What benefits can servers get in Newfoundland and Labrador?
The short answer
In Newfoundland and Labrador
| Health coverage (MCP) | Every resident must register. There’s no fee; send the form by mail, fax or email, or drop it off. Moving from another province, your old plan covers the rest of your arrival month plus two more, so contact MCP when you arrive. |
|---|---|
| Access Plan (prescriptions) | For low incomes: net annual income of $27,151 or less for a single person, $30,009 for a couple without children, or $42,870 for families with children. Coverage depends on income and family status. Apply with the form, found at pharmacies and doctors’ offices or mailed to you if you call 1-888-859-3535. |
| Assurance Plan (high drug costs) | Covers drug costs above 5% of net income if you earn below $40,000 (7.5% from $40,000 to under $75,000), with a co-payment based on income and drug costs. |
| NL Income Supplement | Refundable and paid quarterly; no application, just file taxes. For the 2025 benefit year, up to $520 for an individual (maximum at family net income of $20,000 to $40,000), plus $69 for a spouse and $231 per child, phasing out at 9% above $40,000. |
| Low Income Tax Reduction | For 2025, no provincial income tax for individuals with net income up to $23,928, and a partial cut up to $30,159. |
| Vacation and vacation pay | Vacation pay of 4% of gross wages, including overtime, after five work days; 6% after 15 years. Two weeks of vacation after 12 continuous months if you worked 90% of the available hours, three weeks after 15 years. |
| Public holidays | Six. Work one and you get double your regular rate, or a paid day off within 30 days, or an extra vacation day, with no qualifying period. For a holiday you don’t work, you need 30 days of employment and your shifts before and after. |
| Sick and family responsibility leave | Seven unpaid days a year after 30 days with the same employer. The Act doesn’t require a sick note, but doesn’t stop an employer from asking for one. |
| Long-term illness or injury leave | Up to 27 weeks in a 52-week period with a medical certificate, after 30 days of employment, taken in periods of at least two weeks. |
“The Access Plan gives individuals and families with low incomes access to eligible prescription medications. The amount of coverage is determined by net income level and family status.” (Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program: Plan overview)
Plus the federal programs: What benefits can servers get in Canada?
What’s different in Newfoundland and Labrador
The province pays double time, not time and a half, when you work one of its six public holidays, and you don’t have to meet any qualifying period for that. Sick and family leave share one pool of seven days a year, still unpaid. Annual vacation time has a catch: you need 12 continuous months and 90% of the available hours, but vacation pay starts after only five work days, so part-timers still collect the 4%.
The drug program is split by need. The Access Plan uses fixed net-income cutoffs, while the Assurance Plan is for anyone whose drug bills top a share of income. The province’s adult dental program is limited to people in the Foundation Plan, mainly those on income support. The national benefits sit alongside, for example the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
Official sources
- Newfoundland and Labrador: Medical Care Plan (MCP)
- Newfoundland and Labrador: MCP frequently asked questions
- Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program: Plan overview
- Newfoundland and Labrador Finance: NL Income Supplement
- Newfoundland and Labrador Finance: Low Income Tax Reduction
- Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Standards: Your Rights at Work
- Newfoundland and Labrador: Adult Dental Program FAQ
Last verified
. Checked the government pages linked above.
Still open: The Prescription Drug Program overview page was last updated in 2020, so its Access Plan income cutoffs may be out of date; confirm at 1-888-859-3535. The Labour Standards guide doesn’t say whether tips count toward vacation pay.