Most Common Issues

A Summary of Leave of Absence Options

The Employment Standards Code provides a number of leaves of absence to allow employees time to deal with certain events in their lives without the loss of their job.


Deductions from Wages

Employers are responsible for paying employees properly for all hours worked. 

Employees and employers are sometimes unsure what can be deducted or held by the employer from those wages.  The general rule is employers can only deduct money required by a law, or money the employee agrees to pay for something that is a direct benefit to them.


General Holidays

General holidays are sometimes referred to as statutory holidays or stat holidays. They are days recognized by law as holidays. Employees either have this day off with pay, or are paid differently if they work.


Overtime

Standard hours of work are generally 8 hours in a day and 40 hours in a week. Work beyond these hours is overtime and must be paid at 1 ½ times the employee’s regular wage rate.

Most employees are paid for overtime, including students, part-time employees, and minimum wage-earners.


Termination of Employment

Employment relationships can be ended by either an employer or employee. In most cases, the legislation requires the person ending the employment to give notice.


Vacations and Vacation Pay

Employees must receive at least 2 weeks of vacation per year for the first four years of employment, and a minimum of 3 weeks of vacation after the fifth consecutive year.

For each week of vacation, employees are entitled to 2% of the wages earned in that year, meaning that, employers may put vacation pay on every cheque, or they may choose to pay out at the time of the vacation leave.


What is Minimum Wage?

The minimum wage is the lowest amount, per hour, employees must be paid by their employers for work in Manitoba.


Young Employees

Minimum standards such as general holidays, vacations, minimum wage and termination apply to all employees regardless of age.  Young people who are 13, 14, or 15 years of age need to complete a Young Worker Readiness Certificate Course before they can begin working, and there are rules that restrict their hours of employment and the types of work they can perform.