What To Do About Soaring Inflation? – BC Increases Minimum Wage
By: Michelle QuinnCo-authored by Summer Student, Kyusik Shin
It has been impossible to ignore the effects of rising inflation on your wallet. Everything you pay for including groceries, gas and the utility bill has became more expensive monthly, if not daily. What used to be a living wage may not be a living wage in 2023.
Effective June 1, 2023, the BC Government has increased the province’s minimum wage from $15.65 up to $16.75 per hour. This increase will make the minimum wage in British Columbia the second highest in Canada, only trailing Yukon by two cents.
Last year, in response to soaring consumer prices, the BC government made a commitment to match the minimum wage increase to the average annual inflation rate. The sharp increase of $1.10 per hour reflects this commitment. Below is an overview of the increases over the years:
- June 1, 2020 – $14.60 per hour (5.4% Increase from the previous year)
- June 1, 2021 – $15.20 per hour (4.1% Increase from the previous year)
- June 1, 2022 – $15.65 per hour (3% Increase from the previous year)
- June 1, 2023 – $16.75 per hour (6.9% Increase from the previous year)
B.C.’s annual inflation rate has been decreasing and is at 6.2% as of January 2023, down from 6.6% in December 2022 and the peak of which was 8.1% in May 2022. Therefore, we will unlikely see another sharp minimum wage increase next year.
The minimum wage applies regardless of how employees are paid, whether it is 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. For example:
- If an employer has a salaried employee, the employer must ensure that the employee’s salary is at least equivalent to the minimum wage for the number of hours they work.
- If an employer has an employee on commission, the employer must ensure that the employee’s commission is at least equivalent to the minimum wage for the number of hours they work, regardless of whether the employee is paid 100% on commission or part commission and part hourly wages.
It is important to note that the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) does not allow the minimum wage to be waived as part of an employment agreement. Any agreement on employment conditions that do not meet the minimum standards of the ESA, will be deemed to be of no effect.
It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure compliance with the new minimum wage. Failure to comply with the ESA and the regulations may result in financial penalties against the employer.
If you would like more information or advice about the new minimum wage and the application of the ESA to your workplace, please contact any member of our Employment and Human Rights Group.
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In this blog post, I reviewed the recent human rights case of Gaucher v. Fraser Health Authority where the Tribunal dismissed Ms. Gaucher’s discrimination complaint. Ms. Gaucher claimed that her gradual return to work (“GRTW”) plan was flawed and she was discriminated against on the grounds of disability in contravention of the BC Human Rights Code. In its decision, the Tribunal considered the duty to accommodate and held that, while the plan was not “perfect”, the employer would be able to prove at a hearing that it reasonably accommodated Ms. Gaucher throughout her GRTW.
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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.
