BC Minimum Wage Increase
By: Michelle QuinnThis post was co-authored by Michelle Quinn and Sonia Khan, summer student.
The BC Government has increased the province’s minimum wage from $14.60 up to $15.20 per hour. This increase is part of a recent trend to provide security to BC’s lowest earners. The minimum wage applies to all workers of any age, with no separate minimum applying to minors.
Minimum wage applies regardless of how employees are paid – hourly, salary, commission or on an incentive basis. If an employee’s wage is below minimum wage for the hours they worked, the employer must top up their payment so that it’s equal to minimum wage.
The dates below show the gradual upward shift:
- September 15, 2017 – $11.35 per hour
- June 1, 2018 – $12.65 per hour
- June 1, 2019 – $13.85 per hour
- June 1, 2020 – $14.60 per hour
- June 1, 2021 – $15.20 per hour
Beginning next year, the province’s minimum wage will be tied to inflation.
It is important to note that Part 1, Section 4 of the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) does not allow for the minimum wage to be waived as part of an employment agreement. Agreed employment conditions that do not meet the minimum standards of the ESA, will be deemed to be of no effect. Certain employees are exempt from the ESA and are not entitled to minimum wage.
Liquor Servers
This wage increase also includes liquor servers who will now earn the general minimum wage. Before this increase, liquor servers earned a lesser minimum wage than the rest of the province at $13.95 per hour.
Part 4, Section 18.1 (1) of the Employment Standards Regulations defines a liquor server as an employee:
(a) whose primary duties are a server of food or drink or both, and(b) who as a regular part of the employee’s employment, serves liquor directly to customers, guests, members or patrons in premises for which a licence to sell liquor under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act.
If an employee falls under the above definition, you may need to review and amend applicable employment contracts to reflect the change.
If you need advice on employee matters and the ESA please contact any member of our Employment and Human Rights Group.
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In LaFleche v. NLFD Auto dba Prince George Ford (No. 2), 2022 BCHRT 88, the BC Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) found that Ford discriminated against Mellissa LaFleche (“Ms. LaFleche”) on the grounds of sex and family status by dismissing her while she was on maternity leave. Ms. LaFleche had worked as a marketing manager for Ford for close to two years and, while she was on leave, Ford told her that she would not be returning to her managerial role – a role she had “built from scratch”. The Tribunal awarded Ms. LaFleche $12,000 for injury to dignity and $66,625 in lost wages and benefits.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the Canadian economy and has resulted in job loss and precarious employment across various sectors. It is yet to be seen however if and how these changes will affect an employee’s entitlement to reasonable notice following a without cause dismissal. In this article, we review recent court decisions addressing the impact of COVID-19 on wrongful dismissal damages.
