Saskatchewan Minimum Wage to Increase on October 1

Minimum wage legislation exists for Canadian provinces and territories as included in labor and employment standards.  Minimum wage laws stipulate the lowest rate an employer can pay employees who are covered under an Act or Standard and serve an important purpose: the protection of non-unionized workers in unskilled jobs.  Minimum wage rate standards can, however, also influence the levels of compensation other employees receive.

Effective October 1, 2014 The Government of Saskatchewan will increase the minimum wage rate by 20 cents from $10.00 to $10.20 per hour with forthcoming regulations to outline future minimum wage rate indexing. Under the regulations, the indexation formula will be based on the equal weighting of the percentage changes in the Consumer Price Index and Average Hourly Wage for the previous year. Should there be a change in the CPI the new rate will be announced on or before June 30 of each year with an effective date of October 1 of the same year.

Now it’s time for some relevant statistics. Since 2007, Saskatchewan’s minimum wage has increased by 28.3%. There have also been reductions in personal income tax payable for full and part-time workers of between 38.9% and 100%. With the income tax reductions and minimum wage increases the overall increase in disposable income for full-time workers totals 30.1% and 30.7% for part-time workers. These changes have allowed the province to maintain a reasonably competitive position.

Compliance Poster Company’s HR Research and Compliance Team has updated the Saskatchewan All-On-One poster to reflect changes to the minimum wage and consolidation of twelve pieces of legislation into updated and comprehensive body, the Saskatchewan Employment Act.