An employee cannot contract out of or waive this employment standard, even if the employee agrees to do so in writing or verbally.įor example, an employee cannot agree to: If an employer is found to have violated the prohibition against taking an employee’s tips and other gratuities, the amount wrongfully kept will be considered a debt owing by the employer to the employee and is enforceable under the ESA as if it were wages owing to an employee.Īn employee’s ability under the ESA to keep tips and other gratuities, except in limited circumstances, is an employment standard. This means that employers were not prohibited from withholding, making deductions from, or making an employee return their tips to the employer if the tips were earned and received before June 10, 2016.Īs of June 10, 2016, an employer generally cannot withhold, make deductions from, or make an employee return their tips and other gratuities except as permitted by the ESA.Īn employer is also prohibited from making deductions, etc., from their employees’ tips and other gratuities for such things as spillage, breakage, losses or damage. The right to keep tips and other gratuitiesīefore June 10, 2016, the ESA did not cover tips and other gratuities. They are not included when calculating minimum wage, termination pay, severance pay, vacation pay, public holiday pay or the regular rate used for calculating overtime pay. Tips and other gratuities are not considered wages for the purposes of the ESA. Whether a delay in the distribution of tips and other gratuities to employees is reasonable will depend on the circumstances.Įmployers must distribute tips and other gratuities to employees in cash, cheque or direct deposit (which includes Interac e-Transfer). The distribution of tips by pre-paid credit cards is not permitted. However, the failure of an employer to distribute tips and other gratuities within a reasonable time frame may constitute the withholding of those tips and other gratuities. There is no requirement under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 ( ESA) for employers to establish a regular period for distributing tips and other gratuities to employees. If tipping is not accepted, the employer should make it clear to the customers that tips and other gratuities will not be accepted by employees or the employer. gratuity or service charges imposed by banquet halls or other establishmentsĮmployers can decide if tipping is allowed in their businesses.a tip added to a credit card or debit card payment for an employee.Whether a payment or service charge is a tip or other gratuity will depend on the circumstances.Įxamples of tips and other gratuities include: Where a reasonable person would believe that the payment would be kept by an employee or shared among employees. a payment of a service or similar charge imposed by the employer.a payment voluntarily made by a customer to the employer for employees.a payment voluntarily made or left by a customer to an employee.Tell us what you think about the information on this page and how you’re using it. Tab to close the table of contents and return to the book. Employment standards enforcement statistics.COVID-19: temporary changes to ESA rules.

Crime-related child disappearance leave.Written policy on electronic monitoring of employees.Written policy on disconnecting from work.Mandatory poster and information sheets for employers.Industries and jobs with ESA exemptions and/or special rules.Business and information technology consultants exception.

Pre paid legal video plus