Once You Are Offered a Job

The employer will tell you how much they will pay you before you accept the job. You may be able to negotiate this amount based on your experience. Your job may also include benefits like these:

• insurance to help pay for prescription drugs, dental care, and eyeglasses
• retirement benefits

Employment Rights and Responsibilities

In Nova Scotia, the Labour Standards Code sets out the rights and responsibilities for employers and employees. Both have the right to file a complaint with the Labour Standards Division if they feel someone has broken a rule.

Get to know these rules when you are looking for a job.

The rules set out in the Labour Standards Code govern these things:

• minimum wage
• vacation and holidays
• pregnancy and parental leave
• the right of retail workers to refuse work on
• Sundays and holidays
• rules for workers younger than 14
• rules for workers younger than 16

To Find out more, visit novascotia.ca/lae/employmentrights/ or call 1-888-315-0110

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage is the least amount of money an employer is allowed to pay an employee for each hour of work. In Nova Scotia, the minimum wage at the time this guide was published was $14.50 an hour. It will increase to $15 an hour on October 1, 2023.

Human Rights Act

It is against the law for employers to refuse to hire you or treat you differently for these reasons:

• your age
• your disability, unless accommodating you would cause them undue hardship
• your race, colour, nationality, or the country where you were born
• your religion
• your sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or marital status
• the make-up of your family, for example, if you have children
• the source of your income, for example, if you receive income assistance

If you think an employer is discriminating against you, you can complain to the Human Rights Commission.

Call: 1-877-269-7699
Email: hrcinquiries@gov.ns.ca