Wages, leaves, and benefits in federally regulated workplaces: Results from the 2022 Survey of Employees under Federal Jurisdiction

Introduction

This report examines the results of the 2022 Survey of Employees under Federal Jurisdiction (SEFJ) on wages and salaries, leaves, and benefits. The survey targeted employees working for employers covered by Part III of the Canada Labour Code except certain miscellaneous activities and First Nation band councils and related activities (for more information, see "Data source, methods and notes to the reader"). In the rest of the document, the target universe of the survey is referred to as the "federal jurisdiction". Tables of statistics from the survey are also available on the Open Government Portal.

Employees in banks are the least likely to be paid by the hour; employees in courier services and pipelines the most likely

Within the federal jurisdiction, 43.3% of employees indicated being paid by the hour.^{Footnote 1} The share of employees paid by the hour was the lowest in banks (9.6%) and the highest in courier services and pipelines (84.0%). For the remaining sectors, it varied from 45.5% in road transportation to 71.9% in air transportation (Figure 1).

Figure 1: text version

Sector	Yes	No
All sectors	43.3%	56.7%
Air transportation	71.9%	28.1%
Rail transportation	65.3%	34.7%
Road transportation	45.5%	54.5%
Maritime transportation	54.9%	45.1%
Courier and pipelines	84.0%	16.0%
Banks	9.6%	90.4%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	66.9%	33.1%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	46.0%	54.0%

Men and women equally likely to be satisfied with their rate of pay or salary

Overall, in the federal jurisdiction, 53.1% of employees indicated being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their rate of pay or salary. Another 23.1% of employees said that they were “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied”, while 23.8% of employees responded that they were “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied”.^{Footnote 2} Employees in maritime transportation (62.9%) and in feed, flour, seed and grain (62.3%) were the likeliest to be at “satisfied” or “very satisfied”, while employees in air transportation (46.5%) were the least likely (Figure 2).

• Note: “Satisfied” includes employees that are “very satisfied” or “satisfied”. “Dissatisfied” includes employees that are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied”.

Figure 2: text version

Sector	Satisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Dissatisfied
All sectors	53.1%	23.1%	23.8%
Air transportation	46.5%	22.0%	31.5%
Rail transportation	58.8%	22.2%	19.0%
Road transportation	53.6%	24.4%	22.0%
Maritime transportation	62.9%	20.8%	16.4%
Courier and pipelines	51.9%	25.4%	22.8%
Banks	55.3%	22.9%	21.8%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	62.3%	22.0%	15.7%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	52.9%	22.2%	24.9%

The share of men (52.8%) who declared being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their rate of pay or salary was similar to the share of women (53.7%). Air transportation was the only sector were less than 50% of both men (47.5%) and women (44.3%) indicated being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their rate of pay or salary. In road transportation, 54.8% of men declared being at least satisfied, compared to 48.4% of women (Table 1).

• Note: “Satisfied” includes employees that are “very satisfied” or “satisfied”. “Dissatisfied” includes employees that are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied”.

Women in air transportation less likely than men to feel that their rate of pay is fair based on workload, hours worked, responsibilities, and qualifications

About 55.1% of employees felt that their rate of pay was fair based on their workload, hours worked, responsibilities, and qualifications.^{Footnote 3} The share of employees who felt that their rate of pay was fair was above 50% in all sectors except for air transportation, were it stood at 48.2%. Overall, men (56.4%) were slightly more likely than women (52.7%) to feel that their rate of pay was fair. Still, there were some variations across sectors. For example, the share of women (54.4%) in courier services and pipelines who felt that their rate of pay was fair was almost equal to the share of men (56.6%). The same was true in banks (57.6% of women versus 60.0% of men) and in feed, flour, seed and grain (66.2% versus 65.5% of men). On the other hand, women (41.6%) in air transportation were less likely than men (51.2%) to feel that their rate of pay was fair (Figure 3).

Figure 3: text version

Sector	Men and Women	Men	Women
All sectors	55.1%	56.4%	52.7%
Air transportation	48.2%	51.2%	41.6%
Rail transportation	52.0%	50.0%	63.6%
Road transportation	54.1%	55.3%	48.9%
Maritime transportation	66.2%	67.8%	61.1%
Courier and pipelines	56.1%	56.6%	54.4%
Banks	58.7%	60.0%	57.6%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	65.7%	65.5%	66.2%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	53.7%	56.6%	49.5%

Men are more likely than women to state irregular hours as a reason for feeling their rate of pay was not fair

Employees who responded that they did not feel that their rate of pay or salary was fair were asked about the reasons they felt this way.^{Footnote 4} The 3 most common reasons were that the pay was not reflective of the experience, skills, or effort that the employee brought to the job (62.7%), the workload was too heavy or the pace of work too fast (43.4%), and the pay was below standard for the employee’s industry or occupation (36.9%). Some differences are apparent when looking at the results by gender. For example, men were more likely than women to mention irregular hours (25.4% versus 16.5%), pay not reflective of the hazards of the job (23.7% versus 10.7%), and pay below standard for the industry or occupation (40.8% versus 30.1%) as a reason for feeling that their rate of pay was not fair (Figure 4). On the other hand, women were more likely to state that their pay was not reflective of their experience, skills, or effort (66.6% of women versus 60.3% of men).

• Note: Responses are limited to employees who felt that their rate of pay was not fair based on their workload, hours worked, responsibilities and qualifications.
• Employees were able to give multiple valid responses. Proportions therefore represent the percentage of “yes” responses for a given question independent of other questions, and do not sum to 100%.

Figure 4: text version

Reasons for feeling that rate of pay or salary is not fair	Men and Women	Men	Women
Pay not reflective of experience, skills, or effort	62.7%	60.3%	66.6%
Workload too heavy	43.4%	42.7%	44.7%
Pay below standard for one's industry or occupation	36.9%	40.8%	30.1%
Irregular hours	22.1%	25.4%	16.5%
Needed to be available after work hours	21.6%	22.1%	20.7%
Expected to work overtime without appropriate compensation	20.3%	20.9%	19.2%
Pay not reflective of the hazards of the job	18.9%	23.7%	10.7%
Other	7.5%	7.4%	7.8%

Employees in banks are very likely to receive bonus, merit pay, or skilled-based pay

Overall, 62.2% of federally regulated employees had access to at least one type of compensation that was in addition to wages and salaries.^{Footnote 5} Employees in banks (94.1%) were the most likely to have access to such compensation. About 37.8% of federally regulated employees did not have access to such compensation. The share of employees without access surpassed the 50% mark in several sectors, including feed, flour, seed and grain (50.6%), maritime transportation (54.7%), road transportation (56.8%), air transportation (57.1%), and courier services and pipelines (61.8%).

Bonus, merit pay, or skilled-based pay (43.3%) was the most prevalent type of compensation received in addition to wages and salaries. The overwhelming majority of employees working in banks (85.6%) indicated receiving such pay. Close to half of employees in telecommunications and broadcasting (45.7%) indicated the same. Outside of these 2 sectors, bonus, merit, or skilled-based pay was not highly prevalent. For example, only 14.9% of employees in rail transportation and 16.4% of employees in air transportation declared receiving such pay. In road transportation, the share was 17.3%.

Tips and commissions were not common in any of the federally regulated sectors. The highest share of employees who indicated receiving tips and commissions was in telecommunications and broadcasting, standing at 13.0%. Profit-sharing plans were relatively prevalent in banks, with 34.7% of employees declaring having access to such plans. However, they were much less prevalent in the rest of the federal jurisdiction. Meanwhile, between 31.4% and 36.7% of employees in rail transportation, banks, and telecommunications and broadcasting had access to employee stock plans. In the other sectors, the share stood between 0.8% (in road transportation) and 12.2% (air transportation) of employees. As well, 19.2% of employees in road transportation and 16.9% of employees in rail transportation indicated having access a haulage, kilometre, or miles rate. Such piece rates were rare in the rest of the federal jurisdiction (Table 2).

• Note: Employees were able to give multiple valid responses. Proportions therefore represent the percentage of “yes” responses for a given question independent of other questions, and do not sum to 100%.

One out of 4 employees in banks indicated that their paid overtime is not compensated

Across the federal jurisdiction, 72.8% of employees who declared doing some paid overtime hours in a typical week were paid an overtime rate for those hours.^{Footnote 6} Another 18.6% of employees were paid regular or straight pay, 14.8% were compensated by receiving time in lieu, and 0.9% received some other type of compensation. About 6.8% of employees asserted that their paid overtime hours were “not compensated” (Table 3).

• Note: Responses are limited to employees who declared working some paid overtime hours in a typical week.

Among employees whose overtime was compensated in pay, 93.6% indicated that it was compensated at time and a half, while 5.9% indicated that it was compensated at double time.^{Footnote 7} Time and a half was the most prevalent form of compensation in all industries (Table 4). Meanwhile, double time was most prevalent in maritime transportation (20.2%) and in air transportation (11.1%).

• Note: Responses are limited to employees who declared working some paid overtime hours in a typical week and who indicated that those paid overtime hours were compensated in pay.

Turning to employees whose overtime was compensated by time in lieu, 35.5% indicated that it was compensated at regular time, 59.6% at time and a half and 4.9% at double time (Table 5).^{Footnote 8} Regular time compensation of overtime was prevalent in road transportation (55.3%) and in banks (49.7%). It was the most uncommon in rail transportation (7.7%). In this sector, compensation at time and half was very widespread (92.3%). Overtime compensation at double time was the most common in maritime transportation (17.5%), followed by air transportation (8.9%).

• Note: Responses are limited to employees who declared working some paid overtime hours in a typical week and who indicated that those paid overtime hours were compensated by receiving time in lieu.

Employees in air transportation the least likely to be satisfied with their rate of overtime compensation

Most employees (74.4%) were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the way in which their overtime was compensated. Another 15.5% of employees were “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied”, 7.8% were “dissatisfied”, and 2.3% were “very dissatisfied” (Table 6).^{Footnote 9} Employees in telecommunications and broadcasting (81.9%), courier and pipelines (81.1%), and feed, flour, seed and grain (80.7%) were the most likely to be at “satisfied” or “very satisfied”, while employees in air transportation were the least likely (68.6%).

• Note: Responses are limited to employees who declared having compensated paid overtime.

Unauthorized deductions are relatively uncommon in the federal jurisdiction

Across the federal jurisdiction, 2.2% of employees indicated that their employer had deducted an amount that was not authorized by them in writing over the past 12 months.^{Footnote 10} Rail transportation (5.0%) and air transportation (3.9%) were the sectors with the highest share of employees declaring such unauthorized deductions (Table 7).

• n/a: estimate not available.

Intentional withholding of wages is infrequent in the federal jurisdiction; more likely to occur in air and rail transportation than in the other sectors

About 2.3% of federally employees indicated that their employer had intentionally withheld their wages over the previous 12 months.^{Footnote 11} Once again, rail transportation (7.6%) and air transportation (4.5%) were the 2 sectors with the highest shares of employees indicating such intentional withholding of wages (Table 8).

• n/a: estimate not available.

Almost all employees receive a paper or digital pay stub containing information about their pay

Close to 96% indicated regularly receiving a paper or digital pay stub containing information about their pay (Table 9).^{Footnote 12} Excluding rail transportation and banking, employees working for small employers (employing between 1 and 19 employees) were slightly less likely (88.3%) than those working for medium-sized employers (employing 20 to 99 employees) and large employers (100 or more employees) to receive a paper or digital pay stub (95.6% of employees in medium-sized employers and 96.7% of employees in large employers).

• n/a: estimate not available.

Employees in banks the most likely to be satisfied with their employer’s leave policy

About 64.4% of employees declared being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the leave policy offered by their employer.^{Footnote 13} Meanwhile, 27.0% of employees said that they were “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied” and 8.6% indicated being “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied”. The share of employees that was “satisfied” or “very satisfied” was the highest in banks (73.2%) and in telecommunications and broadcasting (69.6%). On the other hand, employees in air transportation (11.9%) and rail transportation (29.4%) were the most likely to assert being “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” (Table 10).

Employees in air transportation and telecommunications and broadcasting the likeliest to feel at least a little pressure from their employer to not take vacation

About 66.3% of employees declared feeling “no pressure at all” from their employer to not take vacation over the previous 12 months.^{Footnote 14} Meanwhile, 15.5% of employees felt “a little pressure” or “some pressure” and 3.2% felt “a lot of pressure” or “an extreme amount of pressure” (Table 11). About 14.9% of employees responded, “not applicable”. The share of employees feeling at least a little pressure was the highest in air transportation (22.4%) and in telecommunications and broadcasting (22.4%). It was the lowest in banks (16.4%).

Two out of 5 employees were not able to bank or save up all or a portion of their paid sick leave or paid vacation leave from year to year

Across the federal jurisdiction, about 39.6% of employees declared that they were not able to bank or save up all or a portion of their paid sick leave or paid vacation leave from year to year.^{Footnote 15} Another 21.1% indicated that they were only able to bank or save up vacation leave, while only 2.2% of employees asserted being able to do this for sick leave. About 6.8% of employees said that they were able to bank both sick leave and vacation leave. Meanwhile, 16.8% of employees responded “don’t know” and 13.5% “not applicable” (Table 12).

Among employees who had an agreement with their employer to take some or all of their paid vacation as wages, rather than as paid time off, 3.2% declared having had difficulty receiving these wages.^{Footnote 16} About 39.5% of employees said that they did not have difficulty, while 57.3% responded “don’t know”. Banks (73.5%), telecommunications and broadcasting (64.9%), and rail transportation (61.8%) were the sectors with the highest proportions of employees answering “don’t know” (Figure 5).

Figure 5: text version

Sector	Yes	No	Don't know
All sectors	3.2%	39.5%	57.3%
Air transportation	4.8%	45.4%	49.8%
Rail transportation	3.2%	35.0%	61.8%
Road transportation	4.1%	55.5%	40.4%
Maritime transportation	2.6%	50.8%	46.6%
Courier and pipelines	2.6%	45.9%	51.4%
Banks	1.8%	24.6%	73.5%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	2.3%	43.3%	54.4%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	3.0%	32.1%	64.9%

Employer-sponsored drug benefit plans, dental plans and vision care are highly prevalent in the federal jurisdiction

In addition to wages and salaries, employers offer employees a variety of non-wages benefits. The 5 most prevalent types of non-wage benefits in the federal jurisdiction were pharmacare or drug benefit plan (82.0%), dental plan (81.5%), vision care (76.1%), physiotherapy (72.7%), and massage therapy (71.4%).^{Footnote 17} The percentage of employees that declared not knowing whether they had access to these benefits was relatively low, lying between 7.5% and 15.7%, depending on the type of benefit. Supplementary health care (63.2%), life insurance (66.7%), and disability insurance (60.9%) were 3 other commonly offered benefits. However, a significant share of employees indicated not knowing whether these benefits were being offered by their employer, ranging between 19.2% and 25.4%.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans come in various forms, including registered pension plans and registered retirement savings plans (RRSP). Registered pension plans include both defined-benefit pension plans and defined-contribution pension plans. About 56.1% of employees said that their employer offered them a defined-contribution pension plan, and 36.0% declared having access to a defined-benefit pension plan. Meanwhile, 50.6% of employees declared being offered a collective RRSP with or without RRSP matching. Between 20.0% and 27.7% of employees did not know whether they had access to a registered pension plan or to a retirement savings plan (Table 13).

Data source, methods, and notes to the reader