Employing and Hiring Workers
British Columbia’s employment standards legislation sets minimum requirements for conditions of employment like hours of work, wages, overtime pay, minimum wages and termination.
- Standard workday/week: Eight hours per day/40 hours per week
- Overtime pay: After 40 hours, 1.5 x regular pay (only the first eight hours worked each day are used to calculate total hours for overtime)
- Statutory holidays: Nine per year
| British Columbia’s employment standards legislation sets certain minimum requirements for hours of work, wages, overtime pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. These provisions are similar to standards in effect across North America. |
| Standard work day/week (see averaging agreements for flexible work scheduling) |
eight hours per day / 40 hours per week |
| Standard overtime (see averaging agreements for alternative overtime rules) |
- Daily: After eight hours, 1.5 x regular pay for the next four hours worked and 2 x regular rate for additional hours
- Weekly: After 40 hours, 1.5 x regular pay (only the first eight hours worked each day are used to calculate total hours for overtime)
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| Averaging Agreements |
Averaging agreements allow hours of work to be scheduled outside of the standard eight hour day/40-hour week.
Hours of work may be spread over one – four weeks, provided that total hours worked do not average more than 40 hours over the period of the agreement
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| Overtime pay under averaging agreements |
After eight hours in a day, if extra hours have been added to an employees schedule, or if an employee works more than an average of 40 hours in a week over the averaging period (e.g., more than 80 hours over two weeks, or more than 120 hours over three weeks |
| Statutory holidays |
Nine per year |
| Annual vacation entitlement |
Depends on length of employment:
- Less than one year: No vacation entitlement (must be paid four per cent vacation pay if terminated)
- One – five years: two weeks
- More than five years: three weeks
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| Regular minimum wage |
C$8 per hour |
| First job minimum wage |
C$6 per hour for employees with no previous paid work experience. Applies to the first 500 hours of work with one or more employers |
| Termination |
No notice is required if an employee quits or is fired for "just cause." Otherwise employees are generally eligible for working notice (or pay compensation):
- After three months: one week
- After 12 months: two weeks
- After three years: one week for each year of employment up to eight weeks maximum
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| Temporary layoff |
No notice or pay compensation is required for employees laid-off temporarily. A "layoff week" is one in which an employee earns less than 50 per cent of regular weekly wages, averaged over the previous eight weeks |
| B.C. Employment Standards Act |