Surprise changes to Nova Scotia’s minimum wage and partial hours rules announced
Nova Scotia’s Premier’s Office has today made an unexpected announcement regarding several changes to be made to Nova Scotia’s minimum wage and partial hours rules, with effect from April 1, 2020.
Additional increase in minimum wage
The announcement included an unexpected increase in the minimum wage, to take effect from April 1, 2020, raising the minimum wage up to $12.55 per hour. While employers were expecting the minimum wage to rise by $0.55 from $11.55 to $12.10 in April, it will now increase by a further $0.45 per hour. This $1.00 per hour increase represents the largest increase in the Nova Scotia minimum wage in the past ten years and means Nova Scotia will no longer have the lowest minimum wage in the country.
Elimination of the inexperienced minimum wage differential
Currently, employers are able to pay new employees with less than three months relevant experience, $0.50 an hour less than the minimum wage (i.e. $11.05) for up to the first three months of employment. This will no longer be permitted from April 1, 2020. The minimum wage for all employees will be $12.55 per hour, irrespective of prior experience.
Changes to the partial hours rules
Under the present Minimum Wage Regulations, the partial hours rule states that when calculating the minimum wage, “a period of 15 minutes and not more than 30 minutes shall be counted as a ½ hour and a period of more than 30 minutes but less than 60 minutes shall be counted as 1 hour”. This had the effect that where an employee worked for less than 30 minutes this would be paid in 15 minute increments but once over 30 minutes they had to be paid for a full hour.
The announcement confirms that the Regulations will be amended to eliminate the partial hours rule entirely. Employees will now be paid only for the hours (or minutes) that they have worked.
The full news release can be found here.
This update is intended for general information only. If you have questions about the above, please contact a member of our Labour & Employment group.
Click here to subscribe to Stewart McKelvey Thought Leadership.
Archive
The integrity of the jury system has become a pressing topic for our courts of late, with articles about jury duty frequently appearing front and centre in the press. The recent message from the Nova…
Read MoreIN THIS ISSUE: Cloud computing: House to navigate risky skies by Daniela Bassan and Michelle Chai Growing a startup by Clarence Bennett, Twila Reid and Nicholas Russon Knowing the lay of the land – Aboriginal rights and land claims in Labrador by Colm St. Roch Seviour and Steve Scruton Download…
Read MoreDOES IT APPLY TO YOU? On June 1, 2013, the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) comes into force in Nova Scotia. If you are involved in health care in Nova Scotia, you need to know whether PHIA…
Read MoreEDITOR’S COMMENT This edition of Atlantic Employers’ Counsel focuses on key areas of employment standards in Atlantic Canada. Employment standards legislation outlines the rights and obligations of employees and requirements that apply to employers in…
Read MoreNEW TORT OF CYBERBULLYING On May 10, 2013 the Nova Scotia legislature passed the Cyber-safety Act (Bill 61). When this bill comes into force, it will give rise to a new tort of cyberbullying that…
Read MoreGOVERNMENT ACTION In the Economic Action Plan 2010, the Harper Government committed to bring greater clarity to how mortgage prepayment penalties were calculated. As part of the commitment, on February 26, 2013 the government released…
Read MoreSTEWART MCKELVEY WELCOMES BACK WANDA DOIRON AS MANAGER, CORPORATE SERVICES – NOVA SCOTIA You might remember Wanda from her time in our Corporate Services group from 2002 to 2008. Since then, she has worked in-house…
Read MoreREASONABLE PEOPLE DOING QUESTIONABLE THINGS: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND JUST CAUSE Can a unionized employee moonlight in his off hours to earn some extra money by doing the same work he does for his daytime…
Read MoreStewart McKelvey’s Vision Improving Legal Analysis (SVILA*) is an e-discovery project and litigation management tool. For more information on our e-discovery services, download the SVILA e-discovery document.
Read MoreIN THIS ISSUE: A New Brunswick business lawyer’s perspective by Peter Klohn Why Canada’s immigration rules matter to your business by Andrea Baldwin Financing Energy Projects during the Project Lifecycle by Lydia Bugden, Colm St. Roch Seviour and Tauna Staniland Download…
Read More