Payroll and Benefits Guide Canada – Quebec

Employer

Employer Payroll Contributions

Employee

Employee Payroll Contributions

Employee

Employee Income Tax

Federal: Annual taxable income (CAD)

General

As of May 1, 2023, Quebec’s current general minimum wage will increase from 14.25 CAD per hour to 15.25 CAD. For tipped workers, the minimum wage is 12.20 CAD per hour. The minimum wage rate set for employees of federally regulated organisations will be the current minimum wage rate specified in the jurisdiction in which the employee performs the work.

Payroll Cycle

An employer has 1 month to remit an employee’s first pay. After this, wages must be paid at regular intervals of no more than 16 days, or 1 month in case of managerial personnel. If pay day falls on a statutory holiday, the wages must be paid on the preceding working day.

13th Salary

There is no legislation for 13th- month payments in Quebec, Canada.

General

Per the Employment Standards Labour Code, § 16, the maximum number of working hours shall not exceed 8 hours a day, 44 hours a week, with a maximum (inclusive of overtime) of 12-hours in a day. However, in Quebec this can differ per industry, for example:

• Clothing industry- 39 hours maximum per week
• Forestry or sawmill- 47 hours maximum per week
• Remote area or James Bay Territory- 55 hours maximum per week
• Security + provides surveillance- 44 hours maximum per week
• Security + doesn’t provide surveillance- 60 hours maximum per week

Overtime

An employer must pay an employee overtime pay at a rate that is at least 150.00% of the employee’s regular rate of pay or one hour of time off in lieu.

Working Week

Monday-Friday

Paid Time Off

In Quebec, employees are entitled to two consecutive weeks of vacation leave after the first year of employment and three consecutive weeks of leave after five years of employment.

Employees are entitled to vacation pay of 4.00% of the regular salary rate of pay for the first five years of employment and 6.00% of the regular salary rate of pay after five years of employment.

Public Holidays

There are 8 national holidays in Quebec. If a holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday is observed on the Friday before the weekend or on the following Monday.

Sick Days

Eligible employees who have worked for the same employee for at least three consecutive months are entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave per year due to sickness, accident, organ or tissue donation, domestic violence, etc.

Maternity Leave

Employees are entitled to up to 17 weeks of leave if the employee has completed at least one year of employment before the due date. Maternity leave may not begin before the 17th week preceding the expected delivery date and shall end not later than 18 weeks after. If the delivery occurs after the expected date, the employee is entitled to at least two additional weeks of maternity leave.

Special maternity leave may begin four weeks before the expected delivery date when there is a risk of termination of her pregnancy or a danger for the health of the mother or unborn child caused by the pregnancy. Two weeks’ notice and a medical certificate is required.

Employment insurance provides maternity and parental benefits to:

• People who are away from work because they’re pregnant or have recently given birth
• Parents who are away from work to care for their newborn or newly adopted child
• Workers are entitled to 55% of their earnings for 15 weeks up to a maximum of CAD650 a week

Maternity benefits are only available to the person who is away from work because they’re pregnant or have recently given birth. They can’t be shared between parents.

The person receiving maternity benefits may also be entitled to parental benefits.

Maternity benefits can be followed by parental benefits. You may apply for both at once.

For further information visit the Government of Canada website.

Paternity Leave

Paternal leave falls under parental leave.

Parental Leave

Parents are entitled to up to 63 weeks of leave to care for a newborn or adopted child. The parental leave cannot begin before the week of birth or when the child is legally adopted.
The leave should begin no later than 78 weeks after the birth or adoption.

Employment insurance provides maternity and parental benefits to:

• People who are away from work because they’re pregnant or have recently given birth
• Parents who are away from work to care for their newborn or newly adopted child

The assistance details are as follows:

For further information visit the Government of Canada website.

Other Leave

Employees are entitled to 5 days of mandatory leave for the bereavement of a family member, approximately 27 weeks of leave for Compassionate care leave, up to 10 days per year for personal emergency leave, and up to 8 weeks in 26 weeks for Family medical leave.

Employees are also entitled to up to 104 weeks in the event of the death of an employee’s child or in the case that the child has disappeared.

In Quebec, all employers must provide their full-time, regularly employed employees, job-protected, unpaid leave for their duty as jurors or as a witness in a case, responding to a subpoena: or acting as a plaintiff or defendant in the courts. Employees must provide a copy of the jury summons to the employer as evidence of the requirement.

Reservist Leave regulations require employers to provide up to 20 days of unpaid leave each calendar year for annual training for Reservists once they have completed at least 26 consecutive weeks of service with the same employer. An employee may take reservist leave for the following reasons:

• deployment to a Canadian forces’ operation outside Canada
• deployment to a Canadian forces operation inside Canada that is assisting with an emergency or the aftermath of an emergency
• annual training, included related travel time, for up to 20 days in a calendar year
• other operations set out as such in the Employment Standards Regulation by the Minister

Termination Process

The termination process is standard in Quebec, Canada. It is based on termination reasons within the General Labour Law, unless an employer can provide sufficient cause for dismissal without notice (due to misconduct, etc.)

Notice Period

In general, notice periods in Quebec are stipulated within the employment contract/collective agreement and is linked to the reason for termination and the employee’s length of service, as below:

• Seven days’ notice is required if the employee is within 3 months to  1 year of employment
• 14 days’ notice is required if the employee is within 1 year to 5 years of employment
• Four weeks’ notice is required if the employee is within their fifth year of service, up to the tenth year of service
• Eight weeks’ notice is required if the employee has completed more than ten years’ service.

Severance Pay

In Quebec, Canada, there is no statutory severance pay due.

Probation Period

Probation periods in Quebec for permanent employees are generally a minimum of 3 months.

General

Cell Phone, internet allowance, and car allowance.

Supplementary health care/dental plan – typically covers costs of items or care that is not covered by Canada’s universal healthcare system such as prescription drugs or vision ware.

Private pension contribution of the employer (2-6 % of base salary).

VISA

The Government of Canada operates the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to enable foreign citizens to apply to work in Canada for a set period.  The program covers all job roles and knowledge levels, and it can be used when a qualified Canadian citizen or permanent resident is not available or suitable for the role.

Federal (Government of Canada) immigration programs and provincial programs (Government of Quebec) are available in Quebec.

General

The standard rate of VAT in Quebec, Canada, is 5.00%. However, Quebec also has a provincial sales tax (PST) which is a retail sales tax that applies when taxable goods or services are purchased, acquired, or brought into Quebec for use in Quebec, and this rate is 9.98%, resulting in a combined GST and QST rate of 14.98%