Employee Rights in Saskatchewan
The starting point for determining employee rights in Saskatchewan is The Saskatchewan Employment Act, SS 2013, c S-15.1 and its regulations (notably The Employment Standards Regulations, RRS c S-15.1 Reg 5). Recall that individual employee contracts can only raise an employee’s minimum entitlements under the legislation – they cannot reduce them. Similarly, the legislation does not reduce employee entitlements under an individual employee contract. In any instance the more favorable rate of pay, conditions of work, hours of work, wages, or notice period applies.
The following is intended to walk you through various employee rights (and employer responsibilities) and introduce what they mean for employees (and employers) in Saskatchewan. It does not apply to federal works within the meaning of the Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2.
Notice of Layoff or Termination
Having completed at least 13 weeks of service, an employee is entitled to a notice period prior to layoff or termination. The Saskatchewan Employment Act provides the following minimum notice periods:
more than 13 consecutive weeks but one year or less 1 week
more than one year but three years or less 2 weeks
more than three years but five years or less 4 weeks
more than five years but 10 years or less 6 weeks
more than 10 years 8 weeks
These may take the form of working notice or, commonly, payment of wages in lieu of notice. It is however important to emphasize – these are minimum notice periods. Individual contracts may raise minimum notice.
At common law (law developed through cases in the courts) employees are typically entitled to considerably more notice. Many consider approximately one month notice for every year of service to be a reasonable starting point, however that number can vary drastically based on factors such as the employee’s age, availability of similar work, or enticements made to attract the employee to the employer (away from stable employment, for example). Employees may also be entitled to what are referred to as “moral damages” for the manner of termination where it was poorly executed. Additional factors such as normal entitlement to non-discretionary bonuses, overtime, loss of benefits, and RRSP matching programs may also be relevant in determining an employee’s ultimate entitlement.
Notice requirements do not apply in the case of just cause for termination. However, if an employer alleges just cause and it is proven there was no just cause, the employee will be entitled to reasonable notice.
Overtime
Overtime (typically, but not necessarily paid at a rate of 1.5 times an employee’s normal wage) is generally owing when an employee works more than 40 hours in a week, or 32 hours in a week where a public holiday is observed. It is also triggered by work over 8 hours in a day or over 10 hours in a day depending on the employee’s work schedule. However, many workplaces operate under modified work arrangements or use hours averaging (particularly in the construction industry) so there are many exceptions and alterations to the basic rules. For example, it is routine in some construction industries to average hours over a month or four-week basis, thus an employee may work more than 40 hours in a given week, but average less than 40 hours per week over four weeks and no overtime is triggered. Live-in caregivers are another example of where the standard overtime provisions do not apply.
Generally overtime cannot be compulsory although there are some exceptions, for example in the case of emergency circumstances.
Meal and Rest Breaks
Employees are generally entitled to a period of not less than eight consecutive hours of rest in any day unless emergency circumstances dictate otherwise. They are also entitled to one full day off in a week provided they regularly work more than 20 hours a week.
Employees are also generally entitled to unpaid meal breaks of one half hour for every five hours of work. However, paid working meals are also permitted and there are various exceptions where it is unreasonable to take a break or where an emergency or unusual circumstances arise. Multiple industries have exceptions to these rules so it is once again important to consider industry-specific provisions.
Vacation Time & Payments
Employees in Saskatchewan are entitled to three weeks’ of vacation after each year of employment and four weeks’ annually after the completion of 10 years of employment with the same employer. Legislation sets out the rights of employees for when and how they are entitled to take that vacation time. Employees are also entitled to set amounts of vacation pay which is to be paid either spread out across every payday or immediately before the employee’s vacation upon request.
Some employers “force” vacation time to be taken during times where the employer ceases operations, for example in yearly shutdowns. “Forced” vacation time during these periods of closure must not be less than one week in length.
Public Holidays
Saskatchewan has ten public holidays: New Year’s Day, Family Day (third Monday in February), Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Saskatchewan Day (first Monday in August), Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, and Christmas Day. Where any of New Year’s Day, Christmas Day, or Remembrance Day falls on a Sunday it is to be observed on the Monday following (unless the employer is regularly open on a Sunday) – otherwise observation is, by default, on the day the holiday falls upon.
Public holidays impact scheduling and overtime. Though they may be observed on a different day, they must be observed and employees must receive their holiday pay in the prescribed manner (including additional pay where employees work on a holiday). The exact way in which payments and observations are required may vary by industry.
Minimum Wage
As of May of 2025, the minimum wage in Saskatchewan is $15.00 per hour. There are some exceptions. For example, minimum wage applies to providers and live-in domestic workers for only the first 8 hours of work per day and “student learners” are not employees for the purposes of employment legislation.
The minimum call-out wage (minimum amount to be paid to an employee called into work) is three times that employee’s wage. However, some exceptions apply allowing for a minimum of one hour’s wage including to school students in regular attendance during the school term, noon-hour supervisors, school bus drivers, and election officials.
Sick Leave and Medical Leave
Employers are prohibited from taking discriminatory action against employees because of absence due to injury, illness, or injury/illness of a dependent provided the employee has been employed for more than 13 consecutive weeks before the absence. This does not apply indefinitely, and proof of illness may be required depending on the circumstances. Employers are also permitted to act where a minor illness results in more than 12 days’ absence in a calendar year or a major illness results in more than 12 weeks’ absence over a 52 week period (unless the absence is due to an injury for which the employee is receiving workers’ compensation in which case the period is extended to 26 weeks).
Various additional exceptions and modifications apply depending on the industry and the circumstances surrounding both the employee and the employer’s business. Issues of potential accommodation may also come up where disability is at issue.
Maternity and Parental Leave
Employees are entitled to maternity leave of 19 weeks commencing as early as 13 weeks prior to their due date, but no later than the date of the birth. Employees who miscarry or have stillbirths may also be eligible for this type of leave when the loss occurs during the 13 weeks prior to the due date. Additionally, employers are required to provide accommodations (to the point of undue hardship) for prenatal and postnatal employees where medically required.
Adoption leave of up to 19 weeks is available for primary caregivers.
Both biological and adoptive parents are also eligible for parental leave of up to 59 or 71 weeks depending on whether a maternity or adoption leave was also taken. The timing and length of the leave will vary depending on the circumstances.
Other Leaves
Employees are entitled to a variety of leaves including:
• bereavement leave
• compassionate care leave
• interpersonal violence and sexual violence leave
• critically ill childcare leave
• critically ill adultcare leave
• crime-related child death or disappearance leave
• citizenship ceremony leave
• public health emergency leave
• reserve force service leave
• public office leave
The maximum length and minimum notice required varies on the type and circumstances of the specific leave at issue. Certain medical or other evidence may also be required to establish entitlement.
Seniority/length of service, benefits, and reinstatement rights are generally not impacted by these leaves, although in some cases it can occur and it may be that the employee is required to pay out-of-pocket for their benefits during some or all of the leave period.
Human Rights
Discrimination is prohibited in employment including the refusal to employ, hiring and recruitment, and termination of employment. Employers also cannot pay employees different amounts based on prohibited grounds including religion, sex (including pregnancy or pregnancy-related illness), sexual orientation, disability, age, family status (i.e. dependents), marital status, ancestry, race or perceived race, nationality, receipt of public assistance or gender identity. Similarly public services cannot discriminate on these grounds when offering accommodation, services, or facilities. Some limited exceptions do apply, for example firefighters require certain physical abilities and it is not age discrimination to refuse to employ a minor or octogenarian under certain circumstances.
Workplace Harassment and Bullying
All employees have a right to a harassment-free workplace. Employers are required to develop and implement written policies to prevent harassment in the workplace, and they must ensure investigations are conducted where any instance of workplace harassment has or has been alleged to have occurred.
Supervisors have a duty to ensure, if reasonably practicable, workers under their supervision are not exposed to harassment while at work. Employees have a duty to refrain from harassment and take reasonable care to protect their own safety.
Right to Refuse Dangerous Work
All employees have the right to refuse to perform any act where they have reasonable grounds to believe that the act is unusually dangerous to the workers’ health or safety or the health or safety of another person at the place of employment. The right exists until either (1) sufficient steps have been taken to satisfy the worker that the action is safe, or (2) an occupational health and safety committee has investigated the matter and determined it is safe to proceed. The employee may also request an occupational health and safety officer and is entitled to continue to refuse the work until that officer has investigated the matter and advised the worker otherwise.
During this process the employer is not permitted to assign another employee to do the work at issue unless they have advised the new employee, in writing, of the circumstances surrounding the refusal and their own right to refuse the work.
Employers cannot take discriminatory action against an employee for exercising this right.
Privacy Rights
Employees have a general right to privacy, however it is not a boundless right. For example, under certain circumstances employers may have access to cell phones used, in part, for work purposes or to the internet logs on a work computer.
Several pieces of legislation govern privacy rights depending on whether federal or provincial jurisdiction applies and whether the organization falls within the public or private sector. See the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5, The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, SS 1990-91, c L-27.1, and The Privacy Act, RSS 1978, c P-24.
How Do Employees Enforce Their Rights?
The first step is to identify that there is or may be an issue. It is critically important to document, to the best of your ability, the issue. Correspondence (such as letters or emails), internal documents, policies, contracts, notes taken during meetings or phone calls – all of these will make the process easier and allow whomever may be reviewing them to evaluate your claim. Depending on the complexity of the issue you may also want to consider compiling a timeline that would allow a reviewer to better understand the situation.
The next step may vary depending on the circumstances. There may be an employer policy pursuant to which an issue could be raised internally, it may be appropriate to report the matter to labour standards or an occupational health and safety officer, or you may even have a legal claim against a former employer and decide you would like to pursue litigation (either with or without legal representation). If you choose to seek legal representation, try to find someone who specializes in the area in which you require advice.
Need Assistance?
Our office is experienced with reviewing, drafting and advising on contracts and workplace policies. Note that employment laws are governed provincially and may differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It is important to obtain advice specific to your jurisdiction. Consult our team for your questions and for assistance with your contracts and workplace policies.
The above information is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.