Employers have many obligations to their employees when it comes to paying them, and employees can enforce these obligations through a lawsuit or by making a complaint with Employment Standards. While the province has implemented new workplace rules as a result of COVID-19, employers still have obligations to pay their employees.

Here a few things that employers should keep in mind:

Employers are required to pay their employees at least once per month and must pay at least the minimum wage.

These requirements are not affected by the pandemic, and an employer cannot require an employee to work without pay. Employers also need to provide pay statements to their employees setting out specific information for each pay period. Pay records must be kept for at least 3 years.

Pay cuts must be made with advance notice.

If an employer wants to reduce an employee’s earnings, the reduction must comply with minimum employment standards. The employer needs to notify the employee and may need to provide reasonable notice for the reduction.

If the pay reduction is too drastic, the employee may be deemed to have been “constructively dismissed” such that the employer will be required to pay termination pay, especially if the employee has not agreed to the pay reduction.

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