12.08.12

Canada, Canada

The B.C. Employment Standards Act protects employees whether they are employed on a part-time, full-time, temporary or permanent basis, and whether they are paid by the hour, by salary or commission. Failure by an employer to comply with the Act may result in penalties being assessed. We have identified the top 10 need to know items when operating a business in British Columbia, Canada. The list below was adapted from BC Employment standards website. 1. Employee Hiring and False Representations: An employer must not influence or persuade a person to become an employee, or to work or to be available for work, by misrepresenting any of the following: the availability of a position, the type of work, the wages, or the conditions of employment. Employers and employees should confirm the job offer and its conditions in writing before the start date to avoid any misunderstanding. 2. Employee Records: Employers must keep records for each employee presenting: the employee’s wage rate; the hours worked each day; benefits paid; gross and net wages for each pay period; deductions taken; dates of statutory holidays and vacations taken, and amounts paid. 3. Hours of work: When scheduling employees, employers must observe the requirements regarding meal breaks, time off between shifts, scheduling split shifts, hours free from work each week, minimum daily pay and overtime. 4. Paydays: All employees must be paid at least twice a month. A pay period may not exceed 16 days. All money earned, including overtime and statutory holiday pay, must be paid within eight days after the end of the pay period. Wages must be paid in Canadian currency and may be paid by direct deposit to an employee’s bank account if authorized in writing by the employee. 5. Deductions from wages: An employer may only deduct wages as (e.g. income tax, CPP, EI). An employer cannot demand an employee to pay any portion of an employer’s business costs, nor can an employer deduct advances and accidental overpayments from wages unless the employee has given written authorization. 6. Vacation and Vacation Pay: An employer must give an employee an annual vacation of at least two weeks after 12 months of employment, and three weeks after five years of employment. After being employed for 5 calendar days, an employee is entitled to receive annual vacation pay of at least 4% of all wages earned for the first five years of employment and 6% after that. Original Article : -http://holistichr.ca/top-10-employment-laws/