Do i have to pay for my work uniform?
Short answer
In Quebec, an employer who requires a specific garment must provide it free of charge to an employee paid at the minimum wage, and no deduction connected with the uniform may bring the wage below the minimum (s. 85 of the Act respecting labour standards).
In detail
The rule applies to a specific garment required by the employer. A uniform that identifies the establishment — a vest or a polo shirt with a logo, for example — clearly falls into that category. A simple general dress code (black pants, closed-toe shoes) is not necessarily a uniform within the meaning of the Act.
The employer also cannot require an amount for the upkeep of that garment if doing so brings the pay below the minimum wage. The same logic applies to any material, equipment, raw materials or merchandise that is required (s. 85.1): these are costs related to the operation of the business, and they cannot be charged to the employee.
When the employment ends, the employer may require that the uniform provided be returned, if the employee did not pay for it.
What to document
The written dress code or the message requiring the uniform, the receipt or the matching deduction, your hourly rate, and the calculation of your wage once the cost is subtracted. What is decisive is the gap with the minimum wage.
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Official sources
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.