Are we required to pay students for statutory holidays during their time with us?
Question: We have hired summer students to work for us over the summer. Are they entitled to vacation pay?
Answer: None of the jurisdictions in Canada specifically exclude summer students from vacation pay standards.
Unless the students are excluded from vacation standards for some other reason, they are entitled to vacation pay.
Paying summer students for statutory holidays
Question: Are we required to pay summer students for statutory holidays that occur while they are working for us?
Answer: Summer students are entitled to statutory holiday pay if they meet employment/labour standards minimum eligibility requirements and are not excluded under employment and labour standards law for some other reason.
Many jurisdictions have minimum eligibility requirements that set out the number of days an employee must work before being eligible for a paid statutory holiday.
Including wages in lieu of notice in vacation pay
Question: We are terminating the employment of one of our workers. We will be paying her wages in lieu of notice, as well as outstanding vacation pay. When calculating the amount of the vacation pay owing to her, do we have to include the wages in lieu of notice in the vacation pay?
Answer: It depends on the jurisdiction since wages in lieu of notice and vacation pay are governed by provincial or territorial employment and labour standards laws and by the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated employees.
Wages in lieu of notice must be included when calculating vacation pay in the following jurisdictions: British Columbia, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Yukon.
Wages in lieu of notice are excluded when calculating the amount of vacation pay owing in Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan, as well as under the Canada Labour Code.
For Quebec, the Commission des normes du travail advises employers to contact them for a ruling.
Including commissions in garnishment orders
Question: Are commissions that we pay to employees subject to garnishment deductions? The employee in question is paid a regular salary and receives commissions only periodically.
Answer: In general, garnishment laws across the country consider commissions to be part of salary or wages. As a result, you would have to include them when calculating how garnishment exemptions and deductions apply. It is always important to thoroughly read deduction notices and to contact the court or office that sent it to you if you have questions to ensure that you are deducting the right amount. For example, in some jurisdictions commissions are not considered salary or wages if the employer can recover the commission payment from the employee if the employee fails to earn it or does not meet a quota or other eligibility criteria for the commission
Annie Chong is manager of the payroll consulting group at Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business, which publishes the Canadian Payroll Manual and operates the Carswell Payroll Hotline. She can be reached at [email protected] or (416) 298-5085.
