To learn about who is considered an employee for the purpose of pay equity, please refer to How the Pay Equity Act defines employee section or read our guidance on the definition of employee (397 KB).
An employee count is done on the basis of the average number of employees working for an employer in a given year – the “reference year”. The employee count determines whether and when an employer is subject to the requirements of the Act.
In conducting an employee count, the Act distinguishes between a fiscal year and calendar year.
Public-sector employers must count the average number of their employees in the previous fiscal year – April 1 to March 31. If the average number of employees in a given fiscal year increases to 10 or more, the employer will become subject to the Act on April 1 of the next fiscal year.
Private-sector employers must count the average number of their employees in the previous calendar year – January 1 to December 31. If the average number of employees in a given calendar year increases to 10 or more, the employer will become subject to the Act on January 1 of the next calendar year.
| Pay period | Total employees on payrol | Adjusted number of employees on payroll per Pay Equity Act |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85 | 83 |
| 2 | 87 | 84 |
| 3 | 87 | 84 |
| 4 | 106 | 100 |
| 5 to 25 | Calculate the number of employees recorded for each pay period | Calculate the adjusted number of employees recorded for pay period |
| 26 | 117 | 103 |
| Total | 2,735 | 2,706 |
| Average by pay period = | Sum of number of employees on payroll divided by 26 = 105 | Sum of number of adjusted employees on payroll divided by 26 = 104 |
Employers subject to the Act must update the employee count as part of the requirement to review and update their pay equity plan.
Should employers learn that the average number of employees they have has declined to less than 10 while updating the employee count, they are still subject to the Act and still have to update their pay equity plan. Once an employer becomes subject to the Act, they remain subject to the Act.
A group of employers must determine the sum of all the employees employed by all the employers that are a part of the group. This sum, and the presence of unionized employees, is what the group of employers will use to determine if they must establish a pay equity committee to develop their pay equity plan.
| Employer | Number of non-unionized employees | Number of unionized employees | Total of non-unionized employees and Unionized employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 50 | 44 | 94 |
| B | 13 | 37 | 63 |
| C | 27 | 9 | 36 |
| D | 12 | 76 | 88 |
| Total | 102 | 166 | 281 |
An employer's total employee count must include any employee on parental leave or on leave without pay. The term “employee” includes everyone who is employed by an employer, with a few exceptions such as students that are part of a student employment program or those that are employed solely during their vacation period.