Minimum Wage
General
The standard minimum wage in British Columbia is 15.20 CAD per hour (increasing to 15.65 CAD with effect from 1st June 2022), 13.00 CAD for students and employees under 18. The minimum wage rate set for employees of federally regulated organizations will be the current minimum wage rate specified in the jurisdiction in which the employee performs the work.This minimum wage now also applies to liquor servers (an employee who works mainly as a server of food or drink or both or who regularly serves liquor directly to customers, guests, members, or patrons, etc.), who had previously been subject to a lower minimum wage.
Payroll
Payroll Cycle
In British Columbia, pay cycles occur monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly, and hourly. For monthly paid employees they must receive their pay within ten consecutive days from the end of the pay period.
13th Salary
There are no provisions in the law regarding 13th salaries.
Working Hours
General
A full-time workweek is 40 hours, 5 days a week.
Overtime
An employer must pay overtime pay for any hours above the standard weekly hours at a rate that is at least 150.00% of the employee’s regular rate of pay or one hour of time off in lieu.
In exceptional circumstances, when an employee is called into work (during rest/ non-working time), overtime should be paid for at least 3 hours of pay at the minimum wage, even if they work less than 3 hours. (Labour Code, § 16 and Labour Regulation § 13.3; Bill 17 and Employment Standard Regulation). From the 12th hour of overtime work the payment is increased to 200.00% of the regular rate of pay.
Working Week
Monday-Friday
Leave
Paid Time Off
In British Columbia, employees are entitled to two consecutive weeks of vacation leave after the first year of employment and three consecutive weeks of leave after five years of employment.
Employees are entitled to vacation pay of 4.00% of the regular salary rate of pay for the first five years of employment and 6.00% of the regular salary rate of pay after five years of employment. Employees are entitled to receive the payment within seven days before the commencement of a vacation.
Public Holidays
There are 10 public holidays in British Columbia.
Sick Days
Employers do not have to pay wages or benefits during long-term illness and injury leave (although the length of service does continue) unless stated in an employment contract/collective agreement.
However, in British Columbia, there is The Employment Standards Act which provides eligible employees with up to 3 days of unpaid job-protected leave per year and up to 5 days unpaid family responsibility leave (to help with the care, health, or education of a child under the age of 19 in their care or care for any other family member with a health condition).
The government announced that those returning from non-essential travel (i.e holiday travel) to Canada will no longer be eligible for the 500 CAD a week sickness benefit under the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) intended to assist in covering for the need to quarantine upon arrival to Canada.
Maternity Leave
Employers are required to provide to eligible employees (those that have been employed for at least 90 days and provided pregnancy medical certificate) 17 weeks of unpaid leave, which can start any time within the 13 weeks preceding the due date.
An employee must also take a minimum of six weeks’ leave following the birth unless the employer agrees to an early return to duties and the employee provides a professional medical certificate stating the return will not endanger her health.
Paternity Leave
In British Columbia, Paternity leave and Parental leave are the same.
Parental Leave
Parents are entitled to 62 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave are granted to birth and adoptive parents. Parental leave can begin any time after the birth or adoption of the child and must end within 78 weeks of delivery.
Other Leave
In British Columbia, employees are entitled to 3 days of mandatory leave for the bereavement of a family member and approximately 27 weeks of leave for compassionate care leave.
Employees are also entitled to up to 37 weeks of leave in the case of a critical illness, up to 104 weeks in the event of the death of an employee’s child, or in the case that the child has disappeared.
In British Columbia, all employers must provide their full-time, regularly employed employees, job-protected, unpaid leave for their duty as jurors or as a witness in a case, responding to a subpoena: or acting as a plaintiff or defendant in the courts. Employees must provide a copy of the jury summons to the employer as evidence of the requirement.
Reservist Leave regulations require employers to provide up to 20 days of unpaid leave each calendar year for annual training for Reservists once they have completed at least 26 consecutive weeks of service with the same employer. An employee may take reservist leave for the following reasons:
- deployment to a Canadian forces’ operation outside Canada
- deployment to a Canadian forces operation inside Canada that is assisting with an emergency or the aftermath of an emergency
- annual training, included related travel time, for up to 20 days in a calendar year
- other operations set out as such in the Employment Standards Regulation by the Minister
Termination
Termination Process
There are two ways an employer can terminate an employment contract:
- Providing written notice to the employee
- Termination due to just cause
It is important to note that the final payment to the employee must be made:
- Within 48 hours after the last day when the employer ends the employment agreement
- Within 6 days after the last day when the employee ends the employment agreement
Notice Period
In general, notice periods in British Columbia, Canada, are not required, but it is common to give one month’s notice.
Severance Pay
In British Columbia, severance pay is mandated and determined by common law with the amount of severance pay determined by the length of service.
- At least 3 months of employment: 1 week
- 3 months to 1 year: two weeks’ pay
- 1 year+: 3 weeks’ pay for one year of service followed by an additional week payment per year of service, up to a maximum of eight years.
Probation Period
The probation period in British Columbia for permanent employees is generally a minimum of 3 months.
Common Benefits
General
Cell Phone, internet allowance, and car allowance.
Supplementary health care/dental plan – typically covers costs of items or care that is not covered by Canada’s universal healthcare system such as prescription drugs or vision ware.
Private pension contribution of the employer (2-6 % of base salary).
VISA
VISA
The Government of Canada operates the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to enable foreign citizens to apply to work in Canada for a set period. The program covers all job roles and knowledge levels, and it can be used when a qualified Canadian citizen or permanent resident is not available or suitable for the role.
There are federal (Government of Canada) immigration programs and provincial programs (Government of British Columbia) in place in British Columbia.
VAT
General
The standard rate of VAT in British Columbia, Canada is 5.00%. However, British Columbia also has a B.C. provincial sales tax (PST) which is a retail sales tax that applies when taxable goods or services are purchased, acquired, or brought into British Columbia for use in British Columbia, and this rate is 7.00%.
The combined GST and PST rate is 12.00%.
