Nova Scotia Provincial Payroll Information

This page provides provincial payroll information for the province of Nova Scotia. Click one of the links below to move directly to the corresponding section. To view Federal information, please click here.

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Minimum Wage  Hours of work  Worker's Compensation  Leaves  Statutory Holidays  Minimum Age  Pay Statements  Terminations  Vacationable Earnings 

 

  • TD1 - Basic Personal Amount - Every person employed in Nova Scotia and every pensioner residing in Nova Scotia can claim the personal exemption amount of $11,481 for 2024 (up from $8,841 since 2021). Employees with an annual income of $25,000 or less can claim an additional basic personal amount of $3000 (a partial credit can be claimed by employees with an annual income between $25000 and $75000).
  • Federal Basic Exemption - The Federal Basic Exemption amount is $15,705 in 2024 (up from $15,000 in 2023).

Note: This information is meant to serve as a guide only. Readers are encouraged to consult the full legislation of the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Code. Here are some online resources:


Minimum Wage in Nova Scotia

The province of Nova Scotia has two wage rate standards as follows:

Parties Applicable Wage Rate
Employed more than 3 months Employed more than 3 months (experienced) - $15.00 on October 1, 2023 (up from $14.50 on April 1, 2023). As of April 1, 2024, it will be adjusted with inflation plus an additional 1% annually.

The province of Nova Scotia also has a standard with regard to an employer who provides an employee with board, lodging, or both and the employer cannot deduct from the employee's minimum wage more than the following rates:

Requirement Rate
Board only $55.55 per week
Lodging only $15.45 per week
Board & Lodging $68.20 per week
Meals $3.65 per meal

Hours of Work in Nova Scotia

The type of employee excluded from this legislature are management, farm workers, etc.

Period Rate
Maximum No regulation - must be safe for workers.
* ** Exclude statutory hours from overtime calculation and reduce the work week by the statutory hours.
Overtime Any hours over 48.00 hours/week.
Overtime Rate 1 and 1/2 times the minimum wage.
Break Period 30 minutes per 5 consecutive hours worked. If you work more than 10 hours in a row, you are entitled to take two 30-minute breaks, one of which may be split into two 15-minute periods.
Rest Period 24.00 consecutive hours/week.

Worker's Compensation in Nova Scotia

The Maximum Assessable Earnings amount for 2024 is $72,500 (up from $69,800 in 2023). The deadline for submission is the last day of February.

Included
Bonuses Pay in lieu of notice
Car allowances (if taxable) Pre-retirement with pay
Call back pay Regular salary or wages/overtime
Call in pay Shift premium
Clothing allowances (if taxable) Sick Pay (paid during year)
Commissions Standby pay
Directors' fees Temporary lay-off with pay
Gifts Travel allowances (if taxable)
Gratuities (if taxable) Vacation pay/Statutory holiday pay
Maternity with pay WCB top-up
Moving allowances (if taxable)  
 
Taxable Benefits such as:
Board & lodging Life insurance
Company car Loans
 
Excluded
Short-term disability Paid by the employer Severance pay
Long-term disability Paid by the employer Sick pay on termination
Retiring allowance WCB (after one week)

Leaves of Absence in Nova Scotia

Bereavement Leave
Time with Employer N/A
Required Notice As much notice as possible under the circumstances.
Length of Leave Up to five days on the death of a family member.
Paid No
 
Citizenship Ceremony Leave
Time with Employer N/A
Required Notice At least 14 days before the ceremony or, if 14 days is not possible, as much notice as is reasonable in the circumstances.
Length of Leave One day.
Paid No
 
Compassionate Care Leave
Time with employer 3 months
Required notice As soon as possible before leave commences
Length of leave

Up to 28 weeks which can be broken up into separate blocks of time of no less than one week in duration. Each week must be taken over a 52 week time frame that begins on the first day of the week in which the leave began.

Paid Employment Insurance benefits may be available to EI-eligible employees.
 
Court Leave
Time with Employer N/A
Required Notice As much notice as possible under the circumstances.
Length of Leave The time required to perform jury duty or required by subpoena or summons to attend offsite as a witness.
Paid No
   
Crime-Related Child Death or Disappearance Leave
Time with Employer 3 months.
Required Notice Written notice, as soon as possible, that the employee will be taking the leave.
Length of Leave Up to 52 weeks if the child has disappeared as a result of a crime. If the child has died as a result of a crime, the employee is entitled to take a leave of up to 104 weeks.
Paid No. Other federal programs may provide income replacement.
 
Critically Ill Adult Care Leave
Time with Employer 3 months.
Required Notice Written notice from a qualified medical practitioner.
Length of Leave

Up to 16 weeks.

Paid No. Other federal programs may provide income replacement.
 
Critically Ill Child Care Leave
Time with Employer 3 months.
Required Notice Written notice from a qualified medical practitioner.
Length of Leave

Up to 37 weeks.

Paid No. Other federal programs may provide income replacement.
 
Domestic Violence Leave
Time with Employer 90 Days
Required Notice As much notice as is reasonable and practicable in the circumstances.
Length of Leave There are two parts to domestic violence leave. One part of the leave allows employees to take up to 10 days in consecutive or intermittent days in a 52 week period, as needed by the employee. The other part allows employees to take up to 16 consecutive weeks in a 52 week period. Employees can take the leave in any order that meets their individual circumstances.
Paid Employees are entitled to be paid for up to three days of domestic violence leave in a 52 week period.
 
Emergency Leave
Time with Employer N/A
Required Notice As much notice as is reasonably practical.
Length of Leave As long as the emergency continues and the emergency prevents the employee from performing the employee's work duties.
Paid No
 
Pregnancy Leave
Time with Employer As of January 1, 2019, employees do not need a certain length of service to qualify for pregnancy leave.
Required Notice Four weeks or as soon as practicable.
Length of Leave 16 weeks.
Paid No. Other federal programs may provide income replacement.
 
Parental Leave
Time with Employer As of January 1, 2019, employees do not need a certain length of service to qualify for parental leave.
Required Notice Four weeks.
Length of Leave

Up to 77 weeks (16 weeks if Pregnancy Leave is taken plus 61 weeks of Parental Leave).

Paid No. Other federal programs may provide income replacement.
 
Reservists Leave
Time with Employer One year.
Required Notice 4 weeks written notice for Training Leave and 90 days written notice for Deployment Leave.
Length of Leave

20 days for Training Leave and 18 months for Deployment leave.

Paid No
 
Sick Leave
Time with Employer N/A
Required Notice N/A
Length of Leave 3 days.
Paid No
 
Voting Leave
Time with Employer N/A
Required Notice N/A
Length of Leave Three consecutive hours for both Provincial and Federal elections.
Paid According to the Canada Elections Act, any eligible voter must have three consecutive hours to exercise their right to vote in a Federal eledtion on an election day. If an employee does not have three consecutive hours because of their work schedule, they must be granted the hours accordingly with pay.

Statutory Holidays in Nova Scotia

Holiday 2024 2023 2022 2021 Day Observed
New Year's Day Mon., January 1 Sun., January 1 Sat., January 1 Fri., January 1 January 1
Heritage Day Mon., February 20 Mon., February 20 Mon., February 21 Mon., February 15 3rd Monday in February
Good Friday Fri., March 29 Fri., April 7 Fri., April 15 Fri., April 2 The Friday before Easter Sunday
Canada Day Mon., July 1 Sat., July 1 Fri., July 1 Thu., July 1 July 1
Labour Day Mon., September 2 Mon., September 4 Mon., September 5 Mon., September 6 The First Monday in September
Christmas Day Wed., December 25 Mon., December 25 Sun., December 25 Sat., December 25 December 25

According to the Canadian Labour Standards Code, whenever New Year's Day, Canada Day or Christmas Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the employer must grant his or her employee a holiday with pay on the next working day immediately preceding or following the holiday, providing that the holiday is a provincial requirement. If a statutory holiday is worked during a regularly scheduled work day than an employee must either receive their regular daily wages plus time and a half or their regular pay plus a day off with pay on some other day which both parties agree upon.

Remembrance Day in Nova Scotia is regulated by the Remembrance Day Act. Most industries are required to be closed, some services are exempt.

The following holidays fall under the Retail Business Closing Act: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Sunday or any other day declared by provincial proclamation.

How to Calculate Statutory Holiday Pay...


Minimum Age in Nova Scotia

A child under 14 is permitted to work as long as the work is in no way harmful to them. They are not permitted to work between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. A child is limited to 3 hours of work on a school day, as long as their combined school and work doesn't exceed a total of eight hours, and a child can only work eight hours on any other day.

Children under the age of 16 years of age are not allowed to work in certain occupations.

Pay Statements in Nova Scotia

For Nova Scotia the pay is required semi-monthly or more frequently. The employee must receive their regular wages within five working days after each period. By legislation, Nova Scotia pay statements must contain the following (though employers may include additional items):

Pay Statement Inclusions
Rate of pay Net pay
Date of pay periods Itemized Deductions
Total hours worked  

Termination Notice in Nova Scotia

Individual Termination
Length of Employment Notice Required
Under 3 months None
Between 3 months and 2 years 1 week
Between 2 years and 5 years 2 weeks
Between 5 years and 10 years 4 weeks
Over 10 years 8 weeks
Group Termination
Number of Employees Notice Required
10 to 99 8 weeks
100 to 299 12 weeks
More than 300 16 weeks

Vacationable Earnings in Nova Scotia

Inclusions and Exclusions
Included
Work related bonuses (cash) Regular salary/wages/retroactive
Call in pay Shift premium
Call back pay Sick pay - Sick days
Commissions earned at employer's premises Standby pay
Commissions earned by a route salesman Statutory - Company Holidays (floaters)
Overtime pay Statutory - General Holidays
Pay in lieu of notice/Termination pay  
 
Taxable Benefits such as:
Board & lodging (does not apply to the construction industry)
 
Excluded
Allowances (Car, clothing, moving, travel, tools, housing, meals) Previously paid vacation pay
Discretionary bonuses (cash) Profit Sharing
Commissions earned away from employer's premises Severance/Plant severance
Directors' fees Tips and Gratuities
Gifts (cash or in kind)  
 
Taxable Benefits such as:
Company car Life insurance
Loans  

Vacation Entitlement
Length of employment Entitlement
After 12 months 2 weeks or 4%
After 8 years 3 weeks or 6%

 


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