Pay

The current minimum wage in Alberta is $15.00 per hour (as of October 1, 2018). Employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage.

The minimum wage is different for workers under 18 years of age. The minimum wage for students is $13.00 per hour for:

• work done during a school break (including spring break, Christmas or winter break, and summer vacation); and
• the first 28 hours in a work week (other than school breaks).

For example, if a student works 35 hours per week during the school year while also going to school, the student would be paid $13.00 per hour for the first 28 hours of work and then $15.00 per hour for the last 7 hours of work in the week. The minimum rate of $13.00 per hour applies to all hours worked during a school break, such as summer vacation.

Last Reviewed: August 2019

No.

The minimum wage laws do not apply to employees who are not covered by the Employment Standards Code.

The minimum wage laws also do not apply to:

• Real estate brokers
• Dealers or advisers who trade securities
• Insurance agents who are paid only on commission
• Students who are taking a formal course of training approved by the Director, in an off-campus education program under the School Act or in an approved work experience program
• Extras in a film or video production
• Counsellors or instructors at an educational or recreational camp that is operated on a charitable or not-for-profit basis for children or handicapped individuals or for religious purposes

The minimum wage is $598 per week for the following workers:

• People who engage in a direct selling business under a direct selling business license (under the Consumer Protection Act)
• Salespeople who:
  • Solicit orders mainly outside of their employer’s place of business and who are paid in part or in full by commission
  • Sell automobiles, recreational vehicles, trucks or buses
  • Sell manufactured homes
  • Sell farm machinery
  • Sell heavy duty construction equipment or road construction equipment
  • Are employed by a home builder to sell residential homes
• Land agents licensed under the Land Agents Licensing Act
• Registered architects, restricted practitioners or vising project architects
• Accountants
• Chiropractors
• Dentists and denturists
• Engineers (including members-in-training)
• Lawyers (including students-at-law)
• Optometrists
• Podiatrists
• Psychologists
• Veterinarians
• Agrologists (including agrologists in training)
• Information systems professionals (employees mainly engaged in investigating, analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, operating or managing information systems based on computer and related technologies through the objective application of specialized knowledge and professional judgment)

For domestic employees who live and work at their employer’s home, the minimum wage is $2848 per month.

See the Government of Alberta – Minimum Wage link below for more information.

Last Reviewed: August 2019

No. Employers are not allowed to pay employees less than the minimum wage, even if you agree to it.

However, there are some employees in certain jobs to whom the minimum wage rules do not apply. See the question above for a list of exceptions.

Last Reviewed: August 2019

It means that part or all of your wages will be based on how many items you sell and the value of those items. Depending on your agreement with your employer, you will be paid a percentage of what you sell. The rate of commission paid cannot be less than minimum wage.

Last Reviewed: August 2019

Yes. But only for certain things.

NOTE: The law changed on November 1, 2020 to allow deductions for overpayment of earnings due to a payroll calculation error and for vacation pay paid in advance of the employee being entitled to it. The new law is below. The new law only applies to overpayments of earnings or vacation pay advances paid November 1st or after. Contact Employment Standards for questions about the old law.

An employer can legally deduct the following from an employee’s wages:

• statutory deductions (income taxes, Canada Pension Plan deductions, Employment Insurance premiums)
• money owing by law or under a judgment or court order (for example, if someone garnishes your account to pay back a debt you owe)
• amounts allowed under a collective agreement (such as union dues)
• overpayment of earnings paid due to a payroll calculation error (only within 6 months of the overpayment)
• vacation pay paid in advance of you being entitled to it
• amounts for food and lodging if you agree to it (the minimum wage can be reduced by $3.35 for every meal consumed and by $4.41 for lodging per day)
• any other amount you agree to in writing (with some exceptions – see the next question)

If an employer is deducting money to recover an overpayment of earnings due to a payroll calculation error or vacation paid in advance of you being entitled to it, they must give you written notice before making the deduction.

Last Reviewed: November 2020

An employer cannot deduct the following (even if it is in a collective agreement or you have agreed to it in writing):

• money for your faulty work
• cash shortages or property loss if someone other than you had access to the cash or property (for example, if you share a till with other people at work, you alone cannot be held liable if the till is short cash)
• cash shortages from you not collecting all or part of the purchase price from a customer
• any amount to purchase, use, repair or clean any uniforms or other special clothing that you are required to wear at work
• Workers’ Compensation Board premiums

Last Reviewed: November 2020

Yes, up to a certain amount. If your employer provides you with food and lodging, it can deduct up to $3.35 for one meal and up to $4.41 a day for lodging from your wages. Your employer cannot make a deduction for a meal you did not eat.

For example, your employer provides you with lodging and two meals per day, and you work 8 hours per day at minimum wage. Your employer could deduct $11.11 from your daily wages. You would end up being paid $108.89 for the day, or $13.61 per hour (gross pay).

Last Reviewed: November 2020

No. Your employer cannot deduct from your wage or make you pay for a company uniform, its repair or cleaning. They can, however, ask you to wear all black, for example.

Last Reviewed: November 2020

It depends.

Your boss must pay you for any training that provides a service. For example, your employer must pay you if you shadow another cashier for your first few days at a grocery store.

If the training was just learning, then your employer does not have to pay you for that time. For example, your employer does not have to pay you if you watch a video in a classroom.

Last Reviewed: November 2020

An employer must pay an employee at regular intervals. An employer can choose to pay its employees every week, every two weeks, twice per month, every month or some other period of time. This is called a pay period. A pay period cannot be longer than one month.

An employer must pay an employee within 10 days after the end of the pay period. A delay longer than 10 days means your employer has broken the contract. You can contact Employment Standards for more information (see link below).

If you or your employer terminate your employment, there are different deadlines for paying out earnings.

Last Reviewed: August 2019

At the end of every pay period, your employer must give you a written statement about your wages, even if the money is deposited straight into your bank account.

A written statement must say:

• your regular and overtime hours of work
• your wage rate and overtime rate
• earnings paid (wage, overtime pay, holiday pay, etc. each shown separately)
• deductions from earnings and the reason for each deduction
• details of any time taken off instead of overtime pay
• the dates for the pay period

Last Reviewed: August 2019

If an employee works less than 3 consecutive hours, the employer must pay the employee for 3 hours of work at a rate equal to at least the minimum wage. A meal break of one hour or less is not part of the 3 consecutive hours of work. For example, if you work from 6pm to 9:30pm and take a one hour dinner break from 7pm to 8pm, your employer has to pay you for 3 hours even though you only worked for 2.5 hours.

In some types of jobs, if an employee works less than 2 hours, the employer only has to pay for 2 hours. Those jobs are:

• part-time employees in recreational or athletic programs run by a city, town, Métis settlement or a not-for-profit community service organization
• school bus drivers
• students 13, 14, or 15 years of age employed when the student is required to attend school

Last Reviewed: August 2019

Yes. The Employment Standards Code does not say anything about raises. You are not automatically entitled at law to any kind of raise.

If your employer has a policy on raises and your employer is not following this policy, you will have to deal directly with your employer about this issue.

Last Reviewed: November 2020

Yes. You are not entitled to employee benefits.

Many employers offer benefits as an “extra” for their employees. You may have to work a certain amount of time (for example, three months) before you qualify for your employer’s benefit program.

Last Reviewed: November 2020