Employment Standards Act - Employee Designations

Summary

Most employees in Manitoba fall under provincial jurisdiction and are covered by the Employment Standards laws in Manitoba which promote fairness in the workplace for employers and employees. An "employee" is a person engaged by another to perform skilled or unskilled manual, clerical, domestic or technical work or service, or professional work or service.

PERSONS IN MANITOBA NOT COVERED BY THE EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ACT

Those not under provincial jurisdiction are covered by Human Resources Development Canada (formerly Labour Canada) and include:

• Railways
• Highway transport
• Telephone, telegraph and cable systems
• Pipelines
• Canals
• Ferries, tunnels and bridges
• Shipping and shipping services
• Radio and television broadcasting, including cablevision
• Air transport, aircraft operations and aerodromes
• Banks (Credit Unions and Trust Companies are under provincial jurisdiction.)
• Primary fishing where the fishers work for wages
• Grain elevators
• Flour and feed mills, feed warehouses and grain seed cleaning plants west of Thunder Bay
• Uranium mining and processing
• Certain individual undertakings, such as Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company.

For inquiries regarding Canada Labour Code coverage contact: Human Resources Development Canada at (204) 983-6375.

OTHER PERSONS NOT COVERED

• Independent contractors (anyone who in general terms is self-employed)
• Persons employed in agriculture (farm labour), fishing, fur farming, or dairy farming, or in the growing of horticultural or market garden products for sale. (NOTE: Persons employed in selling horticultural or market garden products grown by another person are covered by this Act.)
• Any person employed as a domestic servant in a private family home paid by a member of the family where the person does not work more than 24 hours in any week.
• Any person who is hired as a babysitter for children or as a companion for an aged, infirm or ill member of that family and is paid by a member of that family.
• Any person who is registered as a student in training for a profession or a person who is allowed to practice a profession that is covered by its own Act of the Legislature (i.e. doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, etc.)

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Manitoba Contact(s):
Manitoba Labour Board
Manitoba Labour and Immigration
Room 402,
A.A Heaps Building
258 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3C 0B6
Telephone: (204) 945-3783
Fax: (204) 945-1296