Discussions

It has come to my attention that there are employers out there in the hair styling industry, both salon and schools apparently who appear to be ignorant of, or in defiance of Manitoba Labour laws.  
There are places hiring apprentices or licensed stylist and paying ONLY commission regardless of how many hours are being worked or how much the paycheck is.  
If you require an employee to attend for a fixed number of hours or shifts you MUST guarantee that they earn at LEAST minimum wage for each pay period or each 40 hours worked. In the case of registered hairstylist apprentices the minimum wage is 1st. year apprentice minimum wage ($11.00) hr + 10% or $12.10 an hour and for 2nd year apprentice 13.20 hr.  
To pay less that that is illegal period. A salon owner or school owner cannot offer employment at straight commission if they have fixed shifts and hours and the weekly pay per hour is less than minimum wage. Here is a link http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/docminimum-wagefactsheet.html#q175  
and a quote from the site:  
Must everyone earn at least minimum wage?  
Yes. All employees must receive minimum wage unless they are not covered by provincial employment standards or are excluded from the legislation. Some groups of employees who are excluded from minimum wage are:  
 
•Domestic workers who work less than 12 hours a week  
•In an approved provincial or federal training program  
•Election officials, enumerators and any other temporary person appointed under The Elections Act.  
 
 
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Does minimum wage apply in construction?  
The minimum wage applies in residential construction and building maintenance. There are separate minimum wage rules for the heavy construction sector and the industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sectors of the construction industry. More information on the construction industry can be found on these pages: Construction Industry, Heavy Wage Schedule and ICI Wage Schedule.  
 
 
 
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Does minimum wage apply to students and part-time employees?  
The minimum wage applies equally to all employees regardless of age or the number of hours they work. There are restrictions on the type of work people under 18 years of age can do. See the Young Employees page for more information.  
 
 
 
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Does minimum wage apply to employees paid by incentive?  
Yes. Employees who are paid incentives, like commission salespeople or flat rate mechanics, must earn at least minimum wage in each pay period. Employers must top up or add wages when an employee has not earned at least minimum wage in each pay period.  
 
 
 
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Are employees, who are paid minimum wage, entitled to overtime?  
Employees who work overtime are entitled to be paid at 1 ½ times their regular wages for all overtime hours worked. More information on calculating overtime can be found on the Overtime page.  
If you of any person being taken advantage of like this please direct them to this site, thank you  
 
 

I commend your bravery this is conservative Brandon rules be damned there wouldn't be any if they had their way, dont expect much sympathy workers are for screwing over your just a sniveling whiner complainer taker if you complain good luck be prepared for maximum abuse.

Let us know the outcome of your complaint/report to labour standards. Those that conduct business outside of those standards should be dealt with for sure.

For this post, no matter where you are it's always good to know where to find info like this. And it does happen to when you have mom and pop stores/ business that can't compete or immigrants who don't know the regulations.

TEN said "    Midway55 said "I commend your bravery this is conservative Brandon rules be damned there wouldn't be any if they had their way, dont expect much sympathy workers are for screwing over your just a sniveling whiner complainer taker if you complain good luck be prepared for maximum abuse. " As an employer in Brandon, I find statements like this to be offensive and for lack of a better word, idiotic.     Like anywhere else in Canada, 99% of employers are fair and adhere to the ever increasing list of government regulations in regards to employees, as well as all other laws. Every employee I hire starts either at or above minimum + commissions. Prove yourself worth more and raises come fast, plus bonuses that kick in after 90 days and loyalty bonuses that start after one year.     If you want to start higher, then perhaps you've been through college, apprenticeship etc?     I am not in the hair business, but I doubt its much different than any other.     There are some whiners and snivelers out there, but they weed themselves out pretty quick. Perhaps Midway55 you fit this category and just don't want to accept that YOU are the problem, not the employer. "

Made my day, every body gets an opinion thanks for your input, I wont stoop to name calling yours, proved my point have a nice day.

Midway55 said "I commend your bravery this is conservative Brandon rules be damned there wouldn't be any if they had their way, dont expect much sympathy workers are for screwing over your just a sniveling whiner complainer taker if you complain good luck be prepared for maximum abuse. "

Hopefully Midway55, good fortune will smile on you one day. May your good fortune allow you to become an employer that shows all others the way it should be done.  
 
By the way, you don't need to stoop to name calling, you already showed your prowess with that in your first post.  
"workers are for screwing over your just a sniveling whiner complainer taker if you complain good luck"  
Employers all over Brandon are smarting from your barrage.

In every industry there will be horrible bosses/managers; and there will be great ones also.  
 
However, as such, there are horrible employees, and then there are great ones.  
 
I have seen bosses screw over employees, and vice-versa.  
 
I have seen bosses go to great lengths for employees, and ultimate loyalty from employees.  
 
So "M", if your beef is with the pay received, or not receiving, maybe you should have researched your field a little better, and understood what is involved before agreeing to the conditions.  
 
This is true in every industry.

I am an employer, one who follows the Labour Standards. It has come to my attention that there are those in my industry who don't. They are taking advantage of young workers who need the job and either don't know better or are to afraid of losing their job while still an apprentice to say anything. I am hoping they will see this post and report the unscrupulous employers taking advantage of them. They can do this anonymously, online. These people deserve to be treated fairly and paid properly. I have reported this issue but everyone in this situation needs to report it as well. It is far more wide spread than many people outside the industry would actually believe, and many of those inside the industry choose to ignore and look the other way. Time for this to end. All these business need to comply with the law.

It sounded like you were on the other side of the argument. Or, I miss read the intent.

Labour laws are a joke. Personally know a guy who not a week ago told his employees in a division of the company that the employees could either take a 25% pay cut or a layoff slip. Nothing they could do about it.

As unfair as that may sound it is in fact perfectly under current labour laws, however deliberate under paying employees is not.

Not when its a designated red seal trade. Minimums ppl have to be paid.

Isn't that bad if a cut compared to EI. Looking at the trades around Brandon and how construction has slowed down your friend was lucky to receive that option as many people would have gladly taken a pay it instead of losing their job

jetsfan9 said "Labour laws are a joke. Personally know a guy who not a week ago told his employees in a division of the company that the employees could either take a 25% pay cut or a layoff slip. Nothing they could do about it. "

Slightly off topic, but this is why unions are a good thing. Oh... except in Brandon, of course, where union members are nothing but greedy, lazy bums.

Employees are offered protection but employer also should be able to lower wages of poor employees. If a business is losing money they get no relief from the govt. lowering wages to keep a business going is sometimes better than no job at all. Ask the union rep and he would rather the business go broke than take a pay cut...

As the person who started this thread I have to apolgise for starting the thread before I had all the information. As usual there is always another side to every story and I posted before I had all the information. In this particular case my information was missing vital components and I apologise to anyone who was affected by my posts. I thank the three ladies who met with me today to clear up the misconceptions.

and a high five from me. Most people hide or get defensive when new information is brought to their attention. You came back,cleared some air and enlightened others. Good on ya. Cheers

CommonTater said "and a high five from me. Most people hide or get defensive when new information is brought to their attention. You came back,cleared some air and enlightened others. Good on ya. Cheers "

i agree, not sure what info changed but glad the op said something, sometimes we do get upset when we think something is one way but we didnt get all the info and it turns out we had nothing to be upset about, happens to us all once in a while