Construction - Employment standards exceptions

Basic rules

• All construction employees are entitled to vacation pay, from the start of employment, at the rate of at least 6% of their regular wages.
• Construction employees are entitled to general holiday pay equal to 3.6% of wages upon beginning employment, but not entitled to days off.
• Construction employees are not entitled to notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice of termination.
• The basic overtime rule of 8 hours a day and 44 hours a week applies generally to employees in the construction industry.

Construction employee

A construction employee is someone employed at the site of and in the construction, erection, repair, remodelling, alteration, painting and interior decoration or demolition of any:

• building or structure
• road, highway, railway or airfield
• sidewalk, curb or gutter
• pipeline
• irrigation or drainage system
• earth and rock fill dam
• sewage system
• power transmission line or power distribution system, or
• gas distribution system

The following are not considered construction employees:

• employees who perform ongoing maintenance at the site
• office employees employed at the site

Hours of work and pay

The standard overtime rule of hours worked in excess of 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week, whichever is greater, applies to construction employees.

Minimum standards for regular and overtime hours

Employees must receive overtime:

• for hours worked in excess of 8 hours per day or 44 hours per week, whichever is greater
• at a rate of at least 1.5 times the regular rate of pay, or banked time off at a rate of 1 hour for all overtime hours worked as part of an overtime agreement between the employer and employee

General holidays and pay

Construction employees are entitled to general holiday pay when they begin employment of at least 3.6% of their wages.

Exceptions to the minimum standards for general holidays and general holiday pay

• Employees aren’t required to be given a day off for the general holiday.
• If an employee works on a general holiday, it’s treated as a regular day of work with respect to the calculation and payment of wages and overtime pay.
• General holiday pay must be paid on or before December 31 of each year, or on termination of employment.
• General holiday pay may be paid each pay period.

Time off with pay instead of overtime pay, as part of an overtime agreement, is considered regular wages and must be included when calculating general holiday pay.

Vacations and vacation pay

Construction employees are entitled to vacation pay when they begin employment of at least 6% of their wages.

Exceptions to the minimum standards for vacations and vacation pay

• If an employee is given vacation time off, they must receive their vacation pay before the vacation begins.
• If the employee is not given vacation time off, vacation pay must be paid on or before December 31 of each year or on termination of employment. The vacation pay may be paid each pay period.
• Earning paid time off instead of overtime pay as part of an overtime agreement is considered regular wages and must be included when calculating vacation pay.

Termination and termination pay

Construction employees are not entitled to notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice of termination.

Additional Employment Standards

In addition to the special provisions outlined above, all other minimum standards for employment apply to construction employees.  Additional information on these rules can be found at:

• Averaging arrangements
• Breaks and days of rest
• Deductions from earnings
• General holidays
• Job-protected leaves
• Minimum wage
• Overtime hours and pay with the exception of what is considered overtime hours listed above
• Payment of earnings
• Vacations
• Youth employment

How the law applies

Part 4 of the Employment Standards Regulation outlines the provisions that apply to construction employees, including alternate standards for general holidays and general holiday pay and vacations and vacation pay as listed in sections 44 - 50. In addition, Part 1, Section 5 of the Employment Standards Regulation sets out the exemption to termination notice and pay for construction employees.

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