This information sheet tells about how the Labour Standards Code requires that employers pay male and female employees the same pay for similar work. An employer cannot pay one employee a lesser wage than an employee of the other gender if both employees do similar work.
Men and women who work in the same workplace doing work that is the same or very much the same must receive the same rate of pay. For example, if a restaurant owner has both male and female waiters, the owner cannot pay the woman less just because she is a woman. If they both do very much the same work, then the owner must pay them both the same. Employers may pay different rates between men and women doing work that is very much the same when one of the following is in place:
- a seniority system
- a merit pay system
- a system that measures by quantity or quality of work produced
- a factor other than sex that makes a difference between employees doing the same work
An employer must not cut the employee's rate of pay in order to make the rate of pay of all employees equal.
The equal pay rules in the Labour Standards Code are different from pay equity or equal pay for work of equal value. For questions about pay equity, contact the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.