When Do Temp Agencies Pay Workers In Ontario?

By Author: Nova Staffing
Total Articles: 21
Comment this article

Temp agency pay in Ontario: what you are owed and when you get it

Who pays you on a temp assignment, when you get paid, and what Ontario law says you are owed: overtime, vacation pay, holiday pay and the three-hour rule.

If you are working through a staffing agency in Ontario, you have the same pay rights as anyone else on that site. A lot of agency workers do not know that, and it costs them money.

Here is who pays you, when, and exactly what you are entitled to under the Employment Standards Act.

For Ontario workers
Who employs you and who pays you

The agency does. When you work an assignment through Nova Staffing, Nova is your employer: we hire you, pay you, make your source deductions and issue your T4 and Record of Employment. The company whose site you work at is the client. Their supervisors direct your work on the floor, but your pay comes from us.

You stay our employee between assignments unless the employment is formally ended, which matters for your Record of Employment and for your next placement.

When you get paid

We pay weekly by direct deposit, based ...
... on the hours your supervisor approved for the previous week. Your electronic pay statement should show your regular hours, any overtime, your rate, vacation pay, and every deduction.

Check it every week. Most pay problems are timesheet problems, and they are far easier to fix in the same pay period than three months later.

Minimum wage

You are entitled to at least the applicable Ontario minimum wage. The general rate changes on 1 October each year, so check the current figure on the Ontario government website rather than trusting an old job posting. If your rate is below the current minimum, that is an error to raise immediately.

Overtime

In Ontario, overtime pay is owed after 44 hours in a work week, at one and a half times your regular rate. Two points agency workers get wrong:

•Overtime is calculated per employer, not per client site. If you work 30 hours at one client and 20 at another through the same agency in the same week, those hours are added together.

•Work for two different agencies is counted separately, because each agency is a separate employer.

Vacation pay

Vacation pay is a percentage of the wages you earn, and it applies to assignment employees like everyone else:

•At least 4% of your gross wages for the first five years of employment with the same employer.

•At least 6% once you reach five years of employment.

It can be paid out on each pay — which is common for agency work, since assignments vary — or accrued, depending on the arrangement. Either way it should appear on your pay statement as a separate line. If you cannot see it, ask.

Public holiday pay

Ontario has nine public holidays. Most employees, including assignment employees, qualify for public holiday pay. It is calculated as the regular wages you earned in the four work weeks before the work week with the holiday, divided by 20.

If you work on the holiday, you are generally entitled to either premium pay for the hours worked or a substitute day off, depending on the arrangement. You do not have to have worked a minimum number of shifts to qualify, but there are rules about the scheduled days before and after the holiday.

If your shift is cancelled or cut short

Ontario’s three-hour rule: if you regularly work more than three hours a day and you report to work but are given less than three hours, you are generally entitled to be paid at least three hours. So showing up and being sent home after forty minutes is not an unpaid trip.

Call the agency the same day if this happens, so it is recorded properly on your timesheet.

What comes off your pay

Your deductions should be the standard ones and nothing else:

•CPP contributions.

•EI premiums.

•Federal and Ontario income tax.

•Anything you authorised in writing — and that is the key phrase. An employer cannot deduct money from your wages for shortages, breakages or lost equipment without your written authorisation for that specific amount.

Uniform deposits, "administration fees" and placement charges are not legitimate deductions from an assignment employee’s pay in Ontario.

T4s, Records of Employment and EI

Because the agency is your employer, you get one T4 covering all your assignments with that agency in the year, no matter how many different sites you worked at. Work through a second agency and you get a second T4.

A Record of Employment is issued when there is an interruption in earnings — which is why it matters that you stay an employee between assignments rather than being terminated after each one. If you are applying for EI, ask the agency for your ROE and keep your own record of your last day worked at each client.

What cannot be charged to you

An agency in Ontario cannot charge you for becoming an employee, for being assigned work, or for help with your resume or interview preparation.

It also cannot charge you a fee because a client hired you permanently. If anyone asks you for money to get a job, that is a serious red flag.

If something is wrong on your pay

•Contact the agency’s payroll team, not the client — the client does not run your pay.

•Have the dates, the hours you believe are missing and your pay statement ready.

•Keep your own record of hours worked. A photo of the sign-in sheet or a note on your phone settles most disputes in minutes.

•If it is not resolved, you can contact the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Agencies also have to give assignment employees an information sheet about their ESA rights.

Frequently asked questions

Does it cost anything to register with Nova Staffing?

No. It is illegal in Ontario for a temporary help agency to charge you for becoming an employee, for being assigned work, or for help with your resume or interview preparation. If any agency asks you for money to get a job, that is a red flag — report it.

Who is my employer, and who pays me, when I am on assignment?

Nova Staffing is your employer and Nova pays you — not the company whose site you work at. You follow the client’s supervisors on the floor, but your pay, deductions, T4 and Record of Employment come from us.

How often do temporary workers get paid?

We pay weekly by direct deposit, based on the hours your supervisor approves for the previous week. You will get an electronic pay statement showing regular hours, overtime, vacation pay and deductions.

Do temporary workers get overtime, vacation pay and holiday pay in Ontario?

Yes. You are covered by the Employment Standards Act like any other employee: at least minimum wage, overtime pay after 44 hours in a work week, vacation pay, and public holiday pay calculated from your earnings in the four weeks before the holiday week.

What happens if my assignment ends earlier than expected?

Tell us as soon as you know and we start looking for your next placement right away — you stay our employee between assignments. If an assignment that was expected to last three months or more ends early, you may be entitled to one week’s written notice or termination pay under the ESA.