Because of mail delays, some of our employees don't receive their payslips until several days after pay day
Question: Our company has its payroll department in Edmonton. Employees are paid by direct deposit. We send out our pay slips by mail, and they do not arrive until after the payday in many cases. For example, in Winnipeg our workers are paid on a Friday, but their pay slips do not arrive sometimes until the Wednesday after. Is this against any rules?
Answer: Employers in all Canadian jurisdictions, with the exception of Saskatchewan, are obliged to provide employees with a “statement of earnings” or “wage statement.” Generally speaking, such a statement must include information such as the hours worked by the employee, the wage rate, the amount and purpose of all deductions and the gross and net wages.
In most parts of Canada, wage statements must be provided to employees at the end of each pay period or on each payday. This can often be done in paper format or electronically. The statutes in some provinces provide that if a wage statement would be the same as the wage statement given for the previous pay period, a new statement does not need to be issued until a change occurs.
In Manitoba, the Employment Standards Code requires employers to pay employees at least semi-monthly and within 10 working days after the end of each pay period. A “pay period” is defined as a period of employment of not more than 16 consecutive days.
At the end of each pay period, an employer must provide a written statement to each employee setting out the regular hours of work and overtime for which wages are being paid, the applicable wage rates, all deductions from wages and the reason for each deduction, and the net amount of wages paid to the employee.
The only exception arises where the amount of wages will be the same over a series of pay periods, in which case the employer may provide the employee with a statement at the beginning of the period describing the wages to be paid, the wage rate, deductions from the wages and the net amount to be paid to the employee on each of the dates over the period.
Colin G.M. Gibson is a partner with Harris & Company in Vancouver. He can be reached at [email protected] or (604) 891-2212.
Answer: Employers in all Canadian jurisdictions, with the exception of Saskatchewan, are obliged to provide employees with a “statement of earnings” or “wage statement.” Generally speaking, such a statement must include information such as the hours worked by the employee, the wage rate, the amount and purpose of all deductions and the gross and net wages.
In most parts of Canada, wage statements must be provided to employees at the end of each pay period or on each payday. This can often be done in paper format or electronically. The statutes in some provinces provide that if a wage statement would be the same as the wage statement given for the previous pay period, a new statement does not need to be issued until a change occurs.
In Manitoba, the Employment Standards Code requires employers to pay employees at least semi-monthly and within 10 working days after the end of each pay period. A “pay period” is defined as a period of employment of not more than 16 consecutive days.
At the end of each pay period, an employer must provide a written statement to each employee setting out the regular hours of work and overtime for which wages are being paid, the applicable wage rates, all deductions from wages and the reason for each deduction, and the net amount of wages paid to the employee.
The only exception arises where the amount of wages will be the same over a series of pay periods, in which case the employer may provide the employee with a statement at the beginning of the period describing the wages to be paid, the wage rate, deductions from the wages and the net amount to be paid to the employee on each of the dates over the period.
Colin G.M. Gibson is a partner with Harris & Company in Vancouver. He can be reached at [email protected] or (604) 891-2212.
