Are employers required to pay for domestic violence leave? | Employer obligations for a T2200
Time off for domestic violence leave
QUESTION: I understand that some provinces now require employers to give employees time off if they are the victims of domestic violence. Are employers required to pay employees for the time off?
ANSWER: A growing number of jurisdictions are adding leave for domestic violence to the job-protected leaves allowed under labour standards law. Generally, the leave is for employees who are the victims of domestic violence or whose children under age 18 suffer from domestic violence.
Employees are allowed to take the leave to seek medical attention; obtain services from a victim services organization; obtain psychological or other professional counselling; temporarily or permanently relocate; and seek legal or law enforcement assistance, including attending legal proceedings.
Whether an employer is required to pay employees for any part of the leave depends on the jurisdiction in which the employee works.
The following jurisdictions have added domestic violence leave to their labour standards legislation:
Alberta: Leave of up to 10 days per year is available to employees with at least 90 days of service with their employer. There is no obligation for employers to pay employees for the time off.
Manitoba: The leave consists of two parts: up to 10 days and up to 17 weeks per year. To be eligible for the leave, employees must be employed by their employer for at least 90 days.
Employers are required to pay employees for up to five days of the leave if the employees inform their employer of which, if any, days are to be paid when they give notice to take the leave. For those days, employers must pay employees at least their regular wages for regular hours of work.
If employees’ hours or wages vary, the employer must pay the employees five per cent of their total wages, excluding overtime, for the four weeks immediately before the day of leave. Employers who provide paid sick leave benefits or other paid leave benefits that are greater than those required by The Employment Standards Code may require employees to use those benefits for paid days of leave unless a collective agreement provides otherwise.
New Brunswick: The leave covers both domestic and sexual violence. It consists of two parts: up to 10 days and up to 16 weeks per year. Employees may take the 10 days intermittently or continuously, but they must take the 16-week leave in one continuous period. To be eligible for the leave, employees must be employed by their employer for more than 90 days.
Employers must pay employees for the first five days off each year. The amount of pay must at least equal the amount of wages employees would have earned had they worked regular hours during the leave period. If employees’ wages vary, employers must pay them at least their average daily earnings, excluding overtime, for the days worked in the 30 calendar days right before the leave.
Ontario: The leave covers both domestic and sexual violence. It consists of two parts: up to 10 days and up to 15 weeks each calendar year. To be eligible for the leave, employees must be employed by their employer for at least 13 consecutive weeks.
Employers are required to pay employees for the first five days of leave each calendar year. They must pay an amount equal to the wages the employees would have earned if they had not been absent. If employees are paid by commission or piecework or by another performance-related measure, the employer must pay them the greater of their hourly rate (if they have one) or the minimum wage rate for the hours they would have worked had they not taken the leave.
Quebec: The leave covers both domestic and sexual violence. Leave of up to 26 weeks is available to employees with at least three months of service who are the victims of domestic violence or sexual violence. Effective Jan. 1, 2019, employees will no longer have to complete three months of service to be eligible for the leave.
Effective Jan. 1, 2019, employers will be required to pay employees for two days of the leave each year. Employees will become entitled to the paid days once they have at least three months of uninterrupted service with their employer even if they were absent previously.
For each paid day off, employers will have to pay employees an amount equal to 1/20th of the wages they earned in the four full workweeks before the day off, excluding overtime pay. For commission-based employees, the amount to pay must equal at least 1/60th of the wages that they earned in the 12 full workweeks before the day off.
Saskatchewan: Leave of up to 10 days per year is available to employees with more than 13 consecutive weeks of service with their employer. There is no obligation for employers to pay employees for the time off.
Note: The following jurisdictions are proposing to add domestic violence leave to their labour standards laws, but, as of late August, have not yet implemented it:
Canada Labour Code: Leave of up to 10 days per year is proposed. In this year’s federal budget, the government further proposed to require employers to pay employees for five days of the leave.
Nova Scotia: The proposed leave would consist of two parts: up to 10 days and up to 16 weeks per year. To be eligible for the leave, employees would have to be employed by their employer for at least three months. Employers would not be required to pay employees for the time off.
Employer obligations for a T2200
QUESTION: Are employers required to complete a Declaration of Conditions of Employment for an employee?
ANSWER: Form T2200, Declaration of Conditions of Employment, is a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) form commonly used by salespeople who, under their conditions of employment, are required to pay their own expenses, such as motor vehicle expenses, travel expenses or home office expenses.
In order for these employees to deduct the expenses from their income when filing an individual tax return, their employer must complete and sign the form.
After signing the form, the employer should give the form to the employee, who must keep it in case the CRA asks to see it.
The CRA publishes the Employment Expenses Guide (T4044), which provides detailed information on what expenses individuals may claim and which forms they must complete.
The CRA will determine whether individuals qualify for a deduction based on their personal income tax return.
Individuals in Quebec must also have their employer complete a similar Revenu Québec form called General Employment Conditions (TP-64.3-V).
The individuals must submit the completed and signed form, along with form TP-59-V (Employment Expenses of Salaried Employees and Employees Who Earn Commissions), when they file their Quebec personal income tax return.
Revenu Québec publishes brochure IN-118-V, Employment Expenses, which provides detailed information on what expenses individuals may claim.
