What are you entitled to as a part-time employee? Any form of work means it’s important to have periods where you can step away, uplug, and reset. But like other workplace rights and regulations, vacation for employees is a complicated topic in Ontario.
It can be tricky to understand, so we’re breaking it all down in this blog for you.
What is considered a part-time employee?
According to the Government of Canada, part-time employment is defined “when your assigned hours are more than one-third of but less than a normal full-time work week or one-third or less of a normal full-time workweek.”
If you are a part-time worker who works more than one-third of, but less than a normal full-time workweek, you are subject to the terms and conditions of your employment agreement.
But if you are someone who works one-third or less of a normal full-time workweek, you are only required to follow certain terms and conditions, such as earning vacation leave and union dues deductions.
What are the paid time off (PTO) benefits?
In terms of the amount paid for vacation, salaried employees are given paid time off with full salary continuation, while hourly employees get 4% of all earnings.
Any other benefits offered?
If you are working a minimum of 12 hours per week on a part-time basis in Canada, you could be eligible to participate in the public service pension plan. You aren’t eligible if:
- You work part-time an average of less than 12 hours a week
- You have been employed part-time in the public service since July 3, 1994 and have not chosen to contribute within the prescribed period
- Are working on an “as needed” basis”
- Are working seasonal for six months or less, until you’ve completed six months of continuous service
- You have reached the age of 71 or 35 years of pensionable service
You can calculate your pension here.
And while this isn’t technically a benefit, paid holidays are probably the best part of PTO when it comes to part-time work. In Canada, part-time employees aren’t paid for designated paid holidays. Instead, they’re paid a premium. That means employees are paid 1.5 times their hourly wage for each hour or part of an hour worked on these days. This premium is paid on top of the employee's public holiday pay for that day.
How does vacation time work?
Regardless of whether the employee is full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, or contract, the minimum vacation time under the Employment Standards Act (ESA) in Ontario is two weeks (or 10 days) for five years or less, or three weeks (15 days) if five years or more.
Calculating vacation time
The vacation time entitlement for a stub period is calculated as two or three weeks of vacation multiplied by the ratio of the length of the stub period to 12 months.
But if crunching numbers on your own isn’t your thing, here is a great calculator to help you calculate your vacation time and pay.
What about freelancers and contractors?
Since self-employed workers do not earn paid time off or vacation time, they must make sure all living essentials are covered. Of course, they have the flexibility to take vacation time when it makes the most sense for them, but they are not entitled to vacation pay.
Get started with Humi
Have you explored Humi’s Time Off 3.0 yet? We knew Canadians needed more from their time off system, which is why we created a module that tracks time off accruals and usage to make life easier for all types of companies. Check out this blog outlining all the features, and book a call with our team today to learn how you can upgrade time off for your people.
Learn more with Humi
For more information on how you and your team can spend less time on time off with Humi, click here!
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To dig into the different types of leave and your rights as an employee, check out our recent blog. We also partnered with My Friendly Lawyer not too long ago to help you navigate leave types at your business. Click to learn how to navigate employee leave types from Matthew Wise, an employment lawyer and Partner with Macdonald Sager Manis LLP, and get tips on implementing internal policies from Andrea Bartlett, Director of People Operations at Humi.
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