Overtime Hours: Do you or do you not need to pay them?

Legislative requirements regarding overtime pay are often changing and being updated, making it hard to keep up.  We are all familiar with the classification of “Landscape Gardener” as per the Employment Standards Act and the exemption in the Act for paying overtime, public holiday/public holiday pay and excess hours. (Landscape Gardener Classification Exemption ) 

But are you aware that building retaining walls for structural purposes, installing lightning systems, or spraying roads and industrial sites for weeds would not fall under that exemption? (Landscape Gardener Classification Exemption ) That would mean that any construction, including the building of retaining walls, would be classified under “CONSTRUCTION” and therefore the employee is eligible for different things, such as overtime after 44 hours/week. (Construction Classification Exemption)

The real kicker, though, is Snow Removal business operations. As per the Employment Standards Act and special rules (O. Reg. 285/01 and O. Reg 288/01) Snow Removal would fall under “Road Maintenance” and therefore subject to special rules and exemptions, including weekly limits on hours of work and daily rest periods. However, employees are entitled to overtime for each hour worked after 55 hours in a work week.  This means that if employees work less than 55 hours in a week, the employer can carry over the difference between the number of hours you actually worked and the 55 hour overtime threshold.  This difference can be applied to the following week to increase the overtime threshold. (Road Maintenance Classification Exemption)

For more information on Overtime Pay click HERE.

We want to help you through this!  There are a number of alterations and approaches to ease this transition for your business.  Reach out to Charolette ([email protected]) and she can help you develop a business continuity and implementation plan.