Manitoba Labour Laws (2025 Guide)

What’s New in 2025

• Minimum wage increase (October 1, 2025)

Overview of Employment Law in Manitoba

Federal vs. provincial jurisdiction

Manitoba employees working for federally regulated private sector businesses are generally covered by the provisions of the Canada Labour Code (CLC). 

Private sector businesses that are federally regulated include:

• Air transportation.
• Banks.
• Certain activities of Indigenous self-governments and First Nations band councils.
• Most federal Crown corporations.
• Grain elevators, feed and seed mills, feed warehouses, and grain-seed cleaning plants.
• Marine shipping, port services, ferries, tunnels, bridges, canals, and pipelines (oil and gas) that cross international or provincial borders.
• Postal and courier services.
• Radio and television broadcasting.
• Telecommunications systems, including internet, telephone, telegraph, and cable.
• Railways that cross provincial or international borders, and some short-line railways.
• Road transportation services that cross provincial or international borders, including trucks and buses.
• Uranium mining and processing, and atomic energy.
• Any business that’s vital, essential, or integral to the operation of one of the above activities.

Despite this long list, the CLC covers just a small percentage of workers in Canada. Most Canadian workers are covered by the labour laws of the province or territory where they work. 

Unless stated otherwise, this guide covers only employees regulated by Manitoba’s labour laws.

Key employment legislation

Manitoba’s Employment Standards Code (ESC) sets out minimum employment standards for employees in the province. While employers can offer employees more generous entitlements and protections, employees can’t agree to less than the ESC’s minimum standards. 

Most Manitoba employees are covered by the provisions of the ESC, although there are some exceptions to specific rules for certain industries. Employees covered by the federal CLC and independent contractors are also outside the scope of the ESC. 

Employment Standards, a program under Manitoba Finance, administers and enforces the ESC and other workplace laws.

Wages and Pay Rules

Minimum wage

Manitoba’s minimum wage is currently $15.80/hour. This increases to $16/hour on October 1, 2025. 

The minimum wage is adjusted each year on October 1 based on the Consumer Price Index. 

All employees covered by the ESC must be paid the minimum wage. However, the Code sets out some specific exceptions, including:

• Domestic workers who work under 12 hours a week.
• Workers under an approved provincial or federal training program.
• Election officials.

Some industries also have their own minimum wage standards, for example, the industrial, commercial, institutional and heavy construction sectors. 

There are no subminimum wages in Manitoba.

Overtime pay

Any work over 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week is considered overtime in Manitoba. Overtime is paid at 1.5 times a worker’s usual hourly rate. 

Overtime is voluntary. Employers can’t force employees to work it except in limited emergencies. 

Employers and employees can also agree to “bank” overtime, rather than use overtime pay. For each overtime hour the employee works, they accrue 1.5 hours of time off paid at their regular rate to use later. 

Employers must let employees use this time off within 3 months of accruing it. Otherwise, they must pay unused banked hours at the employee’s regular rate. 

Specific types of employees are exempt from overtime under the ESC:

• Employees who earn more than twice the industrial average wage (as of June 1, 2025, this is $59,468.24 and revised annually) and largely control their hours of work.
• Employees whose work functions are mainly managerial.

Some workers and industries also have different standard hours of work and therefore different overtime thresholds, including:

• Specific construction sectors.
• Landscaping businesses.
• Workers under a collective agreement with different standard hours.
• Workers with Individual Flextime Agreements.

Statutory holiday pay

Manitoba recognizes 9 statutory holidays (also called general holidays):

• New Year’s Day.
• Louis Riel Day (3rd Monday in February).
• Good Friday.
• Victoria Day.
• 1 July (Canada Day).
• Labour Day.
• Orange Shirt Day (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation).
• Thanksgiving Day.
• Christmas Day.

On these days, employers must pay all employees general holiday pay. 

Here’s how general holiday pay is calculated:

• For employees who work the same hours each day: their regular daily wages.
• For employees who work varying hours: 5% of the gross wages they earned during the 4 weeks before the holiday.

Employees who have the day off receive general holiday pay. Employees who work must be paid their general holiday pay plus 1.5 times their regular wage for the hours they work. 

Employees are entitled to general holiday pay immediately after they start working for an employer. 

Substitute days in lieu of pay

Where an employee works a general holiday, their employers may be able to offer them a substitute day off instead of paying them the additional 1.5 times their regular wage. This applies only to specific businesses, including hotels, restaurants, and hospitals. 

Employers must pay workers general holiday pay for this substitute day off, which employees must take within 30 days of the holiday or on a date agreed on between the employer and employee that occurs before the employee’s next annual vacation. 

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day isn’t a general holiday. However, alongside restrictions on which types of businesses can open, there are rules requiring that employers pay employees who work on that day.

Employees who work on Remembrance Day must be paid:

• At least half of their regular work day at 1.5 times their regular wage (if they work less than or up to half their normal work day), or 
• 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked (if they work more than half their normal hours)

In addition to these amounts, all employees who work Remembrance Day must be paid a regular day’s pay (or 5% of their total wages during the 28 days before Remembrance Day for employees with variable hours).

Many employers choose to pay employees for Remembrance Day even if they don’t work. 

Pay frequency and deductions

At a minimum, employers must pay workers 2 times a month and within 10 business days of the end of a pay period. 

Wage deductions

Under Manitoba law, wage deductions are allowed only if:

• They’re required by law (for example, taxes).
• The employee agrees to it and it directly benefits the employee (for example, health insurance premiums).
• They’re meant to cover cash advances or payroll mistakes.

Employers can’t make deductions for items like property damage, inventory shortages, uniforms, or personal safety equipment. 

Working Hours and Rest Breaks

Standard work hours

Standard work hours in Manitoba are 40 hours/week and 8 hours/day. 

Averaging agreements

Employers and non-unionized employees can agree in writing to average their standard working hours so that employees can work up to 12 hours a day and 60 hours a week across 12 weeks, as long as the average hours don’t exceed 40 per week. 

Averaging permits

Employers can also apply for an averaging permit to increase their business’s standard work hours, as long as the average hours don’t exceed 40 per week. 

Individual flextime agreements

Non-unionized employees can ask their employers to vary their daily standard hours of work under an individual flextime agreement. These agreements typically set out the different numbers of hours the employee works each day of the week. 

Standard work hours under these agreements can’t exceed 10 hours a day or 40 hours a week. 

Only employees who regularly work 35 hours or more per week can ask for these agreements. 

Meal and rest breaks

Employers must give employees a 30-minute break for every 5 hours they work. These breaks don’t have to be paid. 

Rest days

Employees generally must also have at least 1 rest day each week. 

Retail employees can refuse to work a Sunday if they give the employer at least 14 days’ notice (or as much notice as is reasonable and practicable).

Split shifts, on-call time, and reporting pay

There are no specific rules under the ESC regarding split shifts or on-call time. 

However, employers must pay employees for reporting to work:

• If an employee is scheduled to work more than 3 hours but works less than this, they must be paid at least 3 hours of wages.
• If an employee works more than 3 hours, employers must pay them for all the hours they work.
• If an employee is scheduled to work less than 3 hours and the shift is cancelled or they’re sent home early, they must be paid for their whole shift.

These requirements don’t apply to schedule changes made before an employee comes to work. 

Leave Entitlements

All types of leave discussed below are:

• Unpaid, unless stated otherwise (although many employers choose to pay employees for at least some types of leave).
• Job-protected, meaning the employee is entitled to return to the same or a comparable position after the leave ends. 

Vacation leave

Employees are entitled to 2 weeks of vacation leave for each of the first 4 years they work for an employer. After 5 years, this annual allowance increases to 3 weeks. 

They can take this leave after their first year of employment. Employers must let them use it within 10 months of accruing it. 

Employers and employees should try to agree on the timing of vacation leave. If this isn’t possible, employers can choose when employees take leave, provided they give them 15 days’ notice. 

Employers can’t make employees take less than 1 week of vacation leave, except if they’re requiring employees to use it during the business’s annual closure. 

Vacation pay

Employees are also entitled to vacation allowance equal to:

• For 2 weeks leave: 4% of their gross earnings from the previous year. 
• For 3 weeks leave: 6% of their gross earnings from the previous year.

Employers must pay this allowance by the last working day before an employee’s leave starts and within 10 months of the employee earning vacation leave. 

Sick leave and personal emergency leave

Long-term leave for serious injury or illness

Employees who have worked for at least 90 days with an employer can take up to 27 weeks off in relation to their serious injury or illness. 

Employees need to provide a medical certificate confirming they can’t work for at least 2 weeks because of the illness or injury. 

While this leave is unpaid, employees may be able to access financial assistance via federal Employment Insurance benefits. 

Family leave

Manitoba employees can take up to 3 days of family leave each year for their own illness or to deal with family responsibilities. Employees must have worked for their employer for at least 30 days to access this leave. 

Parental and maternity leave

Maternity leave

Employees who have worked for an employer for at least 7 months are entitled to take up to 17 weeks of maternity leave. This can start up to 17 weeks before the employee’s due date and must end by 17 weeks after they have had their baby. 

Parental leave

Employees who have worked for their employer for at least 7 months are entitled to 63 weeks of parental leave. This leave is available to employees who become parents by birth or adoption. 

Employees must start their parental leave within 18 months of their child being born or adopted. 

While maternity and parental leave in Manitoba is unpaid, employees may be able to access federal Employment Insurance benefits for income support. 

Bereavement leave

Employees who have worked for an employer for at least 30 days are entitled to take up to 5 days of bereavement leave in relation to:

• A family member’s death.
• A pregnancy loss. 

Family members include:

• Spouses.
• Children and stepchildren.
• Parents and grandparents.
• Siblings and step-siblings.
• Aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Employees who can access bereavement leave in relation to a pregnancy loss include:

• Those who experience the loss themselves.
• Any employee who is the partner or former partner, the current spouse of the former partner, someone who agreed to be the child’s guardian, or the spouse of someone who agreed to be the child’s guardian.

Leave related to the death or disappearance of a child

Employees can access up to 104 weeks of leave following the death of their child as a result of a crime. An employee whose child disappears as a result of a crime can take up to 52 weeks of leave. 

The employee must have worked for the employer for at least 30 days to be eligible for this leave. 

Domestic violence or compassionate care leave

Interpersonal violence leave 

Employees can take up to 10 days (intermittently or continuously) or 17 weeks (continuously) of interpersonal violence leave. This leave is available to employees who are victims of interpersonal violence or whose dependent is a victim of it. 

Employees must have worked for at least 90 days with an employer to access this leave. 

Five days of this leave must be paid. The rest are unpaid. Supporting documentation is mandatory for paid interpersonal violence leave and employers can request it for unpaid leave. 

Compassionate care leave

Employees who have worked at least 90 days are entitled to up to 28 weeks of compassionate care leave. 

This leave is available to employees who need to care for or support a family member with a serious medical condition who’s at significant risk of dying within 26 weeks. 

Employees must provide a doctor’s certificate when requesting this leave. 

Critical illness leave

An employee can take up to 37 weeks’ leave if they’re a family member of a critically ill child who needs care and support. For adults who need their care and support, employees are entitled to 17 weeks’ leave. 

Employees must have worked for at least 30 days to access critical illness leave in relation to a child and 90 days in relation to an adult. 

A physician’s certificate is required for this type of leave. 

Jury duty and civic leave

Under Manitoba’s Jury Act, employers must give employees a leave of absence to serve on a jury. It’s at the employer’s discretion whether this leave is paid. 

Other types of leave

Manitoba employees may also be eligible for:

• Citizenship leave: 4 hours of leave to attend their citizenship ceremony.
• Reservist leave: Leave to serve as a reservist.
• Organ donation leave: Up to 13 weeks leave to donate an organ or tissue. 
• Public health emergency leave: Leave related to COVID-19.
• COVID-19 vaccination leave: Paid leave of up to 3 hours to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Types of Employment

Full-time, part-time, casual, temporary, and seasonal work

The ESC generally applies to all types of employees, including full-time, part-time, casual, temporary help employees, or seasonal workers. If there’s a difference, it’s explained in the relevant section of the ESC. 

For example, the minimum wage standards don’t apply to domestic workers who work less than 12 hours a week. 

Independent contractors and misclassification

There’s no single criterion for determining whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor. What matters is the nature of the relationship between the individual and the employer. 

Factors that may suggest someone is an independent contractor include:

• They can decide how, when, and where they work.
• They’re not subject to performance reviews by the employer.
• They can hire their own staff or subcontract to get the work done.
• They provide their own tools, equipment, and materials.
• They have the opportunity to maximize their profit from their work and are at risk of losses due to their work.
• Their business operations are separate from the employer’s.
• They invoice for work.
• They’re hired for a specific project or period of time.

In contrast, factors that indicate someone is an employee include:

• They’re under the control of the employer, who typically sets their work days and hours, work duties, and where the work is performed.
• They must do the work themselves (they can’t subcontract it out). 
• The employer provides them with the tools, equipment, and materials needed for their work.
• They receive a set wage.
• They perform tasks related to the core purpose of the employer.
• They’re paid regularly.
• They work for one employer on an ongoing basis.

Classifying employees and independent contractors correctly is essential, as the ESC covers only employees. Employers that misclassify someone as an independent contractor when they’re an employee violate the minimum standards set out in the ESC. This potentially makes employers liable to penalties and compensation for unpaid wages, vacation time, and other benefits. 

Termination and Final Pay

Notice requirements

Employers must give employees notice of termination. These notice periods vary depending on how long an employee has worked:

• Under 1 year: 1 week of notice
• 1–3 years: 2 weeks’ notice
• 3–5 years: 4 weeks’ notice
• 5–10 years: 6 weeks’ notice
• 10+ years: 8 weeks’ notice

Employers can also pay employees instead of giving them the required notice. 

Notice periods and wages in lieu of notice don’t apply in some situations, including:

• Where an employee works less than 30 days for an employer.
• The end of a fixed term of employment.
• For construction employees.
• When the employee is terminated for just cause.

Different rules apply to employers who are terminating 50 or more employees within 4 weeks. 

Employees who want to quit must give their employer notice. This is 1 week’s notice for employees who have worked for less than 1 year, and 2 weeks’ notice for all other employees. 

Severance pay

The ESC doesn’t require employers to provide severance pay. 

Final pay deadlines

Employees must receive their final pay within 10 days of their employment being terminated. 

If the employee has unused vacation leave when they’re terminated, the employer must pay them a vacation allowance. Here’s how it’s calculated:

• For employees who have worked less than 5 years: 4% of the employee’s wages since they started their employment or the date they were last entitled to an annual vacation (whichever is later).
• For employees who have worked more than 5 years: an extra 2% of the wages they earned between the date they were last entitled to an annual vacation and their date of termination. 

Final wages must also include any accrued unused banked time (overtime). 

Workplace Health and Safety

Employer duties

Manitoba’s Workplace Safety and Health Act covers most employers and employees in the province and aims to encourage and support safe workplaces. 

Employers are required to take all reasonable steps to protect the safety and health of workers and comply with the Act. This includes:

• Providing the necessary safety equipment, systems, and tools.
• Delivering relevant information, training, and supervision to workers.
• Conducting risk assessments as required.
• Ensuring workers are supervised by a competent person familiar with the Act’s requirements.
• Developing a workplace safety and health program (this applies to employers with 20 or more workers only).
• Create a workplace health and safety committee (this applies to employers with 20 or more workers only).
• Appoint a workplace health and safety representative (this applies for construction projects and employers with between 5 and 19 workers only).

Worker rights

The Act prohibits reprisals against workers. This means employers can’t threaten or take adverse action against a worker for exercising their duties or rights under the Act. 

Employees can also refuse to do dangerous work: work that poses an immediate risk of serious harm that the employer has failed to control, reduce, or eliminate. Employees must report their refusal to do dangerous work immediately to their supervisor or employer. 

Workers also have duties under the Act, including to:

• Take reasonable care to protect safety and health in the workplace.
• Wear any protective clothing and use the protective equipment provided by the employer.
• Consult and cooperate with their workplace’s safety and health committee or representative.
• Comply with the Act.

Reporting requirements

Employers must report any serious workplace incident, injury, or fatality to the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Branch immediately. Employers must also preserve the site of the incident in case WSH wants to inspect it. 

Employees can also report unsafe working conditions to their workplace safety and health committee or representative or WSH. 

Workers Compensation Board

The Workers Compensation Board (WCB) of Manitoba provides injury and disability insurance for individuals who sustain a work-related injury or illness. The WCB may compensate injured employees for medical expenses, loss of income, and permanent impairment.

To access benefits, workers must report their injury to their employer immediately. Employers then have 5 business days to report the injury to the WCB. Workers must also report their injury to WCB if it requires medical treatment or causes them to miss work. 

Employer premiums fund workers’ compensation in Manitoba. Most employers must register with the WCB and pay insurance premiums for their employees.

Recordkeeping Requirements

Required records

Employers must keep the following records of employees, in English or French, for at least 3 years:

• Name, address, date of birth, and occupation.
• The employment start date.
• The regular wage and overtime wage at the start of employment and any wage rate changes.
• Separate daily regular and overtime hours of work.
• Paydays and the amount paid on each date.
• Wage deductions and the reason for each deduction.
• Any banked overtime, including the dates the employee takes the banked time off with pay.
• General holiday dates.
• Hours of work and wages paid on a general holiday.
• Annual vacation dates, the period of employment in which the vacation is earned, and the date and amount of vacation wages paid.
• Any outstanding vacation wages when the employment ends and the date this is paid to the employee.
• Copies of documents relating to any type of leave, including dates and the number of days taken as leave.
• Termination date of the employment.

Pay statements

Employers must give employees written pay statements for each pay period, which detail:

• Number of regular hours and regular wage.
• Number of overtime hours and overtime wage.
• Any deductions, including a date and explanation.
• Total wages.

Pay statements can be electronic. 

Workplace Rights and Protections

Human rights and anti-discrimination

Manitoba’s Human Rights Code prohibits employment discrimination based on:

• Ancestry.
• National origin or nationality.
• Ethnic background or origin.
• Religion or creed, or religious belief, association, or activity.
• Age.
• Sex, (pregnancy included).
• Gender identity.
• Sexual orientation.
• Family or marital status.
• Income source.
• Political belief, association, or activity.
• Physical or mental disability.
• Social disadvantage.

Discrimination includes treating individuals differently based on one of these characteristics, failing to provide reasonable accommodations, and harassment. 

The ESC also requires employers to provide equal pay for equal work and not discriminate between men and women. 

The Manitoba Human Rights Commission administers the Human Rights Code. Individuals who believe they’ve been discriminated against by an employer can file a complaint with the Commission by phone, fax, email, or appointment. They have 1 year to file a complaint. 

The Commission encourages parties to mediate any disputes. It also investigates the complaint and, if it believes the Human Rights Code has been violated, requests that the matter proceed to a public adjudication hearing. 

Harassment and violence policies

Manitoba’s Workplace Safety and Health Regulations require employers to have a harassment prevention policy and provide this policy to workers. Under this policy, employers must commit to ensuring, as far as reasonably practicable, to protect workers against harassment in the workplace. 

The policy should also set out the employer’s procedures for dealing with harassment complaints, including how to make a complaint, how complaints are investigated, and how the parties will be updated on the outcome of the investigation. 

Specific employers must also have a violence prevention policy, including:

• Healthcare services.
• Education services.
• Retail workplaces open between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am.
• Licensed premises.

In this policy, employers must set out the procedure for employees to report workplace violence and the steps the employer will take to investigate and address it. 

Rights of vulnerable workers

The general rules under the ESC and the Human Rights Code discussed above apply to all employees, including those from vulnerable groups. 

The ESC sets out additional protections for youth workers, for example, minimum working ages, working hours, and prohibited roles. 

The Worker Recruitment and Protection Act also offers some further protections for migrant workers, such as prohibiting employers from recovering hiring costs from them. 

Government Resources and Support

Provincial labour ministry

Manitoba’s Employment Standards oversees the ESC. The website provides various information sheets, support and information about filing a claim, and links to other relevant government agencies or departments. 

Federal resources

Here are several resources where you learn more about federal labour laws and protections in Canada:

• Canada Labour Code
• Canada Revenue Agency – Payroll Deductions
• Service Canada – EI and Parental Benefits
• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

Disclaimer

The information in this guide is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Employment laws change frequently, and outcomes may vary depending on your specific circumstances. While we have made every effort to ensure the information provided is up-to-date and reliable, we cannot guarantee its completeness, accuracy, or applicability to your specific situation. For guidance, consult the appropriate provincial labour authority or a qualified employment lawyer.