Seasonal workers
Seasonal workers are employed at certain times of the year, on roughly fixed dates, due to the nature of their work. For example, fishermen, forestry workers, farm workers, ski instructors and camp counsellors are seasonal workers.
Seasonal workers are covered by the CNESST. They have the same rights under the Loi sur les normes du travail as all workers and are covered in the event of a work accident or occupational disease.
They are also entitled to pay equity. For a seasonal business, the employer must still calculate the number of workers in their business on the basis of the 12 months of the reference period.
Specific provisions
Forestry worker
- The standard work week is 47 hours.
- If the worker is paid on a piecework basis, they must receive at least the minimum wage for each hour worked.
- Travelling time from one place of work to another is considered a workplace and must be paid.
- At the time of hiring, the employer may require the worker to provide the equipment necessary to do their job (e.g., chainsaw, brush cutter, etc.).
Strawberry and raspberry picker
- A strawberry or raspberry picker is a farm worker who is paid on a yield basis .
- If the picker's output does not allow them to reach the hourly minimum wage rate because the state of the fields or the fruit adversely affected their work, the employer must pay the difference between what they earned with the yield rate and the minimum wage rate.
Student working at a summer camp
- Hours worked are always paid at a single rate, regardless of the number of hours worked.
- Students may be paid less than the minimum wage if the camp is a social or community non-profit organization.
Fisherman
- A factory ship worker is always paid at a single rate, regardless of the number of hours worked.