Discussions

Is it illegal to pay yourself from your own electrical company less than what the law states a journeyman electrician should be paid?

As a business owner you will put in way more hours then you can afford to pay at Journeyman rate.  
 
The ways to get paid change depending on sole proprietor vs corporation. I am supposed to make $38.10 an hour but don't pay that out as wages to myself.  
 
Edited by Rural, 2018-09-24 19:35:28

How can there be labour laws with set rates per hour for journeyman in Manitoba but when you own your own business and are charging customers as you are journeyman, how is this okay?  
 
Does 45,000 a year for a journeyman electrician make sense in any way??  
 
You must have to give minimum hrs per week to stay within the rules??

You can charge yourself out as a journeyman electrician from your company to the client. you can pay yourself from your company whatever you want, or the company can afford. If you are incorporated, pay yourself as little as you need to get by, and then have the company generate a dividend at the end of the year. less tax paid on the divivend.

Once you own the company almost nothing pertaining to employees applies to you anymore. You don't pay E.I anymore because you can't collect it, vacation doesn't apply to you (you aren't owed 2 weeks vacation)...You should go down to Meyers Norris or BDO and talk with an accountant and get a lot of these things cleared up early.  
 
From the tone of "Does $45,000 a year for a journeyman electrician make sense in any way?" It sounds like maybe you're working for a guy who's trying to pay you as a contractor at piece rate which is working out to less than the provincially regulated minimum wages? Like he/she is making you pay your own gas, use your own vehicle, pay for materials/tools etc and then paying you a straight rate per job/day/etc?  
 
If that's the case then you do have recourse...because a lot of those companies don't really understand the complexities of contracting out at piece rate vs Hourly  
workers...and in cases like that the labour board isn't as concerned with your minimum earnings as much as Revenue Canada is.

more like a competitor who is self-employed is bidding really low and getting jobs. OP is being paid journeyman rate.

ronfay said "more like a competitor who is self-employed is bidding really low and getting jobs. OP is being paid journeyman rate. "

That makes more sense...I wonder why people don't just say that when they post, you'd likely get clearer advice.

This is who I get to do my business accounting. Go see him to get advice on how to pay your self when you own a business.  
 
Labour laws are for employees. A business owner is not an employee same as their family members.

I think as a self employed person you can pay yourself whatever you want. Now I'm no professional either so I would definitely seek a pro's advice. I know a person who owns his own business and is a mechanic who, on paper, pays himself very little so he doesn't have to fork out a bunch of child support. Low life move? Yep. But he gets away with it, both as a self employed person and as a child support paying sperm donor.

Rural said "This is who I get to do my business accounting. Go see him to get advice on how to pay your self when you own a business.     Labour laws are for employees. A business owner is not an employee same as their family members. "

Is paying themselves very little, any payment is considered drawings from the business. Income after expenses is added into your friends earnings. So, either they are lying to you about how successful their business is or they are not only cheating their children and revenue Canada. What is your friend doing with the profit from the business?

I don't have dead beat friends who don't want to pay child support.

U pay ur employees 100 g a year. U pay your self 40 g a year you put other 60000 into your company to grow. newer tools equipment to do the job. you don’t need 100,000 a year cause your company paying off your power,taxes, any office bills.

Let'sgetreal said "    Rural said "This is who I get to do my business accounting. Go see him to get advice on how to pay your self when you own a business.     Labour laws are for employees. A business owner is not an employee same as their family members. " Is paying themselves very little, any payment is considered drawings from the business. Income after expenses is added into your friends earnings. So, either they are lying to you about how successful their business is or they are not only cheating their children and revenue Canada. What is your friend doing with the profit from the business? "

I take it you have issues with child support?

Let'sgetreal said "    Rural said "This is who I get to do my business accounting. Go see him to get advice on how to pay your self when you own a business.     Labour laws are for employees. A business owner is not an employee same as their family members. " Is paying themselves very little, any payment is considered drawings from the business. Income after expenses is added into your friends earnings. So, either they are lying to you about how successful their business is or they are not only cheating their children and revenue Canada. What is your friend doing with the profit from the business? "

Please reread what I posted.  
 
PS I don't have dead beat friends who don't pay child support. I think if someone does that they should be able to seize a certain amount of profit to cover the cost.

Rural said "    Let'sgetreal said "    Rural said "This is who I get to do my business accounting. Go see him to get advice on how to pay your self when you own a business.     Labour laws are for employees. A business owner is not an employee same as their family members. " Is paying themselves very little, any payment is considered drawings from the business. Income after expenses is added into your friends earnings. So, either they are lying to you about how successful their business is or they are not only cheating their children and revenue Canada. What is your friend doing with the profit from the business? " Please reread what I posted.     PS I don't have dead beat friends who don't pay child support. I think if someone does that they should be able to seize a certain amount of profit to cover the cost. "

I had a friend go through divorce. His ex-wife had a hair salon and paid herself only so much and the rest went into the business. She paid herself ridiculously low and he was responsible for topping up her wage plus pay child support on top. And the judge allowed it all. Talk about a double kick to the nuts.