Professional Documents
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2. Minimum Wage:
Are there two minimum wages? Explain. What are the new minimum wages going to be?
There are two minimum wages. The standard minimum wage is $10.85 per hour, while the minimum wage
for liquor servers (ex. Waiters in restaurants) is $9.60 per hour. Both these wages are effective September
15, 2016.
3. Minimum Daily Pay:
What is the minimum amount of hours that you are paid if you show up for work, even if the boss sends
you home?
The minimum amount of hours that you must be paid even if you dont work is 2 hours, unless you are
unfit to work or you fail to comply with Part 3 of the Workers Compensation Act. Under those
exceptional circumstances, workers would be sent home and paid for the actual amount of time they
worked. Additionally, if you are scheduled to work for more than 8 hours, you must be paid for 4 hours of
work.
You are scheduled to work an 8-hour shift then the boss asks you to work another 2 hours. How many
hours must s/he pay you for?
When employees work up to four hours of overtime, they must be paid time-and-a-half for their time.
This means that 2 hours of overtime is equivalent to 3 hours of work, because:
2*1.5=3
In total, you would have to be paid 11 hours for your work, because:
3+8=11
You show up for work and work 1 hour before a power failure happens so the boss sends the entire staff
home. How many hours must the boss pay each employee for the day?
Each employee would be paid for 2 hours of work, unless they were scheduled for more than 8 hours. In
that case, they would be paid for 4 hours of work.
How many times a month must your boss pay you?
You must be paid at least twice a month.
4. Work Breaks:
How often does an employer have to give you a 30 minute meal break?
An employer must give an employee a meal break after five hours of work or less.
How many coffee breaks does an employer have to give you?
An employer is not required to give anybody coffee breaks.
What is a split shift?
A split shift is when someone works for two non-consecutive periods of a day. A split shift may not
exceed twelve hours, starting from when the shift began and ending when the shift is complete,
including the time when the worker was off-shift.
5. Paydays and Payroll Records:
You were paid for the months of January on the 3rd and 18th and for February on the 10th and 14th. Is the
employer allowed to do this? Explain your answer.
An employer is allowed to do this. The act states that an employee must be paid twice a month, which the
employer did. Employment is divided into pay periods, which must not exceed 16 days in length. Within
8 days of the end of a pay period, an employer must pay their employee what they have earned in one pay
period. Lets examine the pay periods of this employee:
January 3rd January 18th (15 days) paid in 0 days on January 18th
January 19th February 4th (16 days) paid in 6 days on February 10th
February 5th February 14th (9 days) paid in 0 days on February 14th
The employer did not violate any pay rules by doing so.
What must appear on your written or electronic pay statement (pay stub) each pay period?
According to the Government of BC Website, the wage statement must include:
Vacation pay is given to employees when they take a vacation. If employees have been employed for at
least 5 calendar days, they are entitled for 4% of the previous years wages as vacation pay. If employees
have been employed for at least 5 years, they are entitled to 6% of the previous years wages as vacation
pay.
6. Overtime:
You earn $10 per hour. What would be your gross pay (before taxes) if you worked:
10 hours in one day? $110
30 hours in one week? $300
7.5 hours in one day? $75
50 hours in one week? $550 if overtime was worked for two extra hours each workday
$600 if overtime was worked on a day of rest (ex. Saturday or Sunday)
7. Uniforms and Special Clothing:
You work in a mill where you are required to wear hearing (ear) protection, steel-toed boots and safety
(eye) goggles. Who must pay for this equipment?
Why do you think it would be a good idea to keep a record of the days and hours you have worked?
In case an employer (intentionally or unintentionally) does not pay you wages you are entitled to, you
have paper evidence of when you worked. Even though it does not stand up as proof you worked that
day, you can at least show it to them if they made a mistake.
Nobody else is obligated to look after me and my rights, meaning that I must take care of myself and ensure
my rights are protected. It is my responsibility to know my own rights as a worker, because nobody else will be
doing it for me.