Ontario Minimum Wage is Going Up

Qualifying for Minimum Wage

What is minimum wage?

Minimum wage is the lowest rate an employer can pay an employee. Most employees are eligible for minimum wage, whether they are full-time, part-time, casual employees, or are paid an hourly rate, commission, piece rate, flat rate or salary.

Who is entitled to minimum wage?

Most employees are entitled to at least minimum wage.

There are exceptions to the ESA 's usual rules for certain industries and job categories. Please refer to the chart in the "How Are You Covered by the ESA?" fact sheet for details about industry-specific and job-specific exemptions, and special rules regarding minimum wage.

Does everyone get the same amount of minimum wage per hour?

No. There is a general minimum wage that applies to most employees. But there are other minimum wages that apply to:

• employees who regularly serve liquor directly to customers or guests in licensed premises
• students under 18 years of age who work during school breaks or summer holidays, or who work 28 hours a week or less when school is in session
• homeworkers
• hunting and fishing guides.

Rights and Responsibilities

What are the current minimum wages for different jobs?

General minimum wage

This rate applies to most employees.

Student wage

This rate applies to students under 18 years of age who work 28 hours a week or less when school is in session, or students employed during a school break or summer holidays.

Liquor servers wage

This hourly rate applies to employees who serve liquor directly to customers or guests in licensed premises as a regular part of their work. Licensed premises are businesses for which a license or permit has been issued under the Liquor License Act.

Hunting and fishing guides wage

The minimum wage for hunting and fishing guides is not an hourly rate. They get a minimum amount for working less than five consecutive hours in a day, and a different amount for working five hours or more in a day--whether or not the hours are consecutive.

Homeworkers wage

Homeworkers are employees who do paid work in their own homes. For example, they may sew clothes for a clothing manufacturer, answer telephone calls for a call centre, or write software for a high-tech company. Note that students of any age (including students under the age of 18 years) who are employed as homeworkers must be paid the homeworker's minimum wage.

The minimum wage rates in each of the above categories and scheduled annual increases are set out below:

Minimum Wage Rate	January 1995	February 1, 2004	February 1, 2005	February 1, 2006	February 1, 2007
General Minimum Wage	$6.85 per hour	$7.15 per hour	$7.45 per hour	$7.75 per hour	$8.00 per hour
Student Minimum Wage	$6.40 per hour	$6.70 per hour	$6.95 per hour	$7.25 per hour	$7.50 per hour
Liquor Servers Minimum Wage	$5.95 per hour	$6.20 per hour	$6.50 per hour	$6.75 per hour	$6.95 per hour
Hunting and Fishing Guides Minimum Wage	$34.25: rate for working less than five consecutive hours in a day; $68.50: rate for working five or more hours in a day whether or not the hours are consecutive	$35.75   $71.50	$37.25   $74.50	$38.75   $77.50	$40 .00   $80.00
Homeworkers Wage	$7.54 per hour (110 per cent of the general minimum wage)	$7.87 per hour (110 per cent of the general minimum wage)	$8.20 per hour (110 per cent of the general minimum wage)	$8.53 per hour (110 per cent of the general minimum wage)	$8.80 per hour (110 per cent of the general minimum wage)

How is minimum wage calculated for employees who earn commission?

If an employee's pay is based completely or partly on commission, it must amount to at least the minimum wage for each hour the employee has worked.

To ensure an employee is receiving the minimum wage, the total amount the employee earned in regular wages over a work week is divided by the number of hours the employee worked in that week. Here's an example. (Note: where overtime hours are worked, the calculation is more complicated.)

Industry-specific and job-specific exemptions and special rules may apply to some salespeople who earn commission. Please see the chart in the " How Are You Covered by the ESA ? " fact sheet for details.