Legal Resources

This guide helps employees to organize unions.

Explains the balance between an employer’s need to know what’s going on in their workplace and a worker’s right not to be snooped on. Information on this page includes what privacy law applies to your employer, and explains your privacy rights during the hiring process, including the fact that your employer must have a privacy policy, and more.

Explains the steps you need to take to make an employment standards complaint to the BC Employment Standards Branch. It covers what you should know, including the limits on what you can complain about, and that employers can’t fire you for making a complaint. There are links to helpful agencies and where you can get free or low-cost legal help.

This resource explains the legal differences between employees and contractors.

Practical information on your work status. Learn if you’re protected under BC’s employment standards law, how old you have to be to work in BC, what to watch out for in your employment contract, and common alternative work arrangements.

It explains how to start and prepare an appeal, respond to an appeal, find out an appeal’s status, and what happens after an appeal.

This information sheet explains the rights of employees in BC. Includes minimum wage, tips, minimum daily pay, meal breaks, pay days and payroll records, overtime, averaging agreements, uniforms and special clothing, deductions, statutory holidays, annual vacation, and compensation when employment ends.

Explains the main law in BC setting out the rights of workers: the Employment Standards Act. Most (but not all) workers in the province are protected under this law. Learn if you’re covered. Topics include exceptions, if you’re a union member, and if you’re not covered by employment standards legislation.

This manual defines how the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal (WCAT) operates according to legislation. It includes rules of practice and procedure, practice directives, and guidelines to make sure that appeals are handled in a just, timely, efficient, and effective way.

An alphabetical list of fact sheets about workers’ compensation. The fact sheets cover a range of topics from chronic pain to wage-loss benefits. A few are available in Chinese (traditional and simplified), Punjabi, and Spanish.