Canada British Columbia HR Information

Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:03 (UTC)

Overview

Provinces in Canada have exclusive jurisdiction over all aspects of employment relations in most fields of economic activity. The exceptions, subject to federal jurisdiction, are banks, transportation services that cross provincial or international boundaries, airlines, broadcasting, and telecommunications. In addition, unemployment insurance for all Canadian employees is regulated under the federal Employment Insurance Act and public pension benefits are provided to residents of all provinces except Quebec under the federal Canada Pension Plan.

In British Columbia, non-unionized employee relationships are largely governed by the provincial Employment Standards Act and unionized employment relationships by the Labor Relations Code.

Hiring

Employment Contracts

Employment contracts can be either written or oral.

A probationary period of employment is recognized in British Columbia and is typically three months. The nature of the probation must be established at the start of the employment.

The agreement then allows the employer to terminate the employment without cause or obligation to give notice or severance, as long as the determination of the employee’s suitability is fair and reasonable and not in bad faith or for an improper motive. If a probation period lasts longer than three months and the employee is terminated without cause, the employer must provide the minimum notice set out under the Employment Standards Act.

Employers must make available or provide to each employee information about the rights of the employee under the Employment Standards Act.

Restrictions on Hiring

Youth under the age of 14 are prohibited from working generally, and children under the age of 16 are prohibited from working in “hazardous industries”, or from performing “hazardous work”. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, the Employment Standards Act prescribes minimum ages of 16 or 18 for certain types of work that is too hazardous for younger workers.

Recordkeeping

Employers must retain for four years the following information about each employee:

• name, date of birth, occupation, telephone number and residential address;
• rates of wages, hours of work, vacation periods, leaves of absence, pay and vacation pay;
• benefits paid;
• gross and net wages for each pay period;
• each deduction made from the employee’s wages and the reason for it;
• dates of the statutory holidays taken by the employee and the amounts paid by the employer;
• dates of the annual vacation taken by the employee, the amounts paid by the employer, and the days and amounts still owed;
• time bank balances;
• date each employee began and ended employment;
• dates of all layoffs or discharges of every employee; and
• dates of any notice of layoffs or discharges.

A labor standards officer may inspect all registers, books, payrolls, and other records of any employer or recruiter that in any way relate to the employment or recruitment of individuals.

Background Checks

Employers are allowed to gather personal information about applicants without their consent so long as:

• the information is collected, used or disclosed is necessary for establishing an employment relationship;
• prior notice is given to the person to explain the purpose for collecting, using or disclosing that information.

Noncompetition Agreements

In British Columbia, the courts will decide the enforceability of noncompetition and nonsolicitation clauses and agreements.

Reference Citations

Employment Contracts: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 63-67

Restrictions on Hiring: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 § 9

Recordkeeping: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 § 28

Background Checks: Personal Information Protection Act, S.B.C. 2003, ch. 63 § 7.3

Immigration and Work Permits

In General

An individual not a citizen or a permanent resident must have a work permit to be legally employed in Canada. A labor market impact assessment must be conducted to ensure there are no Canadians available to do the job. A work permit is usually very specific, valid for only a particular employer, a particular job, and a limited time.

Visas and Work Permits

Employers can hire temporary workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or the International Mobility Program (IMP). The TFWP lets employers hire temporary workers to fill temporary labor and skill shortages. Employers will need to obtain a document from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)/Service Canada stating that they can hire the temporary worker. This is known as a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). An LMIA verifies that there is a need for a temporary worker and that no Canadians are available to do the job.

Employers hiring temporary foreign workers and offering them a wage that is below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage are subject to a cap on the proportion of temporary foreign workers they can hire in low-wage positions at a specific work location.

The International Mobility Program (IMP) lets employers hire temporary workers without an LMIA. Exemptions from the LMIA process are based on broader economic, cultural or other competitive advantages for Canada and reciprocal benefits enjoyed by Canadians and permanent residents.

Express Entry: Canada also offers the Express Entry immigration program for skilled workers. Persons who are interested in applying for permanent residence through Express Entry must meet the criteria of one of the economic federal immigration programs (Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades Program, or Federal Skilled Worker Program). This allows the person to submit an online Express Entry profile. Once complete, the person will be scored using a ranking system. The highest ranked candidates will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Express Entry can be used for the permanent retention of existing skilled temporary foreign workers or to hire new skilled workers and support their application for permanent residence by making a job offer. For a job offer to be valid for EE, there must be a valid LMIA.

British Columbia Immigrant Nominee Program: Most provinces and territories in Canada can nominate immigrants through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). These immigrants must have the skills, education and work experience to contribute to the economy of that province or territory, and must want to live there. Each province (with the exception of Quebec, which does not have PNP) has its own immigration programs that target certain groups and criteria for their PNP.

To be eligible for British Columbia’s nominee program the applicant must satisfy the criteria in one of the following categories:

• Skilled Worker - managers, professionals and skilled tradespeople
• Health Care Professional - physicians, registered nurses, and other health care workers employed with provincial health authorities
• International Graduate - with a degree or diploma from a Canadian college or university within the last three years
• International Post-Graduate - with a master’s or doctoral degree in the natural, applied or health sciences from a B.C. university.
• Entry Level and Semi-Skilled (including employment in the Northeast Development Region of B.C.) - workers in tourism/hospitality, food processing and long-haul trucking.

Penalties

Consequences for employers that violate rules regarding the hiring of foreign workers include:

• warnings;
• financial penalties ranging from C$500 to C$100,000 per violation up to an annual maximum C$1 million per employer;
• a ban of one, two, five or 10 years or permanent bans for the most serious violations; and
• publication of the employer’s name on a public list with details of violations and sanctions.

A new method of assessing consequences of noncompliance has also been implemented based on a points system that considers:

• the type of violation,
• an employer’s compliance history,
• the severity of noncompliance, and
• the size of the employer’s business (for financial penalties only).

Forms

LMIA Application (EMP5602)

Document Checklist (IMM 5488)

Family Information (IMM 5646)

Reference Citations

Visas and Work Permits: Hire a Temporary Worker Through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Penalties: Temporary Foreign Worker Program Compliance

Nondiscrimination

In General

Employers under provincial jurisdiction in British Columbia may not discriminate in making decisions concerning an employee’s hiring, career, pay, or termination based on indigenous identity, race, color, ancestry, place of origin, political convictions, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or conviction for a criminal offense unrelated to the person’s employment or intended employment unless the discrimination is a bona fide occupational qualification.

The code contains specific exemptions from the prohibition on age discrimination for bona fide seniority systems, pension plans and group insurance plans. Pension and group insurance plans may also make distinctions based on marital status, mental or physical disability, and sex.

A party may bring a complaint of a violation of the British Columbia Human Rights Act directly to the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. The tribunal will hold an adversarial hearing at which the parties present evidence and examine and cross examine witnesses. If the tribunal allows the complaint, it may award monetary damages for lost usages or expenses incurred due to the discrimination and order that discriminatory conduct cease. The tribunal’s orders are legally binding once issued and may not be appealed, although they are subject to judicial review. There is a six-month limit on bringing complaints under the British Columbia Human Rights Code.

Pay Discrimination

The British Columbia Human Rights Code requires that employees performing “similar or substantially similar work” receive equal pay regardless of gender.

In determining whether work is similar or substantially similar, “the concept of skill, effort and responsibility” must be used. If a difference in the pay of employees whose work is similar or substantially similar is based on seniority, merit, a system that measures quality or quantity of production or a “factor other than sex,” the difference is permissible.

Employees may bring an action in the courts for money owing under this provision of the Human Rights Code. The action must be brought within 12 months of the date of the termination of the employee’s employment and the employee can only recover money owing for the 12 months prior to the filing of the action.

Pay Transparency: The Pay Transparency Act, enacted on May 11, 2023, prohibits employers from asking job applicants about their salary histories. The law also bans employers from dismissing, suspending, demoting or harassing employees who discuss, disclose or inquire about compensation.

The law establishes reporting and job-listing requirements regarding compensation. Employers must list in public job postings the wage or salary range of the job.

Gender Pay Reporting: Covered employers must also create a pay transparency report showing the gender pay gap within their organization related to hourly wages, overtime, and bonuses. The report must be posted on the company’s website. Employers without a website must post the report in a conspicuous place accessible to all employees and furnish upon request a copy of the report to a member of the public

Reference Citations

Nondiscrimination: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 210 § 13

Pay Discrimination: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 210 § 12

Employee Privacy

Employee Data

Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, an organization may collect employees’ personal information without the consent of the individual if the collection is reasonable for the purposes of establishing, managing, or terminating an employment relationship between the organization and the individual. An organization may also collect information about the employee without consent if:

• the collection is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way, or
• obtaining consent would compromise the availability or accuracy of the personal information, and
• the collection is reasonable for an investigation or a proceeding.

An organization must notify the employee that it will be collecting personal information and the purposes for the collection before proceeding without the employee’s consent. Employees must be given the right to access the information and request that it be changed if inaccurate.

Employers must make reasonable security arrangements to protect personal information, including physical measures, technical tools, and organizational controls. All personal information must be safeguarded from unauthorized access, collection, or use.

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance

Employers may use video surveillance if it is reasonable for the purpose of creating, managing, or terminating an employment relationship. Although the law permits temporary video surveillance without consent, it requires that the employer notify employees that it is occurring and explain the purpose for the collection.

Continuous video surveillance is only reasonable when used as a last resort and after exploring other less privacy-invasive methods.

Reference Citations

Employee Data: Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000 §§ 5-8

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance: Using Overt Video Surveillance, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, 2017

Compensation

Hours of Work

The normal workday in British Columbia is eight hours, though split shifts that are completed within 12 hours of the start of work are permissible. Agreements to average hours of work over a week or longer period are also permissible.

Employers must ensure that each employee has at least 32 consecutive hours free from work each week and at least eight consecutive hours free from work between each shift. Employers also must ensure that no employee works more than five consecutive hours without a meal break and that each meal break lasts at least 30 minutes.

Managers, members of certain professions and employees in certain occupations are not covered by these provisions of the Employment Standards Act.

Minimum Wage

Effective June 1, 2024, the general minimum wage increases from $16.75 to $17.40 an hour.

Under the Canada Labour Code, the minimum wage established by the province in which a federally regulated employee works is applicable to that employee.

Employees who work on a statutory holiday are entitled to double time and a half for the first 12 hours worked on the holiday and triple time for any further hours worked.

Overtime

Overtime must be paid to most employees coming under provincial jurisdiction in British Columbia if they work over eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Overtime is payable at the rate of one and a half times the employee’s regular hourly pay. Any hours worked beyond 12 hours in a day are paid at double the regular rate.

At the written request of an employee, an employer may establish a time bank for the employee and credit the employee’s overtime wages to the time bank instead of paying them to the employee. If a time bank is established, the employee may at any time request the employer to do one or more of the following:

• pay the employee all or part of the overtime wages credited to the time bank,
• allow the employee to use the credited overtime wages to take time off with pay at a time agreed by the employer and the employee, and/or
• close the time bank.

Wage Payment

Under the Employment Standards Act, employees must be paid at least twice per month and within eight days after the end of the pay period. Vacation pay must be paid annually.

The employer may also honor an employee’s written assignment of wages to meet a credit obligation.

Mandatory Bonuses

There are no provisions governing bonuses in British Columbia’s labor code.

Reference Citations

Hours of Work: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 32-37

Minimum wage: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 § 16; Minimum Wage Factsheet

Overtime: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 40, 42

Wage Payment: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 17, 22

Benefits

Vacation

Under the British Columbia Labour Standards Act, employees in provincially regulated industries are entitled to a minimum two weeks’ paid vacation after each of their first four years of employment and a minimum of three weeks’ paid vacation after five consecutive years of employment. An employee’s contract of employment may provide for a longer vacation period.

An employer must ensure an employee takes an annual vacation within 12 months after completing the year of employment entitling the employee to the vacation. The vacation period must be in consecutive weeks off unless the employee and the employer agree otherwise.

Employees entitled to two weeks’ vacation must receive 4 percent of their earnings as vacation pay for the year for which the vacation is taken. This becomes 6 percent for employees entitled to three weeks’ vacation.

Vacation pay must be paid to an employee:

• at least seven days before the beginning of the employee’s annual vacation; or
• on the employee’s scheduled payday, if agreed in writing by the employer and the employee or provided for by the collective agreement.

Employees are not permitted to take payment in lieu of vacation.

Holidays

Employees who have worked for their employers for at least 30 working days in the previous 12 months and earned wages on 15 of the 30 days immediately before the holiday are entitled to statutory paid holidays:

• Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
• Family Day (3rd Monday in February)
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day (3rd Monday in May)
• July 1: Canada Day
• British Columbia Day (1st Monday in August)
• Labour Day (1st Monday in September)
• Sept. 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Thanksgiving Day (2nd Monday in October)
• Nov. 11: Remembrance Day
• Dec. 25: Christmas Day

In addition, Dec. 26 (Boxing Day) is generally observed as a paid holiday.

An employer and an employee or a group of employees may agree to substitute another day for one of the statutory holidays.

Employees who must work on a statutory holiday are entitled to be paid:

• time-and-a-half for the first 12 hours worked and double-time for any work over 12 hours plus
• an average day’s pay.

Maternity Leave

A pregnant employee is entitled to up to 17 consecutive weeks of unpaid pregnancy leave. The employee also is eligible for up to an additional 61 weeks of unpaid parental leave. Parental leave must begin immediately following maternity leave.

Maternity leave may start no earlier than 13 weeks before the expected birth date. An initial period of maternity leave may be extended by up to six weeks if the woman is unable to return to work for reasons related to the birth or the termination of the pregnancy.

A request for maternity leave must be given in writing to the employer at least four weeks before the employee proposes to begin leave. Employers can ask for a health care provider’s certificate to confirm a request for leave or for a leave extension.

If the child has a physical, psychological or emotional condition requiring an additional period of parental care, the employee is entitled to up to an additional five consecutive weeks of unpaid maternity leave.

If an employee on maternity leave proposes to return to work earlier than six weeks after giving birth, the employer may require the employee to give the employer a medical practitioner’s certificate stating the employee is able to resume work.

Paternity Leave

There is no legal entitlement to paternity leave, although a father may be eligible for parental leave.

Sick Leave

Workers covered by the province’s Employment Standards Act (ESA), are entitled to five days of paid leave per year for any personal illness or injury, provided they have worked with their employer for at least 90 days. These sick days do not have to be taken consecutively. Employees also may take up to three days of unpaid, job-protected illness or injury leave.

Other Leave

Parental leave. A parent who takes pregnancy leave can take up to 61 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave immediately after the end of her pregnancy leave. A parent who does not take pregnancy leave can take up to 62 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave, which must begin within 78 weeks after the birth of the child. An adopting parent can take up to 62 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave, which must begin within 78 weeks after the child is placed with the parent. Benefits payable under the federal Employment Insurance Act provide a substantial measure of income replacement for employees on parental leave.

Bereavement leave. The British Columbia Employment Standards Act provides for up to three days’ unpaid leave on the death of an employee’s spouse, child, parent, guardian, sibling, grandchild, grandparent, or “any person who lives with the employee as a member of the employee’s family.”

Compassionate care leave. The act also provides for up to 27 weeks of unpaid leave within a 52 week period to allow an employee to care for a member of his or her immediate family or for “any other individual who is a member of a prescribed class” (defined as “anyone who is considered to be like a close relative regardless of marriage or common law partnership”), if a medical practitioner certifies that there is a significant risk the immediate family member or other person will die within the following 26 weeks. Should death not occur within this period, further leave may be taken.

Covid-19 vaccination leave. Employees may take up to three hours of paid leave to receive a Covid-19 vaccination.

Critical illness or injury leave. Employees can take unpaid leave to care for a family member whose health has significantly changed as a result of an illness or injury, and the life of the family member is at risk. The employee can take up to 36 weeks to care for a child and up to 16 weeks to care for a family member over the age of 19.

Family leave. Employees are entitled to up to five days of unpaid leave in each employment year to meet responsibilities related to the care, health or education of any member of the employee’s immediate family. Family leave does not accumulate from year to year.

Leave respecting the disappearance of a child. Employees are entitled to an unpaid leave of up to 52 weeks in the event that their child under 19 years of age has gone missing and it is probable the child’s disappearance is the result of a crime. If the child is found alive during the leave, the leave will end 14 days thereafter. If the child is found deceased, the leave will end immediately.

Leave respecting the death of a child. An employee whose child under 19 years of age dies is entitled to up to 104 weeks of unpaid leave of absence from work, starting as of the date of death or after a child who has disappeared is found deceased.

Leave respecting domestic or sexual violence. Employees who are attempting to flee domestic violence are entitled to up to five days of paid leave and up to five days of unpaid leave in order to seek medical attention, obtain personal victim services or counselling services, or to temporarily relocate. Such employees are also able to receive up to an additional 15 weeks of consecutive unpaid leave.

Reservists leave. Employers under provincial jurisdiction in British Columbia are required to give unpaid leaves of absence to employees who are reservists in the Canadian armed forces to take part in deployments inside or outside Canada or in pre- or post-deployment activity. Unless employees receive notice of the deployment less than four weeks in advance, they must provide the employer with four weeks’ written notice in advance of the beginning of the leave.

Pensions and Social Security

Employees in British Columbia are covered by the federal Canada Pension Plan, regardless of whether they work in industries under federal or provincial jurisdiction.

Employers often provide private supplemental pension plans of either a defined contribution or a defined benefit nature and may also provide employees with the opportunity to participate in a group registered retirement savings plan.

The standard age for beginning to receive CPP pension benefits is 65, although individuals may choose to begin receiving reduced CPP benefits at age 60 or delay receiving benefits until 70, in which case benefits are proportionally increased.

Contributions to the CPP by employees with earnings over C$3,500 are mandatory in all provinces and territories except Quebec, which has its own public pension plan.

Employers contribute an amount equal to the employee’s contributions. Earnings on which CPP contributions are payable are capped at an annually adjusted amount.

Workers’ Compensation

Employees who suffer a work-related injury or illness are compensated for lost wages by the Workers’ Compensation Board. The board also pays for medical care and rehabilitation of employees.

All employers in British Columbia are required to make payments into the workers’ compensation fund. The size of the payments is largely determined by the number of the employer’s employees in British Columbia, the type of industry the employer is engaged in and its individual experience rating.

Reference Citations

Vacation: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 57-58

Holidays: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 1, 44-48

Maternity Leave: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 § 50

Paternity Leave: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 § 51

Sick Leave: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 § 49.1

Other Leave: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 52-54

Pensions and Social Security: Canada Pension Plan, R.S.C., 1985, ch. C-8

Canada Pension Plan—How much could you receive?

Workers Compensation: Workers’ Compensation Act, R.S.B.C. 2019, ch. 1

Labor Relations

In General

Under the constitution and various labor laws, Canadian employees have the right to form and join unions, to bargain collectively, and to strike.

Right to Organize

Provinces have exclusive legislative power over labor relations in industries coming under provincial jurisdiction. The British Columbia Labour Relations Code follows this model.

The labor relations system in all Canadian jurisdictions is one in which collective bargaining takes place between a single employer and the union recognized or certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of the employer’s employees forming a bargaining unit.

Unions are certified as exclusive bargaining agents by the labor relations boards created by each jurisdiction’s labor relations statute if they show they have the support of a majority of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit. Majority support may be determined following a vote by the employees or on the basis of membership cards.

A trade union may apply for certification as the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of employees if it presents evidence satisfactory to the British Columbia Labour Relations Board. Almost invariably, this evidence takes the form of union membership cards.

Union Card-Check Certification: An amended labor law, passed on June 2, 2022, established a union card-check system in which the union is automatically certified without a secret-ballot representation vote if 55 percent or more of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit have signed union-membership cards. However, if the board sees evidence that less than 55 percent of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit have signed union-membership cards, the forming union must hold a secret-ballot vote within 10 days from the date it receives the certification application. The union is certified if it obtains a majority of the votes cast.

When a union is certified or recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent, the union and the employer are required to negotiate in good faith with a view to entering into a collective agreement. Collective agreements are required to have a term of at least one year in all Canadian jurisdictions. Two- or three-year agreements have been typical in the past, but agreements for considerably longer periods have become more common since the late 1990s. Labor relations statutes in all Canadian jurisdictions prohibit strikes or lockouts during the term of a collective agreement and require that all disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the collective agreement be resolved by binding arbitration.

These statutes also prohibit certain actions by employers and unions as “unfair labor practices.”

Works Councils

British Columbia’s Labour Relations Code does not address works councils.

Dispute Resolution

The British Columbia Labour Relations Board has the power to issue binding decisions on the certification of unions as exclusive bargaining agents, unfair labor practice complaints, bargaining in bad faith complaints, successor rights in case of dispositions of all or part of a business, and complaints of illegal strikes or lockouts.

The Mediation Division of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board provides mediation services at the request of either party to assist a union and an employer to reach a collective agreement. The minister of labor also has discretion to name a mediator. Mediation is one of a number of steps—including good faith collective bargaining—required before parties can engage in a legal strike or lockout.

Strikes and Lockouts

Strikes and lockouts are only permitted in limited circumstances in industries coming under provincial jurisdiction in British Columbia. The British Columbia Labour Relations Board may issue cease-and-desist orders against unlawful work stoppages, which are legally binding.

Provincially regulated employers in British Columbia may not make use during a lawful strike or lockout of persons hired after the beginning of collective bargaining who ordinarily work at another place of the employer’s business, are transferred from another place of operations, or are supplied by another employer to perform bargaining unit work. This prohibition in the Labour Relations Code effectively means that only non-bargaining unit employees already working at the location where the work stoppage takes place may perform bargaining unit work during the work stoppage. Such employees may not, however, be required to perform bargaining unit work during a lawful work stoppage and may not be disciplined or terminated if they refuse to perform such work.

Picketing in British Columbia is regulated by the Labour Relations Board using its powers under the Labour Relations Code. The code permits picketing where an employer has been lawfully struck or has lawfully locked out its employees. The code also permits picketing of an ally of the employer in certain cases of lawful strikes or lockouts. Allies are defined in the code as enterprises that assist the employer in resisting the strike or implementing the lockout “in combination, in concert or in accordance with a common understanding.” Any organization that performs work or supplies goods or services of a nature that the employer involved in the labor dispute would have performed or supplied is a presumptive ally of the employer under the Labour Relations Code if the activity is carried on for the employer’s benefit.

The Labour Relations Board may regulate the exact location of picketing, access to a picketed site and the numbers of pickets allowed.

Successorship Clauses

The Labour Relations Code safeguards the rights of employees during and after mergers or acquisitions. To the extent there is a transfer of undertaking from one owner (the predecessor employer) to another (the successor employer), the code provides for the continued observance of the working conditions agreed to in any collective agreement until the date of termination or expiration of the agreement or the entry into force or application of another agreement.

Reference Citations

Right to Organize: Labour Relations Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 244 §§ 4, 6, 11, 18

Dispute Resolution: Labour Relations Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 244 §§ 74-78

Strikes and Lockouts: Labour Relations Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 244 §§ 57-68

Successorship Clauses: Labour Relations Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 244 § 35

Safety, Health and Security

In General

Employers must comply with comprehensive government-issued standards aimed at ensuring workplace safety, including industry-specific technical standards for equipment and for safe-working procedures. An employer that regularly employs 20 or more employees must establish a joint health and safety committee to identify potential occupational health and safety problems.

Workplace Safety and Health

The British Columbia Occupational Health and Safety Act and the British Columbia Occupational Health and Safety Regulations set out a comprehensive set of standards aimed at ensuring workplace safety in industries under provincial jurisdiction. Those standards include industry-specific technical standards for equipment and safe-working procedures. Prevention of workplace violence and workplace harassment is considered a facet of occupational health and safety.

The British Columbia Workers Compensation Act requires the establishment of joint health and safety committees in establishments where an employer regularly employs 20 or more employees. Larger employers may be required or permitted to have more than one committee for different workplaces or for different parts of a single workplace. The committees are made up of equal numbers of employer and nonmanagerial employee representatives. Where part of the workforce is unionized, the union or unions will designate an “equitable proportion” of the total number of employee representatives. Joint committees have extensive powers to identify potential occupational health and safety problems, ensure that accident investigations and regular safety inspections are carried out as required by the act and regulations, and advise the employer on occupational health and safety matters.

Employers must ensure that a written evaluation is conducted annually to measure the effectiveness of the committee. Also, within six months of being selected, committee members must undergo at least eight hours of training, and worker representatives must receive at least four hours of training.

Worksafe BC, the agency in charge of occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation, may require the formation of such committees in smaller workplaces in certain circumstances. British Columbia occupational health and safety legislation provides for fines for employers and individuals guilty of violations of provincial worker safety provisions. Individuals may be fined and/or imprisoned for up to 14 years for violations of the duty of worker safety found in the code.

Drug and Alcohol Use

Employers under provincial jurisdiction in British Columbia have obligations under the Criminal Code and occupational health and safety legislation to maintain safe workplaces. Particularly where a workplace is inherently dangerous, employers may establish rules prohibiting impairment by drugs or alcohol.

Drug and alcohol testing may take place where an employer has reasonable grounds to consider that a particular employee may be impaired or as part of a general policy of testing all employees involved in a safety-related incident. Testing of a particular employee on a random basis may also be permissible as part of a return-to-work program following treatment for drug or alcohol dependency.

Random drug or alcohol testing may be permissible for employees in inherently dangerous workplaces if the employer demonstrates the existence of a widespread problem of drug or alcohol impairment among those employees. Employers may impose disciplinary sanctions, including termination in some cases, on employees who are impaired by drugs or alcohol at work.

If an employee is addicted to alcohol or drugs, the addiction is considered a disability under the British Columbia human rights legislation. Such a disability engages a duty to accommodate up to the point of undue hardship for the employer.

Reference Citations

Workplace Safety and Health: Workers’ Compensation Act, R.S.B.C. 2019, ch. 1; Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

Drugs and Alcohol Use: Canadian Human Rights Commission’s Policy on Alcohol and Drug Testing

Termination

Termination by Employer

Employees in British Columbia are most usually hired for an indeterminate term. Under the common law, either an employer or an employee may terminate such a contract by giving reasonable notice in advance to the other party. Employers may—and frequently do—give pay in lieu of notice. An employer may terminate an employee for cause without advance notice.

Employees may also be hired for a fixed term. In such cases, an employer putting an end to the contract before it expires will normally have to pay the employee the salary owed for the balance of the term, unless cause exists for summary dismissal.

A probationary period of employment is recognized in British Columbia and is typically three months, but can be longer or shorter. The nature of the probation must be established at the start of the employment. The agreement then allows the employer to terminate the employment without cause or obligation to give notice or severance, as long as the determination of the employee’s suitability is fair and reasonable and not in bad faith or for an improper motive. However, if a probation period lasts longer than three months and the employee is terminated without cause, the employer must provide the minimum notice set out under the Employment Standards Act.

The British Columbia Employment Standards Act provides for notice periods of between one and eight weeks, depending on the length of the employee’s service, for employees who have been employed for three months or longer. The employer has the option of providing pay in lieu of notice.

The Employment Standards Act notice periods for employees are minimums. Employees will frequently be entitled to much longer periods of advance notice—or pay in lieu of notice—at common law in British Columbia unless the termination is for cause. Cause is normally of a disciplinary nature and does not include an employer’s need to reduce its workforce for economic reasons.

Termination by Employee

Employees who voluntarily quits their employment are not entitled to written notice of termination or compensation for length of service. Final wages, including any outstanding wages such as annual vacation pay, statutory holiday pay and overtime either worked or in a time bank, must be paid to employees within six days after the their last day of work if they have voluntarily quit. The Act does not require the employee to give notice to the employer. If an employee does give notice, the employer may accept or refuse the notice. If the employer refuses the notice, or terminates the employee during the notice period, the employer must pay compensation equal to the lesser of: the remaining amount of notice the employee has given; or the employee’s statutory entitlement under the Act.

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs

If 50 or more employees working at a single location are to be terminated within a two-month period, the employer must give written notice in advance to each affected employee, to any trade union representing these employees, and to the British Columbia minister of labor. The length of notice required varies from eight weeks if 50 to 100 employees are affected to 16 weeks when 300 or more employees will be terminated.

If written notice is not given, the employer must give termination pay instead. If the length of written notice given is less than the British Columbia Employment Standards Act requires, the employer must give a combination of notice and termination pay.

Payment on Termination

Upon termination of employment, an employee may be entitled to vacation pay owing for the prior completed year of work and prorated vacation pay for the current vacation year.

If an employee is not given notice of termination, he or she may be eligible for severance pay of:

• one week after three months of service,
• two weeks after 12 months, and
• after three years, one week for each year of service up to eight weeks.

No compensation is required if an employee is given advance written notice of termination equal to the number of weeks for which the employee is eligible. This notice must be in writing.

An employee also can also be given a combination of written notice and compensation equal to the number of weeks of pay for which the employee is eligible.

Final wages, including any outstanding wages such as annual vacation pay, statutory holiday pay, and overtime either worked or in a time bank, must be paid within 48 hours after the last day a terminated employee works if the employer terminated employment, and within six days after the last day a terminated employee works if the employee terminated employment.

Unemployment Insurance

The federal Employment Insurance Act applies to all employees in Canada and provides benefits to temporarily unemployed workers and to employees taking maternity, paternity or parental leave. Employees must generally have worked from 420 to 700 hours in the year preceding the claim to be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. Employers and employees make contributions at a rate set at an amount per C$100 of insurable earnings, which is reviewed annually.

Reference Citations

Termination by Employer: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 63-67

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 §§ 64-65

Payment on Termination: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, ch. 113 § 58

Unemployment Insurance: Employment Insurance Act, S.C. 1996, ch. 23 § 7

Personal Taxes

Residency Requirements

An individual is considered a resident for tax purposes if he or she has residential ties in Canada. Residential ties include a home or personal property, a spouse or common-law partner and dependents and social or economic ties.

An individual without residential ties to Canada may also be deemed resident if temporarily present in Canada for 183 days or more in a tax year.

Taxable Income

Individuals resident in Canada during a tax year are subject to Canadian income tax on their worldwide income from all sources. A nonresident is generally only subject to Canadian tax on income from Canadian sources.

Tax Rates

There are seven bands for the taxation of general income in British Columbia ranging from 5.06 percent to 20.5 percent.

Also, under the Employment Insurance (EI) program, employees and employers must contribute a percentage of their employment income in an amount that changes each year.

Reference Citations

Residency Requirements: Income Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996 ch. 215 § 2

Taxable Income: Income Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996 ch. 215

Tax Rates: Canadian Income Tax rates for Individuals - Current and Previous Years

Web References

Law and Regulation

CanLII (British Columbia and federal statutes)

Employment Insurance Act

Employment Standards Act

Human Rights Code

Income Tax Act

Labour Relations Code

Personal Information Protection Act

Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

Government Websites and Publications

British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (human rights complaints, mediation)

British Columbia Labour Relations Board (industrial relations)

Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation

Service Canada (employment insurance, CPP)

Temporary Foreign Worker Program Compliance

Worksafe BC (workers’ compensation claims, premium rates, insured workers’ rehabilitation, occupational health and safety requirements)