Employment Standards

• What are wages for reporting to work?
  
• How much are employees paid for reporting to work?
  
• Do employers need to post schedules?
  
• Can an employer have an open-ended schedule?
  
• Can an employer change the work schedule?
  
• Does an employer need to pay an employee when they are on-call?
  
• Do wages for reporting to work apply to an on-call employee?
  
• Do wages for reporting for work apply to staff meetings?
  
• Do wages for reporting for work apply when an employee volunteers to go home?
  
• Do wages for reporting for work apply when an employee asks to leave work?
  
• For more information contact the Employment Standards Branch:
  

What are wages for reporting to work?

An employee is paid wages for reporting for work when they have reported  for work as scheduled by the employer, but the amount of time they actually work is less than what they had been scheduled.

When that happens, the employee must be paid the regular wages they would have earned working their full shift, up to a maximum of 3 hours.

Examples include:

• When an employer sends an employee home early because it is slow
• When an employer makes an error on the schedule and has too many people working
• On-call situations
• When weather conditions affect how work can be done, and the weather changes

How much are employees paid for reporting to work?

• If they were scheduled to work more than 3 hours, and work more than 3 hours but not their entire scheduled shift, they must be paid for all hours worked. 
• If they were scheduled to work more than 3 hours, but work less than 3 hours, they must be paid for at least 3 hours. 
• If they were scheduled to work less than 3 hours they must be paid for their entire scheduled shift.

Do employers need to post schedules?

No. Employers control scheduling and the hours employees work, but they are not required to post a schedule.  An employer can create a schedule every day, or weeks in advance, it is up to the employer.  What is important is that when an employee is told to come to work, they know how long to expect to work.  If an employee does not know how long they will work before they report, the shift will be considered at least 3 hours.

Can an employer have an open-ended schedule?

Yes.   But for wages for reporting to work, those shifts would be considered at least 3 hours. For example, sometimes an employer will schedule an employee to start work at 5pm and not say when the shift will end.  Those shifts would be considered 3 hours, so if the employee only worked for 1 hour, they must still be paid for 3 hours.

Can an employer change the work schedule?

Yes.  Employers control work schedules and can change them at any time.   If an employee is told of a schedule change before reporting to work, then wages for reporting to work do not apply.

Does an employer need to pay an employee when they are on-call?

No.  Employees must be paid for time worked; being on-call is not considered time worked. 

Do wages for reporting to work apply to an on-call employee?

Yes.  When an on-call employee is called to work, wages for reporting to work apply.   If the employer has not told the employee how long they will work when they get a call, the employee must be paid for at least 3 hours when they report for work.

The employer can, however, establish a schedule for on-call work.  For example, an employer can tell an on-call employee that they will be paid for 1 hour when they are called to work.  The employee is then paid for 1 hour, even if they only work for 20 minutes. 

Employers must accurately schedule the on-call periods, if an employee is scheduled to get 1 hour of wages for a call, but the calls regularly take more than 1 hour of work, the employer will be responsible for 3 hours of pay.

Do wages for reporting for work apply to staff meetings?

Yes.  Wages for reporting for work apply when an employer requires an employee to come to work to attend a staff meeting.  Mandatory staff meetings are considered time worked.  If an employer does not tell staff how long the meeting will take, employees would be paid for at least 3 hours.

If employees are told how long the meeting will last then the employees are paid for the length of the staff meeting, or for the number of hours they were told it would last, whichever is more.

Do wages for reporting for work apply when an employee volunteers to go home?

Yes.  Wages for reporting for work may apply whenever an employee reports for work and works less than they expected to work.  An employer cannot avoid wages for reporting for work by asking if there is a volunteer to stop working early.  Employers control the hours that an employee will work.

Do wages for reporting for work apply when an employee asks to leave work?

Employers control the workplace, but sometimes an employee will need to leave work before the end of their scheduled shift for personal reasons.  When an employee specifically asks to leave work in a period where wages for reporting for work would apply, the employer can chose to let the employee leave, and only pay for the actual hours worked. 

For more information contact the Employment Standards Branch:

This is a general overview and the information used is subject to change. For detailed information, please refer to current legislation including The Employment Standards Code and The Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, or contact the Employment Standards Branch to ask for advice.