Ontario Minimum Wage

To Whom Does This Apply?

This document is based on information from the Ministry of Labour's Web site at http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/factsheets/fs_wage.html (last updated July, 2006)

This Fact Sheet is provided for your information and convenience only.  It is not a legal document. For further details, consult Employment Standards Act Publications.  For complete information, refer to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and its regulations.

Before you read this document, please read our General Information Fact Sheet and find out if the ESA applies to you.

Who is entitled to minimum wage?
Most employees are entitled to at least minimum wage.  There are exceptions to the ESA's usual rules for certain industries and job categories.  Please refer to the chart in the "How Are You Covered by the ESA?" Fact Sheet at for details about industry-specific and job-specific exemptions, and special rules regarding minimum wage.

Summary

What is minimum wage?

Minimum wage is the lowest rate an employer can pay an employee.  Most employees are eligible for minimum wage, whether they are full-time, part-time, casual employees, or are paid an hourly rate, commission, piece rate, flat rate or salary.

Who is entitled to minimum wage?

Most employees are entitled to at least minimum wage.

There are exceptions to the ESA 's usual rules for certain industries and job categories. Please refer to the chart in the "How Are You Covered by the ESA? " Fact Sheet for details about industry-specific and job-specific exemptions, and special rules regarding minimum wage.

Does everyone get the same amount of minimum wage per hour?

No.  There is a general minimum wage that applies to most employees.  But there are other minimum wages that apply to:

What are the current minimum wages for different jobs?

As of February 1, 2006, the minimum wages are the following:

• General Workers Minimum Wage - $7.75 per hour
  
  
• Liquor Server Minimum Wage - $6.75 per hour (note: applies to employees serving liquor directly to customers in licensed premises as a regular part of their work);
  
  
• Student Minimum Wage - $7.25 per hour (note: applies to students under age 18, if more than 28 hours a week are worked during the school year, the General Minimum Wage applies to all hours worked in that week);
  
  
• Homeworkers Minimum Wage - $8.53 per hour or 110 per cent of the general minimum wage (note: this wage applies to all homeworkers whether they are full-time or part-time, or students under 18 years of age);
  
  
• Hunting and Fishing Guides are paid for blocks of time, not by the hour.  They get a minimum amount for working less than five consecutive hours in a day, and a different minimum amount for working five hours or more in a day-whether or not the hours are consecutive.  For working less than five consecutive hours in a day: $38.75.  For working five hours or more in a day: $77.50.

How is minimum wage calculated for employees who earn commission?

If an employee's pay is based completely or partly on commission, it must amount to at least the minimum wage for each hour the employee has worked.

To ensure an employee is receiving the minimum wage, the total amount the employee earned in regular wages over a work week is divided by the number of hours the employee worked in that week.

Industry-specific and job-specific exemptions and special rules may apply to some salespeople who earn commission.  Please see the chart in the " How Are You Covered by the ESA ? " Fact Sheet for details

Can an employer take into account the provision of room and meals to an employee when calculating minimum wage?

Yes, but there are limits.  Room and board (meals) shall not be deemed to have been paid as wages unless the employee has received the meals and occupied the room.

What employers can deduct for room and board?

The amounts that an employer is deemed to have paid to the employee as wages for room or board or both is set out below:

Room (weekly)

• private $31.70
• non-private $15.85
• non-private (domestic workers only) $0.00

Meals

• each meal $2.55
• weekly maximum $53.55

Rooms and meals (weekly)

• with private room $85.25
• with non-private $69.40
• non-private (domestic workers only) $53.55

Harvest workers (only) weekly housing

• serviced housing $99.35
• unserviced housing $73.30

If an employee is paid more than the minimum wage, the amount that room and board can be deemed as wages paid to an employee can also increase.  However, an employer must have a written authorization from the employee in order that a higher amount can be deemed paid as wages.  In this case, the wages--after wages have been deemed paid for the provision of room and board but before any deductions are made--must be equal to or greater than the minimum wage less the maximum amounts set out above that can be deemed as wages for room and board.

Can employers make deductions from an employee's wages?

Yes, but only certain kinds of deductions can be made:

1. Statutory Deductions - Federal and provincial statutes sometimes require an employer to withhold or make deductions from an employee's wages.  For example, employers are required to make deductions for income taxes, employment insurance premiums and Canada Pension Plan contributions.  An employer isn't permitted to deduct more than the law says and can't legally make deductions if the money isn't then forwarded to the proper authority.

2. Court Order - A court may order an employer to make a deduction from an employee's wages if the employee owes money either to the employer, or to someone else.

3. Written Authorization - An employer may also deduct money from an employee's wages with the employee's written authorization.  A verbal authorization is not enough.  The employee's written authorization must state:

• that a deduction from wages is allowed;
• the amount of money to be deducted or it must provide a method of calculating the specific amount of money to be deducted.

Even with a written authorization, an employer can't withhold, deduct or require wages to be returned:

• because of the employee's faulty work;
• because the employer had a cash shortage or property lost or stolen, if the employee wasn't the only person who had access to the cash or property.

For further information:  
visit the Web site:
Employment Standards Act Publications
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/es_pubs.html

What happens if an employee comes in to work his or her shift, but is sent home after working less than three hours?

When an employee is required to report to work, but works less than three hours, he or she must be paid whichever of the following amounts is the highest:

• three hours at the minimum wage, or
• the employee's regular wage for the time worked.

This is called the "three-hour rule".  The rule doesn't apply to:

• students (including students over 18 years of age); or
• employees whose regular shift is three hours or less;
• where the cause of the employee not being able to work at least three hours was beyond the employer's control.

Special rules may apply to certain industries.  Please refer to the ESA and regulations.

What happens when the minimum wage changes?

As of February 1, 2006, if the minimum wage rate changes during a pay period, the pay period will be treated as if it were two separate pay periods and the employee will be entitled to at least the minimum wage that applies in each of those periods. 

What if the employer does not follow the ESA?

If an employee thinks the employer is not complying with the ESA , he or she can call or visit the nearest Ministry of Labour office to discuss a particular situation or to file a complaint. Complaints are investigated by an employment standards officer who can, if necessary, make orders against an employer - including an order to comply with the ESA. The ministry has a number of options to enforce the ESA, including requesting voluntary compliance, issuing an order to pay wages, an order to comply, an order to compensate, an order to reinstate and/or a notice of contravention, or issuing a ticket or otherwise prosecuting the employer under the Provincial Offences Act.

• Important Notices
• Vacation
• Public Holidays
• Termination of Employment & Severance Pay
• Hours of Work & Overtime
• Pregnancy Leave and Parental Leave
• Domestic Workers
• Homeworkers
• Retail Workers
• Personal Emergency Leave
• List of Fact Sheets
• Employment Regulations Info-Guide

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.

Ontario Contact(s):
Employment Standards Information Centre
Ministry of Labour - MOL
Ontario 
Telephone: (416) 326-7160
Fax: (416) 314-8725
Toll-free (information): 1-800-531-5551
E-mail: webes@mol.gov.on.ca
Web site: http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB