What must my employer put on my pay stub?

Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA) says that on or before your payday, your employer must give you a statement of your wages. This is often called a pay stub.

The pay stub must include:

• your rate of pay if you have one, for example, how much you make in an hour
• the pay period, for example, June 1 to June 14
• your wages for that pay period before and after any deductions
• the amount and reason for any deductions

Your employer must also include in your pay stub how they decided what to pay you. Or they must have told you this somewhere else, like in your employment contract. For example, they might say that they decided based on the hours you worked or the number of items you finished making.

There are 3 ways your employer can give you your pay stub:

• in writing,
• by email, or
• through a secure online database that's used for payroll.

If your employer emails it or uses a database, you must be able to access and print the pay stub at work. You must also know how to use email or the database. And you must be able to get your pay stub without help from someone else.

Paydays and pay periods

Your employer must have a regular payday and a pay period that they use to figure out how much they owe you.

For example, you might get paid for 2 weeks at a time and your payday might be every other Friday.

How you’re paid

Your employer can pay you:

• in cash
• with a cheque that's payable to you
• by direct deposit to a bank or credit union account that's in your name

If you're paid by cash or cheque, your employer must give it to you at your workplace, or somewhere else that you agree to.

Even if you get paid in cash, you should still get a pay stub that has all the information listed above.