Canada Labour Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2)

DIVISION IIMinimum Wage and Age of Employment

Marginal note:Minimum wage

• 178 (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (5), an employer shall pay to each employee a wage at a minimum hourly rate that is not less than the rate that is determined in accordance with section 178.1.

• Marginal note:Province of employment

  (2) If the minimum hourly rate that is fixed, from time to time, by or under an Act of the legislature of the province where the employee is usually employed and that is generally applicable regardless of occupation, status or work experience is higher than the minimum hourly rate fixed under subsection (1), an employer shall pay to each employee a wage at a rate that is

  • (a) if the wages of the employee are paid on an hourly basis, not less than that higher minimum hourly rate; or

  • (b) if the wages of the employee are paid on any basis of time other than hourly, not less than the equivalent of the rate under paragraph (a) for the time worked by the employee.

• Marginal note:Wage rate based on age

  (3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), if minimum hourly rates for a province are fixed on the basis of age, the minimum hourly rate for that province is the highest of those rates.

• Marginal note:Minimum on other basis than time

  (4) Where the wages of an employee are computed and paid on a basis other than time or on a combined basis of time and some other basis, the Minister may, by order,

  • (a) fix a standard basis of work to which a minimum wage on a basis other than time may be applied; and

  • (b) fix a minimum rate of wage that in the opinion of the Minister is the equivalent of

    • (i) the minimum rate determined in accordance with subsection (2), if that minimum rate is higher than or equal to the minimum rate determined in accordance with section 178.1, or

    • (ii) the minimum rate determined in accordance with section 178.1, if that minimum rate is higher than the minimum rate determined in accordance with subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Minimum rate fixed by order to be paid

  (5) Except as otherwise provided by or under this Division, the employer shall pay to each employee who is paid on a basis other than time or on a combined basis of time and some other basis a wage at a rate not less than the minimum rate fixed by order under subsection (4).

Marginal note:Minimum wage — rate

• 178.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the minimum hourly rate referred to in subsection 178(1) is $15.

• Marginal note:Annual adjustment

  (2) On April 1 of each year after the year in which this section comes into force, the minimum hourly rate is to be adjusted to the rate, rounded up to the nearest $0.05, that is equal to the product of

  • (a) as the case may be,

    • (i) in respect of April 1 of the year after the year in which this section comes into force, $15, or

    • (ii) in respect of April 1 of each subsequent year, the rate that is determined in accordance with this section on April 1 of the preceding year, and

  • (b) the ratio that the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year bears to the Consumer Price Index for the calendar year before that preceding calendar year.

• Marginal note:Consumer Price Index

  (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a reference to the Consumer Price Index for any calendar year means the average of the all-items Consumer Price Index for Canada, not seasonally adjusted, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act, for each month in that year.

• Marginal note:No adjustment

  (4) Despite subsection (2), the minimum hourly rate is not to be adjusted on April 1 of a given year if on that day the rate determined in accordance with that subsection is less than, as the case may be,

  • (a) in respect of April 1 of the year after the year in which this section comes into force, $15; or

  • (b) in respect of April 1 of each subsequent year, the rate that is determined in accordance with this section on April 1 of the preceding year.

Marginal note:Employees under 18 years of age

179 An employer may employ a person under the age of 18 years only

• (a) in an occupation specified by the regulations; and

• (b) subject to the conditions fixed by the regulations for employment in that occupation.

180 [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 6]

Marginal note:Regulations applicable to Division

181 The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Division and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations

• (a) requiring employers to pay employees who report for work at the call of the employer wages for such minimum number of hours as may be prescribed, whether or not the employee is called on to perform any work after so reporting for work;

• (b) fixing the maximum price to be charged for board, whether full or partial, furnished by or on behalf of an employer to an employee, or the maximum deduction to be made therefor from the wages of the employee by the employer;

• (c) fixing the maximum price to be charged for living quarters, either permanent or temporary, furnished by or on behalf of an employer to an employee, whether or not those quarters are self-contained and whether or not the employer retains general possession and custody thereof, or the maximum deduction to be made therefor from the wages of the employee by the employer;

• (d) governing the charges or deductions for furnishing uniforms or other articles of wearing apparel that an employer may require an employee to wear or requiring an employer in any specified circumstances to provide, maintain or launder uniforms or other articles of wearing apparel that the employer may require an employee to wear;

• (e) governing the charges or deductions for furnishing any tools or equipment that an employer may require an employee to use and for the maintenance and repair of any such tools or equipment;

• (f) specifying, for the purposes of section 179, the occupations in which persons under the age of 18 years, or any class of persons under that age, may be employed in an industrial establishment and fixing the conditions of that employment; and

• (g) exempting, on such terms and conditions and for such periods as are considered advisable, any employer from the application of section 178 in respect of any class of employees who are being trained on the job, if the training facilities provided and used by the employer are adequate to provide a training program that will increase the skill or proficiency of an employee.

DIVISION II.1Breaks for Medical Reasons or Nursing

Marginal note:Medical break

• 181.1 (1) Subject to the regulations, every employee is entitled to and shall be granted any unpaid breaks that are necessary for medical reasons.

• Marginal note:Certificate

  (2) On written request by the employer, the employee must provide a certificate issued by a health care practitioner setting out the length and frequency of the breaks needed for medical reasons and any additional information that may be prescribed by regulation.

Marginal note:Nursing break

181.2 Subject to the regulations, every employee who is nursing is entitled to and shall be granted any unpaid breaks necessary for them to nurse or to express breast milk.

Marginal note:Regulations

181.3 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) modifying the provisions of sections 181.1 or 181.2 for the purpose of the application of this Division to any class of employees;

• (b) exempting any class of employees from the application of section 181.1 or 181.2;

• (c) respecting the breaks set out in subsection 181.1(1) and section 181.2, including circumstances in which those breaks cannot be taken; and

• (d) respecting additional information to be included in a certificate required under subsection 181.1(2).

DIVISION IIIEqual Wages

Marginal note:Application of sections

• 182 (1) For the purposes of ascertaining whether a discriminatory practice under section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act is being or has been engaged in, sections 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 255 and 264 apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, as if this Part expressly required an employer to refrain from that discriminatory practice.

• Marginal note:Report to Commission

  (2) If the Head has reasonable grounds at any time for believing that an employer is engaging or has engaged in a discriminatory practice described in subsection (1), the Head may notify the Canadian Human Rights Commission or file a complaint with that Commission under section 40 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

DIVISION IVAnnual Vacations

Marginal note:Definitions

183 In this Division,

vacation pay

vacation pay means the amount an employee is entitled to under section 184.01; (indemnité de congé annuel)

year of employment

year of employment means continuous employment of an employee by one employer

• (a) for a period of twelve consecutive months beginning with the date the employment began or any subsequent anniversary date thereafter, or

• (b) for a calendar year or other year determined by the employer, in accordance with the regulations, in relation to an industrial establishment. (année de service)

Marginal note:Annual vacation with pay

184 Except as otherwise provided by or under this Division, in respect of every year of employment by an employer, every employee is entitled to and shall be granted a vacation with vacation pay of

• (a) at least two weeks if they have completed at least one year of employment;

• (b) at least three weeks if they have completed at least five consecutive years of employment with the same employer; and

• (c) at least four weeks if they have completed at least 10 consecutive years of employment with the same employer.

Marginal note:Calculation of vacation pay

184.01 An employee is entitled to vacation pay equal to:

• (a) 4% of their wages during the year of employment in respect of which they are entitled to the vacation;

• (b) 6% of their wages during the year of employment in respect of which they are entitled to the vacation, if they have completed at least five consecutive years of employment with the same employer; and

• (c) 8% of their wages during the year of employment in respect of which they are entitled to the vacation, if they have completed at least 10 consecutive years of employment with the same employer.

Marginal note:Entitlement to vacation in one or more periods

184.1 A vacation granted to an employee under this Division is to be taken only in one period or, if the employee makes a request in writing and the employer approves it in writing, in more than one period.

Marginal note:Granting vacation with pay

185 The employer of an employee who under this Division has become entitled to a vacation with vacation pay

• (a) shall grant to the employee the vacation to which the employee is entitled, which shall begin not later than ten months immediately following the completion of the year of employment for which the employee became entitled to the vacation; and

• (b) shall, at any time that is prescribed by the regulations, pay to the employee

  • (i) if the vacation is taken in one period, the vacation pay to which the employee is entitled in respect of that vacation, or

  • (ii) if the vacation is taken in more than one period, for each period, the proportion of the vacation pay that the vacation taken is of the annual vacation to which the employee is entitled.

Marginal note:Vacation pay

186 Vacation pay shall for all purposes be deemed to be wages.

Marginal note:General holiday during vacation

187 Where one or more general holidays occur during a vacation granted to an employee pursuant to this Division, the vacation to which the employee is entitled under this Division may be extended by one day for each such holiday, and the employer shall pay to the employee in addition to the vacation pay the wages to which the employee is entitled for those general holidays.

Marginal note:Interruption

• 187.1 (1) An employee may interrupt a vacation granted to them under this Division in order to permit them to take a leave of absence under Division VII or VIII or section 247.5 or to be absent due to a reason referred to in subsection 239(1) or 239.1(1).

• Marginal note:Application of section 209.1

  (2) If an employee interrupts a vacation to take leave under any of sections 205.1, 206, 206.1 and 206.3 to 206.9 and resumes the vacation immediately at the end of that leave, section 209.1 applies to them as if they did not resume the vacation before returning to work.

• Marginal note:Application of subsection 239(7)

  (3) If an employee interrupts a vacation to be absent due to a reason referred to in subsection 239(1) and resumes the vacation immediately at the end of that leave, subsection 239(7) applies to them as if they did not resume the vacation before returning to work.

• (3.1) [Repealed, 2021, c. 26, s. 20]

• Marginal note:Application of subsections 239.1(3) and (4)

  (4) If an employee interrupts a vacation to be absent due to a reason referred to in subsection 239.1(1) and resumes the vacation immediately at the end of that leave, subsections 239.1(3) and (4) apply to them as if they did not resume the vacation before returning to work.

• Marginal note:Application of sections 247.93 to 247.95

  (5) If an employee interrupts a vacation to take leave under section 247.5 and resumes the vacation immediately at the end of that leave, sections 247.93 to 247.95 apply to that employee as if they did not resume the vacation before returning to work.

• Marginal note:Notice to employer — interruption of vacation

  (6) An employee who intends to interrupt their vacation shall provide the employer with written notice of the interruption before or as soon as possible after the interruption begins.

• Marginal note:Notice to employer — resumption of vacation

  (7) An employee who interrupts their vacation and who intends to resume it immediately after the interruption ends shall provide the employer with written notice of the day on which they resume their vacation before or as soon as possible after that day.