weeks to determine whether the employee will receive overtime pay. With the approval of the Ministry of Labour’s Director of Employment Standards, an employee and employer can agree to average the employee’s hours of work over a period of more than four weeks. Averaging periods cannot overlap one another and must follow one after the other without gaps or breaks. This means an employee will qualify for overtime pay if his or her average hours (i.e., the average hours per week during the averaging period) exceed 44 hours. So, if the agreed period for averaging an employee’s hours of work is four weeks, the employee is entitled to overtime only after working 176 hours during the four work weeks (44 hours x 4 weeks = 176 hours). Do averaging agreements that were approved by the Director of Employment Standards under the previous act still apply?Averaging agreements approved by the Director of Employment Standards under the former ESA ceased to be valid on September 4, 2002 (one year after the new ESA came into effect) unless employees are represented by a union and a collective agreement applied to them when the new ESA came into effect (in which case the averaging agreement ceases to be valid once a new collective agreement comes into operation or, if no new collective agreement came into operation, one year after the previous collective agreement expired). Can an employee agree to have paid time off instead of overtime pay?Yes, if the employee and employer agree in writing. This is sometimes called “banked” time or “time off in lieu.” If an employee has agreed to bank overtime hours, he or she must be given 1½ hours of paid time off work for each hour of overtime worked. Paid time off must be taken within three months of the week in which it was earned or, if the employee agrees in writing, within 12 months. If an employee’s job ends before he or she has taken the paid time off, the employee must receive overtime pay, no later than seven days after the date the employment ended, or on what would have been the employee’s next pay day, whichever is later. How is overtime pay calculated?The calculation of overtime pay depends on the particular circumstances, including: how an employee is paid, whether there is a public holiday that week and whether there is an averaging agreement in place. For more details about how overtime pay is calculated in different cases, see the examples in the next questions. How is overtime calculated for employees who are paid hourly?This depends on the particular circumstances. Below is a common situation involving an employee who is paid hourly, demonstrating how his overtime pay would be calculated.
What if an employee earns a salary, rather than an hourly wage?Employees on a fixed salaryGenerally, if an employee’s hours of work change from day to day, but his or her weekly pay stays the same, the employee is paid a fixed salary. For example, suppose an employee works 44 hours one week and 42 hours the next, but receives the same pay each week. That employee is on a fixed salary. A fixed salary compensates an employee for all non-overtime hours up to and including 44 hours a week. After 44 hours, the employee is entitled to overtime pay.
Employees on a Fluctuating SalaryIf an employee has set hours and a salary that is adjusted for variations in the set hours, the employee’s salary fluctuates.
How is overtime calculated for employees paid by piece work rate or commission?Some employees earn wages that aren’t based on the number of hours they work in a week, but instead are paid by the number of pieces they complete, and/or by commissions. These employees must be paid at least the equivalent of the minimum wage for each hour worked. They are usually also entitled to receive overtime pay after 44 hours in a work week. Certain salespersons on commission (other than route salespersons) —who receive all or part of their wages as commissions, and who normally make sales away from their employer’s place of business—are exempt from (i.e., not covered by) the ESA’s overtime provisions.
Can an employee agree not to be paid overtime?No. An employer and an employee can’t agree that the employee will give up his or her right to overtime pay under the ESA. Is an employer allowed to cut an employee’s regular wage to avoid paying overtime?An employer can’t reduce an employee’s regular wage to avoid paying time and a half after 44 hours in a work week. For example, if Josée’s regular pay is $12 an hour, her employer can’t drop her regular rate to $8 an hour and then pay her 1½ times $8 an hour for overtime hours worked. What if the employer does not follow the ESA?If an employee thinks the employer is not complying with the ESA , he or she can call or visit the nearest Ministry of Labour office to discuss a particular situation or to file a complaint. Complaints are investigated by an employment standards officer who can, if necessary, make orders against an employer - including an order to comply with the ESA. The ministry has a number of options to enforce the ESA, including requesting voluntary compliance, issuing an order to pay wages, an order to comply, an order to compensate, an order to reinstate and/or a notice of contravention, or issuing a ticket or otherwise prosecuting the employer under the Provincial Offences Act. Employment
Standards Information Centre
Ministry of Labour |
Employment Standards Act
An Introduction to Hiring in Canada
Hiring in
Canada or Employment in Canada gives a vast description of Employment Legislation in Canada. It
covers Employment Standards Act and other General Employment Legislations
regarding jobs in Canada or employment in Canada.
Important issues like minimum wages, temporary layoff, termination of
employment, severance pay and vacation pay are covered under this section.
Hiring in
Canada or Employment in Canada provides sources for Employment Opportunities in Canada
available for general applicants as well as jobs in Canada for students.
Hiring in
Canada or Employment in Canada also gives reference to the Employment Agencies helping applicants
in finding jobs in Canada, both government
and private. The viewers can search for Employment Opportunities in Canada
through these agencies.
Self-created Jobs
is an other feature of Hiring in Canada or Employment in Canada. It is a good source of finding Jobs in Canada. |
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