Minimum wage for students

Paying a student a lump sum that works out to less than the standard minimum wage

Stuart Rudner
Question: A company employs a 15 year-old for four hours a day and pays him $25.00 in cash ($6.25 per hour). The company is in Quebec where the official minimum wage is $8.50 per hour. Is the company allowed to pay the student that much lower than the standard minimum wage? Is there a student minimum wage in Canada?

Answer: Generally speaking, the fact someone is a minor is not a valid reason to pay her less than the applicable minimum wage. Furthermore, if someone is a part-time worker, this does not, in and of itself, result in a lesser hourly wage entitlement. Unless the worker — minor or otherwise — falls within a specific exception to the minimum wage requirements of the particular jurisdiction, the minimum wage must be respected. In Quebec, the Act Respecting Labour Standards addresses these and other employment-related issues and confirms the existence of a minimum wage, to be established by the government. This applies to all employees, regardless of the method of payment.

The act says an employer cannot pay a part-time employee a wage lower than that of other employees who do the same work in the same workplace for the sole reason she works fewer hours. This provision, however, does not apply to part-time employees who earn more than twice the minimum wage.

There are some exceptions to the minimum wage requirement in Quebec, including:
•Students employed in a social or community non-profit organization, such as a recreational organization or a vacation camp.
•Trainees within the context of vocational training recognized by a law.
•Employees entirely remunerated on commission who work outside the establishment and whose hours of work cannot be controlled.
•Employees mainly assigned to non-mechanized operations relating to the picking of vegetables.

A student who works during the school year in an establishment selected by an educational institution for a job training program approved by the Minister of Education, Leisure and Sport is excluded from these requirements.

There is no separate student minimum wage in Quebec. Therefore, unless the student employee falls within one of the exceptions, she cannot be paid less than the established minimum wage. A Quebec company employing a 15-year-old student for four hours a day and paying him $25 dollars ($6.25 per hour) would be in violation of Quebec labour standards legislation.

Stuart Rudner is a partner who practices commercial litigation and employment law with Miller Thomson LLP’s Toronto office. He can be reached at (416) 595-8672 or [email protected].

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