Guide to Global Payroll Management

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

Employment standards are rules about working conditions, such as hours of work, minimum
wage, vacations, statutory/public holidays, and other employee rights. They change with the
times to reflect changes in working conditions and respond to the special needs of different
workplaces.
All provinces and territories and the federal government have enacted legislation outlining the
minimum employment standards for employers and employees. The purpose of these standards
is to encourage fairness, responsibility, and co-operation between employers and employees.
Company policies and union agreements that provide for better working conditions will override
these minimum standards. Company policies that provide for less than the legislated minimums
are considered null and void. In some instances, however, a collective agreement may provide
for less than a minimum standard for policy but when you take the entire agreement into
consideration it exceeds the legislation overall.
Each of the jurisdictions' acts and/or regulations identifies various types of employees and or
employment exempt from coverage under certain sections of the Act. For instance, many
professional employees (e.g., accountants, doctors, etc.) are exempt from the section on "Hours
of Work." The list of exemptions varies by jurisdiction and in some cases is quite extensive; we
have provided references only to the basic standard legislation. This section will review, by
jurisdiction, some of the employment standards which would be applied to most, if not all, of the
employees in an organization.
Neither employees nor employers can "contract out" of any legislated minimum standard. For
instance, an employee cannot agree to work at their regular rate of pay when overtime rates
should apply.
Payroll practitioners need to be familiar and keep current with the employment standards
legislation so that they can accurately prepare employees' pays.
Each province and territory has enacted its own set of standards to be applied, based on the
jurisdiction in which the employee physically works, e.g., if the employee works in Alberta, the
rules set out in the Alberta Employment Standards Act would apply.
If, however, the company falls under federal jurisdiction, the Canada Labour Code, Part III
would apply regardless of where the employee works.
The Canada Labour Code, Part III applies to:
i)

industries and undertakings of an inter-provincial, national or international nature, i.e.,
transportation, communications, radio and television broadcasting, banking, uranium
mining, grain elevators, and flour and seed operations; and

ii)

companies whose operations have been declared for the general advantage of Canada
or two or more provinces, and such Crown corporations as the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation.

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Guide to Global Payroll Management - 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Guide to Global Payroll Management - 2020

Guide to Global Payroll Management - 2020 - 11-94

Guide to Global Payroll Management - 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Guide to Global Payroll Management - 2020