OCTOBER 2013
Overtime trumps everything
Continued from page 1
sation must be calculated according to
overtime rates.
"The overtime would trump everything else," Sergeant says. "In Ontario,
if they were called back in and three
hours was going to put them over and
above the 44-hour threshold, then, yes,
it would be at the overtime rate."
Employers must pay attention to legislation in regions where there is a daily
overtime threshold.
"In British Columbia, any work more
than eight hours a day or 40 hours a
week triggers overtime," says Plomp.
"So if the on call work occurred in the
same day after an eight hour shift then
overtime pay would be triggered."
The only time someone may not be
entitled to on call compensation is if they
are a live-in caregiver, says Sergeant.
"When that individual is sleeping, for
example, they would not be entitled to
pay," she says.
Employers that don't compensate
their employees for being on call may
want to rethink their decision, says Francis.
"You'll have employees leave to go
work for a company that will compensate," she says. "You're asking them to
become available at the drop of a hat, so
it's now becoming more ethical to have
some sort of premium to keep quality
employees."
■ PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
Minimum call-in hours by jurisdiction
Alberta— Three hours at minimum
wage.
British Columbia — Two hours if
called into work; four hours if work
commences after an eight-hour
shift.
Manitoba — Three hours.
New Brunswick — Three hours at
minimum wage or the employees
regular wage for the time worked,
whichever is greater.
Newfoundland and Labrador — Three
hours at minimum wage.
Northwest Territories — Four hours.
Nova Scotia — Three hours at minimum wage.
Nunavut — Four hours at minimum
wage.
Ontario — Three hours at minimum
wage or the employees regular wage
for the time worked, whichever is
greater.
Prince Edward Island — Three hours.
Quebec — Three hours.
Saskatchewan — Three hours at
minimum wage.
Yukon — Two hours.
Federal — Three hours.
Ask an expert
Taxability of stress
management courses
Answer: No. The CRA and RQ consider this type of workshop to be businessrelated. As a result, no taxable benefit
arises.
Question: We are paying for our employees to attend stress management
workshops at work to help them better
cope with their job demands. Is this a
taxable benefit for the employees?
Annie Chong is the manager of the
payroll consulting group at Carswell,
a Thomson Reuters business. She
can be reached at annie.chong@
thomsonreuters.com or (416) 298-5085.
Continued from page 11
12
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