Your Rights as a Foreign Worker

As a foreign worker, you have rights under BC law. This means that you have the right to overtime pay, paid holidays, paid annual vacations, and the minimum wage.
Your employer must pay you in Canadian dollars by cheque, money order, or by directly depositing your wages into your bank account. Your employer cannot provide you with material items or services instead of money.

• No one can charge a fee to you to help you find a job or provide you with information about prospective jobs.
• You cannot be charged for any help you receive to immigrate. For example, you can’t be charged for your flight or job finder fees in return for your work.
• You can’t be charged money in advance to make sure that you complete your work term.
• Your employer can’t make you pay a penalty if you do not complete your work term.

Your employer cannot demand you to pay back any costs that were paid to an employment agency or anyone else to recruit you. 
Your employer may only deduct wages as required by law (for example, income tax, Canada Pension Plan contributions, Employment Insurance premiums, or union dues).
Your employer may deduct advances and overpayments from your wages only if you give your written agreement.
Your employer may fire you but must give you notice in advance. If your employer fires you without notice, he must pay you compensation or severance pay.
Your employer or an employment agency cannot force you to return to your country of origin if your employer ends your work contract before your work permit expires or if you find a job with another employer. Only the Government of Canada has the legal authority to return you. 
Your employer cannot fire you if you file an Employment Standards complaint, or otherwise punish you at work. For example, if you have filed an Employment Standards complaint against your employer, he cannot suddenly cut your work hours from 35 to 5, without a good reason.

This article is a brief introduction to some of the laws about working in BC. For more detailed information, go to the website of the Employment Standards Branch at: www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/

 
This Project is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia