Employment Standards 101

1
Employment Standards 101

• Highlights of the
• PEI Employment Standards Act

2
Purpose

• To ensure that employees receive at least basic
  standards of compensation and conditions of
  employment.
• Covers about 50,000 employees
• All other jurisdictions have similar legislation.

3
Exemptions

• Workers covered by a collective agreement.
• Workers under Federal Jurisdiction
• The Act, generally, does not apply to
• salespersons whose income is derived primarily
  from commission on sales and
• most farm labourers

4
Exemptions continued

• Minimum wage and overtime protection is not
  extended to
• caregivers working in private homes and
• workers of a non-profit organization who are
  required by the terms of their employment to
  live-in at a facility operated by the
  organization.

5
The Branch and the Board

• The Employment Standards Branch administers the
  Employment Standards Act and Regulations. Among
  the Branchs tasks is to respond to questions
  from the public, hear and decide complaints and
  to provide the public with information about the
  legislation.
• 7,000 enquiries
• 200 formal complaints
• 50,000 collected for workers

6
The Branch and the Board continued

• The Employment Standards Board
• sets the minimum wage rate with approval of
  Cabinet
• hears and decides appeals from Branch decisions
  and
• advises the Minister.

7
Minimum Wage

• Established annually by the Employment Standards
  Board.
• 7.15 per hour as of April 1, 2006 to go to
  7.50 per hour as of April 1, 2007.

8
Paid Holidays

• Six days New Years Day, Good Friday, Canada
  Day, Labour Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas
  Day.
• Eligibility
• Employee has been employed for 30 days or more
  and
• Employee has received pay on 15 out of 30 days
  prior to the paid holiday and
• Employee has worked the last scheduled shift
  prior to the paid holiday and the first scheduled
  shift after the paid holiday.

9
Paid Holidays continued

• Employees who work on holiday must be
• Given another day off with pay OR
• Paid double time and a half for hours worked.

10
Vacation Pay

• Employees who work for an employer for one year
  and every year thereafter are entitled to two
  weeks vacation, annually.
• The employer must at least one day before the
  vacation is to begin pay the employee an amount
  equal to four per cent of the employees wages
  for the 12 months period.
• Employees who work less than 12 months are
  entitled to vacation pay equal to 4 of their
  wages.

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Hours of Work/Overtime

• The standard work week on PEI is 48 hours.
• Time and one-half must be paid for hours work in
  excess of 48.

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Hours of Work/Overtime continued

• Variances to the standard work week are
• 55 hours per week for heavy equipment operators
  and seasonal highway workers
• 55 hours per week for truck drivers
• 60 hours per week for industrial sandblasters
• 55 hours per week for inside fishplant workers
• 75 hours per week for outside fishplant workers
• 60 hours per week for peat moss workers
• 60 hours per week for ambulance drivers
• 60 hours per week for community care workers.

13
Rest Periods

• An Employer must provide
• one day of rest out of every seven days and
• a one-half hour unpaid break after every five
  continuous hours of work.

14
Reporting Pay

• An employer must pay at least three hours of
  wages for each time an employee is required to
  report to work or for work-related activities.

15
Maternity Leave

• Duration 17 unpaid weeks
• To be eligible for this leave, the employee must
  have
• worked continuously for employer for at least 20
  weeks
• at least four weeks before the expected date of
  the leave submitted to the employer an
  application for maternity leave indicating the
  start date and end date of that leave and
• provided the employer with a doctors certificate
  certifying that the employee is pregnant and
  specifying the estimated date of birth.

16
Parental and Adoption Leaves

• Duration 35 unpaid weeks (52 weeks in cases of
  adoption or legal guardianship)
• To be eligible for this leave, the employee must
  have
• worked continuously for employer for at least 20
  weeks
• become the mother or father of a child or adopts
  or obtains legal guardianship of a child,
• at least four weeks before the expected date of
  the leave submitted to the employer an
  application for leave indicating the start date
  and end date of that leave

17
Family Leave

• Duration up to three unpaid days for each
  calendar year
• Purpose to tend to the health or care of a
  person who is a member of the immediate or
  extended family of the employee.
• To be eligible for this leave, the employee must
  be employed continuously for six months or more.

18
Sick Leave

• Duration up to three unpaid days for each
  calendar year
• Purpose to tend to the health of the employee.
• To be eligible for this leave, the employee must
  be employed continuously for six months or more.

19
Compassionate Care Leave

• Duration total of eight unpaid weeks within a
  26-week period
• Purpose to provide care and support to a family
  member who has a serious medical condition and
  who faces a significant risk of death within 26
  weeks of taking the leave and
• To be eligible for this leave, the employee must
  provide a doctors note to the employer stating
  the sick family member faces a significant risk
  of death within 26 weeks.

20
Bereavement Leave (unpaid)

• Duration
• up to three consecutive calendar days if the
  deceased person was a member of the employees
  immediate family
• one calendar days if the deceased person was a
  member of the employees extended family
• To be eligible for this leave, the employee must
  begin the leave no later than the day of the
  funeral.

21
Sexual Harassment

• Every employee is entitled to employment free of
  sexual harassment.
• Every employer is required to issue a policy
  statement concerning sexual harassment and to
  make each employee aware of that policy
  statement.
• Complaints are handled by the Human Rights
  Commission

22
Notice of Termination

• Employees who work six months or longer for an
  employer can not be terminated without cause
  unless the employer provides in writing
• two weeks notice where the employee has worked
  six months to five years
• four weeks notice where the employee has worked
  five to 10 years
• six weeks notice where the employee has worked 10
  to 15 years
• eight weeks notice where the employee has worked
  more than 15 years.
• An employee is not entitled to notice if he or
  she has worked for an employer for less than six
  months

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Notice of Termination continued

• .Employees who have been terminated for a good
  reason are not entitled to notice.
• .An employee who has worked six months but less
  than five years for an employer must give one
  weeks notice in writing.
• .An employee who has worked five years or longer
  for an employer must give two weeks notice in
  writing.

24
Payment and Protection of Pay

• Employers must provide pay stubs to employees
  containing the following information
• name and address of the employer and employee
• period of the pay cycle
• rate of wages and number of hours worked
• gross amount of wages owed
• amount and purpose of each deduction
• any other payment (e.g. bonus, gratuity, living
  allowance)
• net amount of money.
• Intervals between payments can not be more than
  16 days.