Employment Standards Assignment

1. What is the Employment Standards Act?

The Employment Standards Act is an act that is designed to set the minimum standards of wages and working
conditions in most workplaces in BC.
Who is not covered by this act?
There are a few categories of workers who are not covered:
Independent contractors who sell their services rather than get paid and directed by an employer
Some unions negotiate different provisions in the act. This means that workers who are part of
the union get have different standards and are subject to different rules in terms of employment.
Some businesses and industries are covered by the Federal Governments Labour Standards.
From the Government of BC website:
o Government of Canada
o Armed Forces
o Banks (Not including Credit Unions)
o Trucking that goes across BC's border
o Federal Crown Corporations
o Airlines and Railways (except BC Rail)
o Television, Telephone, Radio and Cablevision
o Marine Shipping, Longshoring, Grain elevators
Other workers are excluded from some parts of the act:
o Election Workers
o Farm workers
o Foster Parents
o Managers
o Student nurses
o Volunteer Firefighters

2. Minimum Wage:
Are there two minimum wages? Explain. What are the new minimum wages going to be?

There are two minimum wages. The standard minimum wage is $10.85 per hour, while the minimum wage
for liquor servers (ex. Waiters in restaurants) is $9.60 per hour. Both these wages are effective September
15, 2016.
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 minimum amount of hours that you must be paid even if you dont work is 2 hours, unless you are
unfit to work or you fail to comply with Part 3 of the Workers Compensation Act. Under those
exceptional circumstances, workers would be sent home and paid for the actual amount of time they
worked. Additionally, if you are scheduled to work for more than 8 hours, you must be paid for 4 hours of
work.
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?
 When employees work up to four hours of overtime, they must be paid time-and-a-half for their time.
This means that 2 hours of overtime is equivalent to 3 hours of work, because:
2*1.5=3
In total, you would have to be paid 11 hours for your work, because:
3+8=11

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?
Each employee would be paid for 2 hours of work, unless they were scheduled for more than 8 hours. In
that case, they would be paid for 4 hours of work.
How many times a month must your boss pay you?
You must be paid at least twice a month.

4. Work Breaks:
How often does an employer have to give you a 30 minute meal break?
An employer must give an employee a meal break after five hours of work or less.
How many coffee breaks does an employer have to give you?
An employer is not required to give anybody coffee breaks.
What is a split shift?
A split shift is when someone works for two non-consecutive periods of a day. A split shift may not
exceed twelve hours, starting from when the shift began and ending when the shift is complete,
including the time when the worker was off-shift.
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.
An employer is allowed to do this. The act states that an employee must be paid twice a month, which the
employer did. Employment is divided into pay periods, which must not exceed 16 days in length. Within
8 days of the end of a pay period, an employer must pay their employee what they have earned in one pay
period. Lets examine the pay periods of this employee:
January 3rd January 18th (15 days) paid in 0 days on January 18th
January 19th February 4th (16 days) paid in 6 days on February 10th
February 5th February 14th (9 days) paid in 0 days on February 14th
The employer did not violate any pay rules by doing so.
What must appear on your written or electronic pay statement (pay stub) each pay period?
According to the Government of BC Website, the wage statement must include:

The employers name and address;

The hours worked by the employee;
The employees wage rate, whether hourly, salary, flat rate, piece rate, commission or other
incentive basis;
 The employees overtime rate(s);
The hours worked at the overtime rate(s);
Any money, allowance or other payment the employee is entitled to. (This would include vacation
pay or statutory holiday pay);
The amount and purpose of each deduction;
If the employee is paid other than by the hour or by salary, how the wages were calculated;
The employees gross and net wages;
Any amounts withdrawn from the employees time bank and how much time remains;

Taken from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-

advice/employment-standards/factsheets/paying-wages
What is vacation pay? How much is it?

Vacation pay is given to employees when they take a vacation. If employees have been employed for at
least 5 calendar days, they are entitled for 4% of the previous years wages as vacation pay. If employees
have been employed for at least 5 years, they are entitled to 6% of the previous years wages as vacation
pay.

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 if overtime was worked for two extra hours each workday
$600 if overtime was worked on a day of rest (ex. Saturday or Sunday)
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 must pay for the equipment.

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
In this case, you are expected to supply the outfit because it is not a store uniform, but rather a store
dress code. You can buy whatever brand pants, shirt, and belt you want, as long as it meets the
requirements. The employer has not forced you to buy a specific brand of shirt, making it a dress code
rather than a uniform.
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 is responsible for the shirt while you are responsible for the pants/skirt. This is because
the only way to get a shirt with the company logo is from the company itself. However, you are
responsible for supplying the pants or the skirt. You must clean the pants/skirt while the employer must
clean the special clothing (the shirt), unless you and the employer have agreed that you will clean both
items of clothing.
8. Deductions:
What deductions must you pay (or have come off your cheque)?
Income tax, premiums for Employment Insurance, contributions for the Canada Pension Plan, union dues
or other amounts which are authorized by collective agreements. Additionally, if your wages are being
garnished, they are also deducted directly from your paycheque.
What deductions are optional (your choice) to have come off your pay cheque? Provide examples.
You can ask you employer to deduct medical premiums for health and dental coverage, charitable
donations, charitable donations, as well as maintenance payments for family (child support etc.) from
your paycheque.
9. Statutory Holidays:
What are the two (2) conditions that you must meet in order to be paid for a statutory holiday?
o An employee must have been employed for at least 30 days prior to the statutory holiday
o An employee must have worked for at least 15 of those 30 days immediately prior to the
statutory holiday
How much do you make per hour if you work a statutory holiday?
You earn time-and-a-half for the first 12 hours of the statutory holiday, and double-time for any work
over 12 hours. You also earn the average days pay given to everybody on a statutory holiday, regardless
of whether they are working that day or not.

10. Leaving the Job:

Do you have to give your employer advance notice that you are quitting your job?
No. You do not have to give advance notice if you are quitting the job.
Why would it be a good idea to let them know?
It allows them time to prepare wages and for them to get paperwork done. It makes it easier for
everybody if you give them advance notice. Additionally, if you give advance notice, the employer must
pay you for the entire period of advance notice you give, regardless of whether they fire you or not.
What does being laid off mean?
A layoff is a temporary unemployment, as agreed to through contract or through industry standard. A
week of layoff is a week where you earn less than 50% of the wages you usually earn. There may not
be more than 13 weeks of layoff in a consecutive 20 week period, otherwise it is considered a
termination of employment.
When would you get terminated?
In regards to layoffs, you would be terminated when you have more than 13 weeks of layoff in a
consecutive 20-day period.
In general, you could get terminated for any reason, at any time. You might be underperforming or the
employer might not like you anymore. You cannot be terminated for anything protected under the
Charter of Human Rights, such as race, age, or religion.
What are some reasons that an employer can fire you? Does the employer have to give you notice that
you are being fired?
You can be fired for Just Cause. This means that you have done something to breach company policy,
commit theft, fraud, dishonesty, or assault. You could also be fired for consistent underperformance, as
long as your employer has given higher expectations for you and you have still not met them. An
employer does not have to give you notice or compensation if you are fired for just cause.
 If you are fired how long does the employer have before s/he must pay all your wages?
This was not stated on the government website. What I have gathered from online research is that the
employer has until your next usual payday to pay the rest of your wages.
What is a Record of Employment (ROE)?
A ROE is a document filled out by an employer to indicate the eligibility of an employee to receive
Employment Insurance when their earnings are interrupted. If an employee quits, is terminated, or laid
off, the employer must file a ROE with Service Canada to allow their employee to claim Employment
Insurance.

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?
You will be entitled to no vacation time in your first year. Your two weeks of vacation time begin in your
second year (12 months) of working.
After 4 years you will be entitled to two weeks of employment.
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?
This is so you have proof of what happened in case you have to prove it in a court. The more details
there are in your story, the more believable it sounds. Recording an event on paper keeps the details
and memories secure, rather than if you relied on your memory.

Why do you think it would be a good idea to keep a record of the days and hours you have worked?
In case an employer (intentionally or unintentionally) does not pay you wages you are entitled to, you
have paper evidence of when you worked. Even though it does not stand up as proof you worked that
day, you can at least show it to them if they made a mistake.

13. Explain why it is your responsibility to know your rights as a worker.

It is my responsibility to know my own rights so that I am prepared to defend them in case they are violated. A
system of rights and responsibilities only works if both parties know what their rights are, meaning that it is
my responsibility to know my rights. This means I can properly communicate with my employer to discuss my
rights if I feel that they are being violated.

Nobody else is obligated to look after me and my rights, meaning that I must take care of myself and ensure
my rights are protected. It is my responsibility to know my own rights as a worker, because nobody else will be
doing it for me.