Labour standards, An Act respecting, R.S.Q. N-1.1

1.  In this Act, unless the context indicates a different meaning,

 1) “delivery” means the natural or the lawfully, medically induced end of a pregnancy by childbirth, whether or not the child is viable;

 2) “Commission” means the Commission des normes du travail established under section 4;

 3) “spouse” means either of two persons who

(a)  are married or in a civil union and cohabiting;

(b)  being of opposite sex or the same sex, are living together in a de facto union and are the father and mother of the same child;

(c)  are of opposite sex or the same sex and have been living together in a de facto union for one year or more;

 4) “agreement” means an individual contract of employment, a collective agreement within the meaning of paragraph e of section 1 of the Labour Code ( chapter C-27) or any other agreement relating to conditions of employment, including a Government regulation giving effect thereto;

 5) “decree” means a decree adopted under the Act respecting collective agreement decrees ( chapter D-2);

 6) “domestic” means an employee in the employ of a natural person whose main function is the performance of domestic duties in the dwelling of that person, including an employee whose main function is to take care of or provide care to a child or to a sick, handicapped or aged person and to perform domestic duties in the dwelling that are not directly related to the immediate needs of the person in question;

 7) “employer” means any person who has work done by an employee;

 8) “Minister” means the Minister of Labour;

 9) “wages” means a remuneration in currency and benefits having a pecuniary value due for the work or services performed by an employee;

 10) “employee” means a person who works for an employer and who is entitled to a wage; this word also includes a worker who is a party to a contract, under which he or she

(i)  undertakes to perform specified work for a person within the scope and in accordance with the methods and means determined by that person;

(ii)  undertakes to furnish, for the carrying out of the contract, the material, equipment, raw materials or merchandise chosen by that person and to use them in the manner indicated by him or her; and

(iii)  keeps, as remuneration, the amount remaining to him or her from the sum he has received in conformity with the contract, after deducting the expenses entailed in the performance of that contract;

 11) “week” means a period of seven consecutive days from midnight at the beginning of a particular day to midnight at the end of the seventh day;

 12) “uninterrupted service” means the uninterrupted period during which the employee is bound to the employer by a contract of employment, even if the performance of work has been interrupted without cancellation of the contract, and the period during which fixed term contracts succeed one another without an interruption that would, in the circumstances, give cause to conclude that the contract was not renewed.

2.  This Act applies to the employee regardless of where he works. It also applies

 1) to the employee who performs work both in Québec and outside Québec for an employer whose residence, domicile, undertaking, head office or office is in Québec;

 2) to the employee domiciled or resident in Québec who performs work outside Québec for an employer contemplated in paragraph 1;

This Act is binding on the State.

3.  This Act does not apply

 2) to an employee whose exclusive duty, in a dwelling, is to take care of or provide care to a child or to a sick, handicapped or aged person, including, where so required, the performance of domestic duties that are directly related to the immediate needs of that person, if that work does not serve to procure profit to the employer, subject to any regulation made under the second paragraph of section 90;

 3) to an employee governed by the Act respecting labour relations, vocational training and manpower management in the construction industry (chapter R-20), except the standards prescribed by sections 81.1 to 81.17 and, where they relate to any of those standards, the second, third and fourth paragraphs of section 74, paragraph 6 of section 89, Division IX of Chapter IV, Divisions I and II of Chapter V, and Chapter VII;

 4) to the employee contemplated in subparagraphs i, ii and iii of paragraph 10 of section 1 if the Government, by regulation pursuant to another Act, establishes the remuneration of that employee or the tariff that is applicable to him;

 5) to a student who works during the school year in an establishment selected by an educational institution pursuant to a job induction programme approved by the Ministère de l'Éducation;

 6) to senior managerial personnel, except the standards prescribed by sections 81.1 to 81.17 and, where they relate to any of those standards, the second, third and fourth paragraphs of section 74, paragraph 6 of section 89, Division IX of Chapter IV, Divisions I and II of Chapter V, and Chapter VII.

3.1.  Notwithstanding sections 2 and 3, Division VI.1 of Chapter IV and sections 122.1 and 123.1 apply to all employees and to all employers.

4.  A body is established under the name of “Commission des normes du travail”.

5.  The Commission shall supervise the implementation and application of labour standards. It shall, in particular, exercise the following functions:

 1) inform the population on matters dealing with labour standards;

 1.1) inform employees and employers of their rights and obligations under this Act;

 2) supervise the application of labour standards and, where necessary, transmit its recommendations to the Minister;

 3) receive complaints from employees and indemnify them to the extent provided in this Act and the regulations;

 5) endeavour to bring about agreement between employers and employees as to their disagreements in relation to the application of this Act and the regulations.

6.  The Commission is a legal person.

6.1.  The Commission may enter into agreements, according to law, with a government department or body for the purposes of the Acts and regulations under its administration.

7.  The Commission has its head office at the place determined by the Government; a notice of the location or of any change of location of the head office is published in the Gazette officielle du Québec.

The Commission may hold its sittings at any place in Québec.

8.  The Commission is composed of not more than 13 members, appointed by the Government, including a chairman and at least one person from each of the following groups:

 1) non-unionized employees;

 2) unionized employees;

 3) employers from the big business sector;

 4) employers from the small and medium-sized business sector;

 5) employers from the cooperative sector;

 6) women;

 7) young people;

 8) family;

 9) cultural communities.

These nine members shall be appointed after consultation with associations or bodies representative of their respective groups.

Members, excluding the chairman, must be drawn equally from the employee sector and the employer sector.

9.  The chairman of the Commission is appointed for a term of not over five years. The other members are appointed for a term of not over three years.

10.  The chairman holds office on a full-time basis. He presides at meetings of the Commission.

He is also the director general of the Commission and, in that capacity, is responsible for the administration and direction of the Commission within the scope of its regulations.

10.1.  The chairman is assisted by two vice-chairmen in the performance of his duties under the second paragraph of section 10.

10.2.  The vice-chairmen are appointed for not more than five years by the Government. They hold office on a full-time basis.

The chairman or, failing the chairman, the Minister shall appoint one of the vice-chairmen to replace the chairman in the performance of all of the chairman's duties where the latter is absent or unable to act.

11.  The Commission may generally or specially authorize a person to exercise the powers conferred upon it by this act.

12.  A member of the Commission or a vice-chairman remains in office at the expiry of his term until he is replaced or reappointed.

13.  If a member of the Commission or a vice-chairman does not complete his term of office, the Government shall appoint a person to replace him for the remainder of his term.

15.  The Commission shall meet at least once every three months.

16.  The majority of the members including the chairman are a quorum of the Commission.

Decisions are taken by the majority of votes; in the case of a tie-vote, the chairman has a casting vote.

17.  A decision signed by all the members has the same value as if it had been taken at a regular meeting.

18.  Minutes of the sittings of the Commission approved by the latter are authentic, as are copies or extracts certified true by the chairman, a vice-chairman or the secretary of the Commission.

19.  The Government shall determine, as the case may be, the conditions of employment, salaries, additional salaries, allowances and indemnities or social benefits to which the chairman, the other members and the vice-chairmen of the Commission are entitled.

20.  The secretary and the members of the personnel of the Commission are appointed in accordance with the Public Service Act (chapter F-3.1.1).

21.  The expenses of the Commission, including the salaries, allowances and indemnities or social benefits of the vice-chairmen of the Commission, of its secretary, of its members and of its personnel, are paid out of its revenues.

22.  A member of the Commission or a vice-chairman may not be prosecuted by reason of an act done in good faith in the performance of his duties.

Except on a question of jurisdiction, no recourse provided for in articles 33 and 834 to 846 of the Code of Civil Procedure (chapter C-25) may be exercised nor any injunction granted against the Commission or against a member or a vice-chairman of the Commission acting in his official capacity.

23.  A judge of the Court of Appeal may, on a motion, summarily annul any writ, order or injunction issued or granted contrary to section 22.

24.  The chairman and the vice-chairmen shall not, under pain of forfeiture of office, have any direct or indirect interest in an undertaking putting their personal interest in conflict with that of the Commission. However, such forfeiture is not incurred if such an interest devolves to them by succession or gift, provided they renounce or dispose of it with all possible dispatch.

Any member of the Commission, other than the chairman, who has a direct or indirect interest in an undertaking must, on pain of forfeiture of office, disclose it in writing to the other members of the Commission and refrain from participating in any decision in connection with the undertaking in which he has that interest.

25.  The fiscal period of the Commission ends on 31 March each year.

26.  Not later than six months after the end of its fiscal period, the Commission must remit to the Minister a report of its activities for that fiscal period; this report must contain all the information the Minister may require.

The Commission must furnish to the Minister any other information he may require on its operations.

27.  The Minister shall table the report of the Commission before the National Assembly, if it is in session, within thirty days of receiving it; if he receives it while it is not sitting, he shall table it within thirty days of the opening of the next session or resumption, as the case may be.

28.  The books and accounts of the Commission shall be audited each year by the Auditor General and, in addition, every time the Government so orders.

The report of the Auditor General must accompany the annual report of the Commission.

28.1.  The Commission des normes du travail shall contribute to the fund of the Commission des relations du travail referred to in section 137.62 of the Labour Code ( chapter C-27) to provide for expenses incurred by the Commission in relation to proceedings brought before the Commission under Divisions II and III of Chapter V of this Act.

The amount and terms and conditions of payment of the contribution of the Commission des normes du travail shall be determined by the Government after consultation with the Commission by the Minister.

29.  The Commission may, by regulation,

 1) adopt rules of internal management;

 2) establish committees to examine such matters as it may determine;

 3) require an employer or a category of employers it indicates to have a system for the registration of all work governed by the Commission or to keep a register for the entry of the name, residence and employment of each of his employees, the time at which the work was begun, interrupted, resumed and finished every day, the nature of the work, the wage paid for it and the mode and time of payment, and any other information deemed useful in the application of this Act or the regulations;

 3.1) require an employer or every employer of a category of clothing industry employers it indicates who would be covered by a decree referred to in the third paragraph of section 39.0.2 had the decree not expired, to transmit to the Commission, in accordance with the procedure and frequency and during the period it determines, a report containing the particulars required under paragraph 3 it indicates and any other information deemed useful in the application of this Act or the regulations;

 7) fix the rates, not exceeding 1 %, of the contribution provided for in section 39.0.2.

31.  The regulations contemplated in paragraphs 1 and 2 of section 29 shall be transmitted to the Minister and come into force on the approval of the Government.

32.  The regulations contemplated in paragraphs 3 to 7 of section 29 are transmitted to the Minister and submitted to the approval of the Government.

35.  The Government may approve a regulation made under paragraphs 3 to 7 of section 29 with or without amendment.

39.  The Commission may

 1) ascertain the wage paid to an employee by his employer;

 2) establish forms to be used by employers and employees;

 3) establish or fill out the certificate of employment provided for in section 84 when the employer refuses or neglects to do so;

 4) collect or receive the amounts owing to an employee under this Act or a regulation and remit them to him;

 5) accept on behalf of an employee, with his consent, or on behalf of a group of employees who are parties to a claim, with the consent of the majority of them, partial payment of the amounts owed to the employee or group of employees by the employer;

 8) institute in its own name and on behalf of an employee, where such is the case, proceedings to recover amounts due by the employer under this Act or a regulation, notwithstanding any Act to the contrary, any opposition or any express or implied waiver by the employee and without having to justify an assignment of debt of the employee;

 9) intervene in its own name and on behalf of an employee, where such is the case, in proceedings relating to the insolvency of the employer;

 10) intervene at any time in an action relating to the application of this Act, except Chapter III.1, or a regulation;

 11) authorize a mode of payment of wages other than that provided for in section 42;

 12) authorize staggered working hours on a basis other than a weekly basis on the conditions provided for in section 53;

 13) prepare and disseminate information documents on labour standards and make the documents available to any interested person or body, in particular employers and employees;

 14) require an employer to transmit to employees any information document concerning labour standards furnished to the employer by the Commission and to post the document in a prominent place easily accessible to all employees or to disseminate the contents of the document;

 15) where it considers it necessary, indicate to the employer the manner in which the employer is required to transmit, post or disseminate an information document it furnishes to the employer.

39.0.1.  In this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise,

“employer subject to contribution” means any person who pays a remuneration subject to contribution, except the following entities:

 1) metropolitan communities;

 2) municipalities;

 3) public transit authorities mentioned in section 1 of the Act respecting public transit authorities ( chapter S-30.01);

 4) school boards;

 5) the Comité de gestion de la taxe scolaire de l'île de Montréal;

 6) fabriques;

 7) corporations of trustees for the erection of churches;

 8) charitable institutions or bodies whose object is to assist, gratuitously and directly, natural persons in need;

 9) religious institutions;

 10) educational institutions;

 11) day care centres;

 12) the Commission de la construction du Québec;

 13) parity committees constituted under the Act respecting collective agreement decrees ( chapter D-2);

 14) the Government and its departments and the bodies and persons whose personnel must, by law, be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Act ( chapter F-3.1.1) or the capital stock of which belongs entirely to the Government;

 15) any body established by an Act of the National Assembly or by a decision of the Government, the Conseil du trésor or a minister and whose operating appropriations are taken out of the consolidated revenue fund, appear in whole or in part in the budgetary estimates tabled before the National Assembly or are wholly financed by way of a transfer from one of the government departments;

 16) the Lieutenant-Governor, the National Assembly and any person appointed by the National Assembly to an office which is under the jurisdiction of the National Assembly;

“remuneration” means, where the employee is an employee within the meaning of section 1 of the Taxation Act ( chapter I-3), the income computed according to the provisions of Chapters I and II of Title II of Book III of Part I of the Taxation Act, except sections 43.3 and 58.0.1 of the said Act and section 58.1 thereof where it refers to amounts required to be included in such computation under sections 979.9 to 979.11 of the said Act, and, where the employee is not such an employee, his wages. The expression also includes amounts paid as indemnity in lieu of notice and upon termination of a contract of employment;

“remuneration subject to contribution” means remuneration paid to an employee except

 1) remuneration paid to an employee under the Act respecting labour relations, vocational training and manpower management in the construction industry ( chapter R-20);

 2) remuneration paid to a domestic;

 3) remuneration paid by an employer governed by a decree in respect of remuneration subject to contribution by a parity committee;

 4) remuneration paid by an institution, a regional council or a foster family respectively referred to in subparagraphs a, f and o of the first paragraph of section 1 of the Act respecting health services and social services for Cree Native persons ( chapter S-5), proportionately to the amounts of money they receive under that Act;

 5) remuneration paid by an institution, a regional board or a family-type resource referred to in the Act respecting health services and social services ( chapter S-4.2), proportionately to the amounts of money they receive under that Act;

 6) 50 % of the remuneration earned by an employee with the help of a truck, tractor, loader, skidder or other heavy equipment of the same nature, furnished by the employee and at his own expense;

 7) the amount by which the total remuneration paid to an employee for the year or the amount determined under paragraph 6 where it applies in respect of the employee exceeds an amount equal to the Maximum Yearly Insurable Earnings determined for the year under section 66 of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases ( chapter A-3.001);

 8) remuneration paid to an employee wholly exempt from the application of this Act under section 3.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following rules apply:

 1) any reference in this chapter to wages, remuneration or remuneration subject to contribution that an employer pays or has paid is a reference to wages, remuneration or remuneration subject to contribution that the employer pays, allocates, grants or awards or has paid, allocated, granted or awarded;

 2) an employee is deemed to work in Québec when the establishment of the employer where the employee reports for work is situated in Québec or, if the employee is not required to report for work at an establishment of his employer, when the establishment of the employer from which he receives his remuneration is situated in Québec. The word “establishment” includes an establishment within the meaning of Chapter III of Title II of Book I of Part I of the Taxation Act;

 3) an employee who reports for work at an establishment of his employer,

(a)  in respect of remuneration subject to contribution that is not described in subparagraph b, means an employee who reports for work at that establishment for his regular pay period to which the remuneration subject to contribution relates; and

(b)  in respect of remuneration subject to contribution that is paid as a premium, an increase with retroactive effect or a vacation pay, that is deemed to be paid under section 979.3 of the Taxation Act or that does not relate to a regular pay period of the employee, means an employee who ordinarily reports for work at that establishment;

 4) where, during a regular pay period of an employee, the employee reports for work at an establishment of his employer situated in Québec and at an establishment of his employer situated outside Québec, the employee is deemed for that period, in respect of remuneration subject to contribution that is not described in subparagraph b of subparagraph 3,

(a)  except where subparagraph b applies, to report for work only at the establishment situated in Québec;

(b)  to report for work only at the establishment situated outside Québec where, during that period, he reports for work mainly at such an establishment of his employer;

 5) where an employee ordinarily reports for work at an establishment of his employer situated in Québec and at an establishment of his employer situated outside Québec, the employee is deemed, in respect of remuneration subject to contribution described in subparagraph b of subparagraph 3, to ordinarily report for work only at the establishment situated in Québec;

 6) where an employee is not required to report for work at an establishment of his employer and where his remuneration is not paid from such an establishment situated in Québec, that employee is deemed to report for work at an establishment of his employer situated in Québec for a pay period if, in reference to the place where he mainly reports for work, the place where he mainly performs his duties, the employee's principal place of residence, the establishment from where the employee is supervised, the nature of the duties performed by the employee or any other similar criterion, it may reasonably be considered that the employee for that pay period is an employee of that establishment;

 7) where an employee of an establishment, situated elsewhere than in Québec, of an employer supplies a service in Québec to another employer that is not the employer of the employee, or for the benefit of such other employer, an amount that may reasonably be considered to be the remuneration earned by the employee to supply the service is deemed to be remuneration paid by the other employer, in the pay period during which the remuneration is paid to the employee, to an employee of the other employer who reports for work at an establishment of that other employer situated in Québec where

(a)  at the time the service is supplied, the other employer has an establishment situated in Québec;

(b)  the service supplied by the employee

(i)  is performed by the employee in the ordinary performance of his duties with his employer,

(ii)  is supplied to or for the benefit of the other employer in the course of regular and ongoing activities of an enterprise carried on by that other employer, and

(iii)  is in the nature of the services supplied by employees of employers carrying on the same type of enterprise as the enterprise referred to in subparagraph ii; and

(c)  the amount is not otherwise included in remuneration subject to contribution paid by the other employer that is determined for the purposes of this chapter;

 8) subparagraph 7 does not apply in respect of a pay period of any other employer referred to therein if the Minister of Revenue is of the opinion that a reduction in the contribution payable under this chapter by the employers referred to in that subparagraph 7 is not one of the objectives or anticipated results arising from the making or maintaining in force of

(a)  the agreement pursuant to which the service is supplied by the employee referred to in that subparagraph 7 to or for the benefit of the other employer; or

(b)  any other agreement affecting the amount of remuneration subject to contribution paid by the other employer in the pay period for the purposes of this chapter and where the Minister of Revenue considers the agreement to be related to the agreement for the supply of services referred to in subparagraph a.

39.0.2.  Every employer subject to contribution shall, in respect of a calendar year, pay to the Minister of Revenue a contribution equal to the product obtained by multiplying by the rate fixed by regulation made under paragraph 7 of section 29 the remuneration subject to contribution paid by the employer in the year and the remuneration the employer is deemed to pay in respect of the year under the second paragraph of section 979.3 and section 1019.7 of the Taxation Act (chapter I-3) to his employee working in Québec and, except to the extent that it is otherwise referred to in this section, the portion referred to in section 43.2 of that Act of any contribution, together with the related tax, that the employer pays to the administrator of a multi-employer insurance plan, within the meaning of section 43.1 of the said Act in respect of such an employee who receives the remuneration subject to contribution.

Every employer subject to contribution who would be governed by a decree referred to in the third paragraph, had the decree not expired, shall, in respect of a calendar year, pay to the Minister of Revenue a supplementary contribution equal to the product obtained by multiplying, by the rate fixed for that purpose by a regulation under paragraph 7 of section 29, that portion of any amount referred to in the first paragraph on which the employer is required to pay the contribution provided for therein and which, had the decree not expired, would come under paragraph 3 of the definition of “remuneration subject to contribution” in the first paragraph of section 39.0.1.

The decrees referred to in the second paragraph are

 1) the Decree respecting the men's and boys' shirt industry (R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r.11);

 2) the Decree respecting the women's clothing industry (R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r.26);

 3) the Decree respecting the men's clothing industry (R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r.27);

 4) the Decree respecting the leather glove industry (R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r.32).

For the purposes of this chapter, the contribution of an employer subject to contribution means the contribution payable under the first paragraph and, where applicable, the contribution payable under the second paragraph.

39.0.3.  Payment to the Minister of Revenue of the contribution provided for in section 39.0.2 in respect of a calendar year shall be made on or before the day on which the employer subject to contribution must file the return provided for in Title XXVII of the Regulation respecting the Taxation Act (R.R.Q., 1981, chapter I-3, r. 1) in respect of the payments required under section 1015 of the Taxation Act (chapter I-3) in relation to the wages paid by him in that year.

The employer shall forward his payment to the Minister of Revenue, together with the prescribed form.

39.0.4.  An employer subject to contribution shall file each year a statement in prescribed form in respect of all remuneration subject to contribution on which he is required to pay a contribution under section 39.0.2. Title XXVII of the Regulation respecting the Taxation Act (R.R.Q., 1981, chapter I-3, r. 1), with the necessary modifications, applies to the statement.

39.0.5.  The Minister of Revenue shall remit, each year, to the Commission the sums he is required to collect as contribution under section 39.0.2, after deduction of the refunds and collection expenses agreed upon.

39.0.6.  This chapter constitutes a fiscal law within the meaning of the Act respecting the Ministère du Revenu (chapter M-31).

The provisions applicable under this section take precedence over the provisions of sections 115 and 144 of this Act.

40.  The minimum wage payable to an employee shall be determined by regulation of the Government.

An employee is entitled to be paid a wage that is at least equivalent to the minimum wage.

40.1.  Section 40 does not apply to an apprentice who participates in an apprenticeship scheme established under the Act to foster the development of manpower training (chapter D-7.1).

The minimum wage payable to such an employee is the wage determined in his respect pursuant to a regulation under that Act.

41.  No benefit having pecuniary value may be taken into account in computing the minimum wage.

41.1.  No employer may remunerate an employee at a lower rate of wage than that granted to other employees performing the same tasks in the same establishment for the sole reason that the employee usually works less hours each week.

The first paragraph does not apply to an employee remunerated at a rate of pay which is more than twice the rate of the minimum wage.

42.  Wages must be paid in cash in a sealed envelope or by cheque. The payment may be made by bank transfer if so provided in a written agreement or a decree.

An employee is deemed not to have received payment of the wages due to him if the cheque delivered to him is not cashable within the two working days following its issue.

43.  Wages must be paid at regular intervals of not over sixteen days, or one month in the case of managerial personnel or of workers contemplated in subparagraphs i, ii, and iii of paragraph 10 of section 1. However, any amount in excess of the regular wages, such as a bonus or premium for overtime, earned during the week preceding payment of the wages may be paid with the subsequent regular payment or, where that is the case, at the time prescribed by a particular provision of a collective agreement or decree.

Notwithstanding the first paragraph, an employer may pay an employee within one month following the commencement of his employment.

44.  The wages of an employee must be paid directly to him, at his place of employment and on a working day, except where the payment is made by bank transfer or is sent by mail.

The wages of an employee may also, at his written request, be remitted to a third person.

45.  If the usual day of payment of wages falls on a general statutory holiday, the wages are paid to the employee on the working day preceding that day.

46.  The employer must remit to the employee, together with his wages, a pay sheet containing sufficient information to enable the employee to verify the computation of his wages. That pay sheet must include, in particular, the following information, where applicable:

 1) the name of the employer;

 2) the name of the employee;

 3) the identification of the employee's occupation;

 4) the date of the payment and the work period corresponding to the payment;

 5) the number of hours paid at the prevailing rate;

 6) the number of hours of overtime paid or replaced by a leave with the applicable premium;

 7) the nature and amount of the bonuses, indemnities, allowances or commissions that are being paid;

 8) the wage rate;

 9) the amount of wages before deductions;

 10) the nature and amount of the deductions effected;

 11) the amount of the net wages paid to the employee;

 12) the amount of the tips reported by the employee pursuant to section 1019.4 of the Taxation Act (chapter I-3);

 13) the amount of the tips he has attributed to the employee under section 42.11 of the Taxation Act.

The Government, by regulation, may require any other particular it deems pertinent. It may also exempt a category of employers from the application of any of the above particulars.

47.  No signing formality other than that establishing that the sum remitted to the employee corresponds to the amount of net wages indicated on the pay sheet may be required upon payment of the wages.

48.  Acceptance of a pay sheet by an employee does not entail his renunciation of the payment of all or part of the wages that are due to him.

49.  No employer may make deductions from wages unless he is required to do so pursuant to an Act, a regulation, a court order, a collective agreement, an order or decree or a mandatory supplemental pension plan.

The employer may make deductions from wages if the employee consents thereto in writing, for a specific purpose mentioned in the writing.

The employee may at any time revoke that authorization, except where it pertains to membership in a group insurance plan, or a supplemental pension plan. The employer shall remit the sums so withheld to their intended receiver.

50.  Any gratuity or tip paid directly or indirectly by a patron to an employee who provided the service belongs to the employee of right and must not be mingled with the wages that are otherwise due to the employee. The employer must pay at least the prescribed minimum wage to the employee without taking into account any gratuities or tips the employee receives.

Any gratuity or tip collected by the employer shall be remitted in full to the employee who rendered the service. The words gratuity and tip include service charges added to the patron's bill but do not include any administrative costs added to the bill.

The employer may not impose an arrangement to share gratuities or a tip-sharing arrangement. Nor may the employer intervene, in any manner whatsoever, in the establishment of an arrangement to share gratuities or a tip-sharing arrangement. Such an arrangement must result solely from the free and voluntary consent of the employees entitled to gratuities or tips.

However, an indemnity provided for in any of sections 58, 62, 74, 76, 80, 81, 81.1 and 83 is computed, in the case of an employee who is an employee referred to in section 42.11 or 1019.4 of the Taxation Act ( chapter I-3), on the basis of the wages increased by the tips attributed under that section 42.11 or reported under that section 1019.4.

50.1.  No employer may require an employee to pay credit card costs.

50.2.  No employer may refuse to receive a written report made pursuant to section 1019.4 of the Taxation Act (chapter I-3).

51.  The maximum amount that an employer may require for room and board from one of his employees is that which is fixed by regulation of the Government.

51.0.1.  Notwithstanding section 51, an employer may not require an amount for room and board from a domestic who is housed or takes meals in the employer's residence.

51.1.  No employer may, directly or indirectly, be reimbursed by an employee for the contribution provided for in Chapter III.1.

52.  For the purposes of computing overtime, the regular workweek is 40 hours except in the cases where it is fixed by regulation of the Government.

53.  An employer may, with the authorization of the Commission, stagger the working-hours of his employees on a basis other than a weekly basis, provided that the average of the working-hours is equivalent to the norm provided in the act or the regulations.

A collective agreement or a decree may provide, on the same conditions, without the authorization provided for under the first paragraph being necessary, for the staggering of working hours on a basis other than a weekly basis.

54.  The number of hours of the regular workweek determined in section 52 does not apply, as regards the computing of overtime hours for the purpose of the increase in the usual hourly wage, to the following employees:

 2) a student employed in a vacation camp or in a social or community non-profit organization such as a recreational organization;

 3) the managerial personnel of an undertaking;

 4) an employee who works outside an establishment whose working-hours cannot be controlled;

 5) an employee assigned to canning, packaging and freezing fruit and vegetables during the harvesting period;

 6) an employee of a fishing, fish processing or fish canning industry;

 7) a farm worker;

However, the Government may, by regulation, prescribe the number of hours it determines as the regular workweek for the categories of employees mentioned in subparagraphs 2, 5 to 7 and 9 of the first paragraph.

55.  Any work performed in addition to the regular work-week entails a premium of 50 % of the prevailing hourly wage paid to the employee except premiums computed on an hourly basis.

Notwithstanding the first paragraph, the employer may, at the request of the employee or in the cases provided for by a collective agreement or decree, replace the payment of overtime by paid leave equivalent to the overtime worked plus 50 %.

Subject to a provision of a collective agreement or decree, the leave must be taken during the 12 months following the overtime at a date agreed between the employer and the employee; otherwise the overtime must be paid. However, where the contract of employment is terminated before the employee is able to benefit from the leave, the overtime must be paid at the same time as the last payment of wages.

56.  For the purposes of computing overtime, annual leave and statutory general holidays with pay are counted as days of work.

57.  An employee is deemed to be at work

 1) while available to the employer at the place of employment and required to wait for work to be assigned;

 2) subject to section 79, during the break periods granted by the employer;

 3) when travel is required by the employer;

 4) during any trial period or training required by the employer.

58.  An employee who reports for work at his place of employment at the express demand of his employer or in the regular course of his employment and who works fewer than three consecutive hours, except in the case of superior force, is entitled, to an indemnity equal to three hours' wages at the prevailing hourly rate except where the application of section 55 entitles him to a greater amount.

This provision does not apply in the case where the nature of the work or the conditions of its execution require the employee to be present several times in the same day, for less than three hours each time, such as that of a school crossing guard or a bus driver.

Neither does it apply where the nature of the work or the conditions of execution are such that it is ordinarily completed within a three hour period, such as the work of a school-crossing guard or usher.

59.0.1.  An employee may refuse to work

 1) more than four hours after regular daily working hours or more than 14 working hours per 24 hour period, whichever period is the shortest or, for an employee whose daily working hours are flexible or non-continuous, more than 12 working hours per 24 hour period;

 2) subject to section 53, more than 50 working hours per week or, for an employee working in an isolated area or carrying out work in the James Bay territory, more than 60 working hours per week.

This section does not apply where there is a danger to the life, health or safety of employees or the population, where there is a risk of destruction or serious deterioration of movable or immovable property or in any other case of superior force, or if the refusal is inconsistent with the employee's professional code of ethics.

59.1.  This division does not apply to an employee who, under a collective agreement or decree, is entitled to a number of non-working days with pay, in addition to the National Holiday, equal to or greater than the number of days to which employees to whom this division applies are entitled, nor to an employee in the same establishment who is entitled to a number of non-working days with pay, in addition to the National Holiday, equal to or greater than the number stated in the collective agreement or decree.

However, notwithstanding any provision contrary to the collective agreement or decree, the indemnity for a non-working day with pay shall be computed, in the case of an employee referred to in section 42.11 or 1019.4 of the Taxation Act ( chapter I-3), on the basis of the wages increased by the tips attributed under that section 42.11 or reported under that section 1019.4.

60.  The following days are statutory general holidays:

 1) 1 January;

 2) Good Friday or Easter Monday, at the option of the employer;

 3) the Monday preceding 25 May;

 4) 1 July, or 2 July where the 1 ^st falls on a Sunday;

 5) the first Monday in September;

 6) the second Monday in October;

 7) 25 December.

62.  For each statutory general holiday, the employer must pay the employee an indemnity equal to 1/20 of the wages earned during the four complete weeks of pay preceding the week of the holiday, excluding overtime. However, the indemnity paid to an employee remunerated in whole or in part on a commission basis must be equal to 1/60 of the wages earned during the 12 complete weeks of pay preceding the week of the holiday.

63.  If an employee must work on one of the days indicated in section 60, the employer, in addition to paying to the employee working on that general holiday the wages for the work done, must pay to such employee the indemnity provided for in section 62, or grant him a compensatory holiday of one day. In this case, the holiday must be taken within three weeks before or after that day, unless a collective agreement or a decree provides for a longer period.

64.  If an employee is on annual leave on one of the holidays contemplated in section 60, the employer shall pay him the indemnity provided for in section 62 or grant him a compensatory holiday of one day on a date agreed upon between the employer and the employee or fixed by a collective agreement or a decree.

65.  To benefit from a statutory general holiday, an employee must not have been absent from work without the employer's authorization or without valid cause on the working day preceding or on the working day following the holiday.

66.  The reference year is a period of twelve consecutive months during which an employee progressively acquires entitlement to an annual leave.

That period extends from 1 May of the preceding year to 30 April of the current year unless an agreement or decree fixes a different starting date for that period.

67.  An employee who, at the end of a reference year, is credited with less than one year of uninterrupted service with the same employer during that period, is entitled to an uninterrupted leave for a duration determined at the rate of one working day for each month of uninterrupted service, for a total leave not exceeding two weeks.

68.  An employee who, at the end of a reference year, is credited with one year of uninterrupted service with the same employer during that period is entitled to an annual leave of a minimum duration of two consecutive weeks.

68.1.  An employee to whom section 68 applies is also entitled, if he applies therefor, to an additional annual leave without pay equal to the number of days required to increase his annual leave to three weeks.

Such additional leave need not follow immediately a leave under section 68 and, notwithstanding sections 71 and 73, it may not be divided, or be replaced by a compensatory indemnity.

69.  An employee who, at the end of a reference year, is credited with five years of uninterrupted service with the same employer, is entitled to an annual leave for a minimum duration of three consecutive weeks.

70.  The annual leave must be taken within 12 months following the end of the reference year, except where a collective agreement or a decree allows it to be deferred until the following year.

Notwithstanding the first paragraph, the employer may, at the request of the employee, allow the annual leave to be taken, in whole or in part, during the reference year.

In addition, if at the end of the 12 months following the end of a reference year, the employee is absent owing to sickness or accident or is absent or on leave for family or parental matters, the employer may, at the request of the employee, defer the annual leave to the following year. If the annual leave is not so deferred, the employer must pay the indemnity for the annual leave to which the employee is entitled.

Notwithstanding any contrary clause of a collective agreement, decree or contract, any period of salary insurance, sickness insurance or disability insurance interrupted by a leave taken in accordance with the first paragraph is continued, where applicable, after the leave, as if it had never been interrupted.

71.  The annual leave may be divided into two periods where so requested by the employee. However, the employer may refuse the request if he closes his establishment for a period equal to or greater than that of the employee's annual leave.

Notwithstanding section 69, any employer who, before 29 March 1995, closed his establishment for the period of annual leave, may divide the annual leave of an employee referred to in that section into two periods, one being the closing period. One of those periods must, however, last for a minimum of two consecutive weeks.

The annual leave may also be divided into more than two periods where so requested by the employee, provided the employer consents thereto.

A leave not exceeding one week shall not be divided.

71.1.  Notwithstanding sections 68, 69 and 71, a collective agreement or a decree may include a clause providing for, or prohibiting, the division of an annual leave into two or more periods.

72.  An employee is entitled to know the date of his annual leave at least four weeks in advance.

73.  Employers are prohibited from replacing a leave contemplated in section 67, 68 or 69 by a compensatory indemnity, unless a special provision is contained in a collective agreement or decree.

At the request of the employee, the third week of leave may, however, be replaced by a compensatory indemnity if the establishment closes for two weeks on the occasion of the annual leave.

74.  The indemnity relating to the annual leave of the employee contemplated in sections 67 and 68 is equal to 4% of the gross wages of the employee during the reference year. In the case of the employee contemplated in section 69, the indemnity is equal to 6% of the gross wages of the employee during the reference year.

Should an employee be absent owing to sickness or accident or on maternity leave during the reference year and should that absence result in the reduction of that employee's annual leave indemnity, the employee is then entitled to an indemnity equal, as the case may be, to twice or three times the weekly average of the wage earned during the period of work. An employee contemplated in section 67 whose annual leave is less than two weeks is entitled to that amount in proportion to the days of leave credited to his account.

The Government may, by regulation, determine a higher indemnity than that provided for in this section for an employee on maternity leave.

Notwithstanding the second and third paragraphs, the annual leave indemnity shall not exceed the indemnity to which the employee would have been entitled if he had not been absent or on leave owing to a reason mentioned in the second paragraph.

74.1.  No employer may reduce the annual leave of an employee referred to in section 41.1, or change the way in which the indemnity pertaining to it is computed, in comparison with what is granted to other employees performing the same tasks in the same establishment, for the sole reason that the employee usually works less hours each week.

75.  Subject to a provision of a collective agreement or decree, the indemnity pertaining to the annual leave of an employee must be paid to him in a lump sum before the beginning of the leave.

However, in the case of a farm worker hired on a daily basis, the indemnity may be added to his wages and be paid in the same manner.

76.  If a contract of employment is cancelled before the employee is able to benefit by all the days of leave to which he is entitled, the employee shall receive, in addition to the compensatory indemnity determined in accordance with section 74 and attaching to the fraction of the leave that he did not enjoy, an indemnity equal to 4% or 6%, as the case may be, of the gross wages earned during the current reference year.

77.  Sections 66 to 76 do not apply to the following persons:

 2) a student employed in a vacation camp or in a social or community non-profit organization such as a recreational organization;

 3) a real estate agent within the meaning of the Real Estate Brokerage Act ( chapter C-73.1), remunerated entirely by commission;

 4) a representative of a dealer or adviser within the meaning of section 149 of the Securities Act ( chapter V-1.1), entirely remunerated by commission;

 5) a representative within the meaning of the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services ( chapter D-9.2) remunerated entirely by commission;

 7) a trainee within the framework of a vocational training programme recognized by law.

However, the Government may, by regulation, render all or some of the provisions of sections 66 to 76 applicable to the employees described in subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph.

78.  Subject to the application of paragraph 12 of section 39 or of section 53, an employee is entitled to a weekly minimum rest period of 32 consecutive hours.

In the case of a farm worker, that day of rest may be postponed to the following week if the employee consents thereto.

79.  Unless otherwise provided in a collective agreement or a decree, the employer must grant to an employee a rest period of thirty minutes, without pay, for meals, for a period of five consecutive hours of work.

That period shall be remunerated if the employee is not authorized to leave his work station.

79.1.  An employee who is credited with three months of uninterrupted service may be absent from work, without pay, for a period of not more than 26 weeks over a period of 12 months, owing to sickness or accident.

However, this section does not apply in the case of an employment injury within the meaning of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases ( chapter A-3.001).

79.2.  An employee must advise the employer as soon as possible of an absence from work and give the reasons therefor.

79.3.  An employee's participation in the group insurance and pension plans recognized in the employee's place of employment shall not be affected by the absence from work, subject to regular payment of the contributions payable under those plans, the usual part of which is paid by the employer.

The Government shall determine, by regulation, the other advantages available to an employee during an absence owing to sickness or accident.

79.4.  At the end of the absence owing to sickness or accident, the employer shall reinstate the employee in the employee's former position with the same benefits, including the wages to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee remained at work. If the position held by the employee no longer exists when the employee returns to work, the employer shall recognize all the rights and privileges to which the employee would have been entitled if the employee had been at work at the time the position ceased to exist.

Nothing in the first paragraph shall prevent an employer from dismissing, suspending or transferring an employee if, in the circumstances, the consequences of the sickness or accident or the repetitive nature of the absences constitute good and sufficient cause.

79.5.  If the employer makes dismissals or layoffs that would have included the employee had the employee remained at work, the employee retains the same rights with respect to a return to work as the employees who were dismissed or laid off.

79.6.  This division shall not grant to an employee any benefit to which the employee would not have been entitled if the employee had remained at work.

79.7.  An employee may be absent from work, without pay, for 10 days per year to fulfil obligations relating to the care, health or education of the employee's child or the child of the employee's spouse, or because of the state of health of the employee's spouse, father, mother, brother, sister or one of the employee's grandparents.

The leave may be divided into days. A day may also be divided if the employer consents thereto.

The employee must advise the employer of his absence as soon as possible and take the reasonable steps within his power to limit the leave and the duration of the leave.

79.8.  An employee who is credited with three months of uninterrupted service may be absent from work, without pay, for a period of not more than 12 weeks over a period of 12 months where he must stay with his child, spouse, the child of his spouse, his father, mother, brother, sister or one of his grandparents because of a serious illness or a serious accident.

An employee must advise the employer as soon as possible of an absence from work and, at the employer's request, furnish a document justifying the absence.

However, if a minor child of the employee has a serious and potentially mortal illness, attested by a medical certificate, the employee is entitled to an extension of the absence, which shall end at the latest 104 weeks after the beginning thereof.

The first paragraph of section 79.3, the first paragraph of section 79.4 and sections 79.5 and 79.6 apply, with the necessary modifications, to the employee's absence.

80.  An employee may be absent from work for one day without reduction of wages by reason of the death or the funeral of his spouse, his child or the child of his spouse, or of his father, mother, brother or sister. He may also be absent from work, without pay, for four more days on such occasion.

80.1.  An employee may be absent from work for one day, without pay, by reason of the death or the funeral of a son-in-law, daughter-in-law, one of his grandparents or grandchildren, or of the father, mother, brother or sister of his spouse.

80.2.  In the circumstances referred to in section 80 or 80.1, the employee must advise his employer of his absence as soon as possible.

81.  An employee may be absent from work for one day without reduction of wages, on the day of his or her wedding or civil union.

An employee may also be absent from work, without pay, on the day of the wedding or civil union of his or her child, father, mother, brother or sister or of a child of his or her spouse.

The employee must advise his or her employer of his or her absence not less than one week in advance.

81.1.  An employee may be absent from work for five days at the birth of his child, the adoption of a child or where there is a termination of pregnancy in or after the twentieth week of pregnancy. The first two days of absence shall be remunerated if the employee is credited with 60 days of uninterrupted service.

This leave may be divided into days at the request of the employee. It may not be taken more than 15 days after the child arrives at the residence of its father or mother or after the termination of pregnancy.

The employee must advise his employer of his absence as soon as possible.

However, an employee who adopts the child of his spouse may be absent from work for only two days, without pay.

81.2.  An employee may be absent for five days per year, without pay, to fulfil obligations relating to the care, health or education of his minor child, in cases where his presence is required due to unforeseeable circumstances or circumstances beyond his control. He must have taken all reasonable steps within his power to assume these obligations otherwise and to limit the duration of the leave.

The leave may be divided into days. A day may also be divided if the employer consents thereto.

The employee must advise his employer of his absence as soon as possible.

81.3.  An employee may be absent from work without pay for a medical examination related to her pregnancy or for an examination related to her pregnancy carried out by a midwife.

She shall advise her employer as soon as possible of the time at which she will be absent.

81.4.  A pregnant employee is entitled to a maternity leave without pay of not more than 18 consecutive weeks unless, at her request, the employer consents to a longer maternity leave.

The employee may spread the maternity leave as she wishes before or after the expected date of delivery. However, where the maternity leave begins on the week of delivery, that week shall not be taken into account in calculating the maximum period of 18 consecutive weeks.

81.4.1.  If the delivery takes place after the expected date, the employee is entitled to at least two weeks of maternity leave after the delivery.

81.5.  The maternity leave shall not begin before the sixteenth week preceding the expected date of delivery and shall not end later than 18 weeks after the week of delivery.

Where the child is hospitalized during the maternity leave, the leave may be suspended, following an agreement with the employer, during the hospitalization.

In addition, an employee who sends to the employer, before the expiry date of her maternity leave, a notice accompanied with a medical certificate attesting that the state of health of the employee or of her child requires it, is entitled to an extension of the maternity leave for the duration indicated in the medical certificate.

81.5.1.  Where there is a risk of termination of pregnancy or a risk to the health of the mother or the unborn child, caused by the pregnancy and requiring a work stoppage, the employee is entitled to a special maternity leave, without pay, for the duration indicated in the medical certificate attesting the existing risk and indicating the expected date of delivery.

The leave is, where applicable, deemed to be the maternity leave provided for in section 81.4 from the beginning of the fourth week preceding the expected date of delivery.

81.5.2.  Where there is termination of pregnancy before the beginning of the twentieth week preceding the expected date of delivery, the employee is entitled to a special maternity leave, without pay, for a period of no longer than three weeks, unless a medical certificate attests that the employee needs an extended leave.

If the termination of pregnancy occurs in or after the twentieth week, the employee is entitled to a maternity leave without pay of a maximum duration of 18 consecutive weeks beginning from the week of the event.

81.5.3.  In the case of a termination of pregnancy or a premature birth, the employee must, as soon as possible, give written notice to the employer informing the employer of the event and the expected date of her return to work, accompanied with a medical certificate attesting to the event.

81.6.  The maternity leave may be taken after giving written notice of not less than three weeks to the employer, stating the date on which the leave will begin and the date on which the employee will return to work. The notice must be accompanied with a medical certificate attesting to the pregnancy and the expected date of delivery. Where applicable, the medical certificate may be replaced by a written report signed by a midwife.

The notice may be of less than three weeks if the medical certificate attests that the employee needs to stop working within a shorter time.

81.8.  From the sixth week preceding the expected date of delivery, the employer may, in writing, require a pregnant employee who is still at work to produce a medical certificate attesting that she is fit to work.

If the employee refuses or neglects to produce the certificate within eight days, the employer may oblige her to take her maternity leave immediately by sending her a written notice to that effect giving reasons.

81.9.  Notwithstanding the notice provided for in section 81.6, the employee may return to work before the expiry of her maternity leave. However, the employer may require a medical certificate from an employee who returns to work within the two weeks following delivery, attesting to the fact that she is fit to work.

81.10.  The father and the mother of a newborn child, and a person who adopts a minor child, are entitled to parental leave without pay of not more than 52 consecutive weeks.

This section does not apply to an employee who adopts the child of his spouse.

81.11.  Parental leave may not begin before the week the child is born or, in the case of adoption, the week the child is entrusted to the employee within the framework of an adoption procedure or the week the employee leaves his work to go to a place outside Québec in order that the child be entrusted to him. It shall end not later than 70 weeks after the birth or, in the case of adoption, 70 weeks after the child was entrusted to the employee.