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Quebec's Bill 60 July 25 2024
Quebec's Bill 60, An Act to authorize the making of collective agreements with a term of more than three years in the public and parapublic sectors, has received Royal Assent and has taken effect. This Act allows the collective agreements in the public and parapublic sectors that follow the collective agreements that expired on March 31, 2023 to have a term of more than three years. It also specifies that private institutions under agreement in the health and social services sector may make a collective agreement for a term of more than three years.For questions or more information, please submit a ticket through our OnDemand portal.
Source: Government of Quebec
Quebec - Updates to Workplace Harassment and Sexual Violence May 23 2024
On March 27, 2024, Quebec passed Bill 42, An Act to prevent and fight psychological harassment and sexual violence in the workplace (the "Bill"), creating multiple updates to employment legislation.Changes Effective March 27, 2024
- Clarification that employers cannot retaliate against employees that have reported witnessing harassment or who cooperate in the processing of complaints.
- Introduction of the definition of sexual violence: “"[A]ny form of violence targeting sexuality or any other misconduct, including unwanted gestures, practices, comments, behaviours or attitudes with sexual connotations, whether they occur once or repeatedly, including violence relating to sexual and gender diversity."
- The cost of benefits incurred due to injuries from sexual violence will be allocated to all employers.
Changes Effective September 27, 2024
- Employers are required to include new additions to psychological harassment prevention policies, including:
1. The methods and techniques used to identify, control and eliminate the risks of psychological harassment, including a section on behaviour that manifests itself in the form of verbal comments, actions or gestures of a sexual nature.
2. The specific information and training programs on psychological harassment prevention that are offered to employees; as well as to persons designated by the employer to handle a complaint or report (we note that the scope and content of this training has not yet been specified at the time of publication of this article).
3. The recommendations on behaviour to adopt when participating in work-related social activities.
4. The procedures for making complaints or reports to the employer or providing information or documents to the employer as well as the information on the follow-up that must be given by the employer.
5. The measures to protect the persons concerned by a situation of psychological harassment and the persons who have cooperated in the processing of a complaint or report regarding such a situation.
6. The process for managing a situation of psychological harassment, including the process that applies to the holding of an inquiry by the employer.
7. The measures to ensure the confidentiality of complaints, reports, information or documents received and to ensure a preservation period of at least two years for the documents made or obtained in the course of managing a situation of psychological harassment.
- The updated harassment policy must be included in prevention plans by October 1, 2025.
- The Bill also establishes heightened protections for employees who are victims of sexual violence in the workplace.
For questions or more information, please submit a ticket through our OnDemand portal.
Source: Government of Quebec
Quebec’s Minimum Wage Set to Increase February 09 2018
On January 17 the Quebec government announced that Quebec’s minimum wage will increase to $12 an hour effective May 1, 2018. This is up 75 cents from their current minimum wage rate of $11.25. Workers who make the minimum wage with tips will also see a bump to $9.80 per hour, an increase of 35 cents.
This is the province’s largest salary increase in history. The government reported the increase will improve the quality of life for approximately 352,000 low-income workers.
Le salaire minimum au Québec devrait augmenter
Le 17 janvier, le gouvernement du Québec a annoncé que le salaire minimum du Québec passera à 12 $ le 1er mai 2018. Il s'agit d'une hausse de 75 cents par rapport à son taux de salaire minimum actuel de 11,25 $. Les travailleurs qui gagnent le salaire minimum avec des pourboires verront également une augmentation à 9,80 $ l'heure, une augmentation de 35 cents.
C'est la plus importante augmentation de salaire de l'histoire de la province. Le gouvernement a signalé que l'augmentation améliorera la qualité de vie d'environ 352 000 travailleurs.
Minimum wage is going up in Québec April 13 2016
The government announced that on May 1 the minimum wage is going up 20¢ to $10.75 an hour; the minimum wage for employees earning tips is increasing from $9.05 to $9.20 an hour.
Hausse du salaire minimum au Québec à 10,75 $ le 1er mai
Il s'agit d'une augmentation de 0,20 $ de l'heure. En ce qui concerne le salaire minimum payable aux employés qui reçoivent des pourboires, il sera majoré de 9,05 $ à 9,20 $ de l'heure.
Quebec – Gradual Reduction of the Health Services Fund Contribution Rate March 09 2016
Health Services Fund contributions for service and construction employers with total payroll of $1 million or less will gradually decrease from 2.7% to 2.25% over a 3-year period beginning in 2017:
- 55% for 2017
- 40% for 2018
- 25% for 2019 and 2020
Employers with payroll between $1 million and $5 million will also get a gradual reduction in their contribution rate.
Québec: Réduction graduelle du taux de cotisation au Fonds des services de santé
Le taux de cotisation au Fonds des services de santé (FSS) des employeurs des secteurs des services et de la construction dont la masse salariale totale est égale ou inférieure à 1 million de dollars passera graduellement, sur une période de trois ans:
- 2,55 % pour l'année 2017;
- 2,40 % pour l'année 2018;
- 2,25 % pour les années 2019 et 2020
Les employeurs dont la masse salariale totale variera entre 1 million de dollars et 5 millions de dollars bénéficieront également d'une réduction graduelle de leur taux de cotisation.