Extra pay for employees in a leap year: Ontario employment lawyer with The Globe and Mail

Interview Summary

February 2024 includes an extra work day, and many Canadians have questioned whether this should mean an increase in wages.

While hourly employees will see an obvious increase, salaried employees could miss out on extra compensation due to their payment structure.

Are employers obligated to offer an increase in pay to employees?

Jon Pinkus, a Toronto employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, spoke with Jared Lindzon at The Globe and Mail to discuss employee rights and employer obligations.

Interview Notes

• Reasonable expectations from employees: Pinkus cautions employees from unreasonable expectations. “Employees will have to have the reasonable expectation that they’re just going to end up working an extra day this year.”
• Negotiations in an employment contract: Employees should look closely at the terms of their employment contract, Pinkus advises. “The only basis that they would have to [be paid extra] is if they negotiated for it in their contract, but typically the terms of employment will say you are paid this amount per year, period.”
• Terms of employment: Pinkus went on to explain the terms of the agreement between salaried employees and their employers. “If the terms of their employment are, ‘you work for us every year, Monday to Friday, and this is what you’re paid,’ then that’s the deal,” said Pinkus. “A leap year is not an unforeseen event, it happens every four years, and that’s just part of the deal.”

Related Resources

For further insights and discussions related to employee rights in a leap year, explore the following resources:

• Employment lawyer on possible wage theft in leap year
• Working for free on February 29