What are the rules for servers in Ontario?
The short answer
Ontario at a glance
| General minimum wage | $17.60 since October 1, 2025; $17.95 from October 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Special rates | No liquor-server rate: liquor servers get the general minimum. Student rate (under 18, up to 28 hours a week in school term): $16.60, rising to $16.90 on 2026-10-01. |
| Are your tips protected? | Yes. Employment Standards Act, Part XIV.1: an employer can’t withhold, make deductions from, or make you return your tips unless the ESA allows it. |
| Sick days | Up to 3 days of unpaid, job-protected sick leave per calendar year after 2 consecutive weeks of employment. Your employer can’t require a medical note. |
| Breaks | A 30-minute eating period after no more than 5 hours in a row. Unpaid unless your contract says otherwise. Coffee breaks aren’t required. |
| Sent home early | Three-hour rule: if you regularly work more than 3 hours a day, are required to report, and work less than 3 hours, you’re paid the higher of 3 hours at your regular rate, or your pay for the time worked plus your regular wage for the rest of the 3 hours. It doesn’t apply if your regular shift is 3 hours or less, or in some cases where the cause was beyond your employer’s control. |
What’s different in Ontario
Your raise lands October 1. On October 1, 2026, the floor moves from $17.60 to $17.95. Check the first pay stub that covers shifts after that date. If you’re under 18 and work up to 28 hours a week during the school term, the student rate applies instead: $16.60 now, and $16.90 from October 1, 2026.
The employer runs the tip pool. Ontario lets your employer deduct from your tips only to redistribute them among staff, and it doesn’t need your agreement to set up that pool. Tipping out “the house” to cover breakage or spills isn’t allowed. On credit card tips, your employer may hold back part of the card company’s processing fee. Debit fees and other processing fees can’t come out of your tips.
Sick days are short and unpaid. You get 3 job-protected sick days each calendar year once you’ve been employed for 2 consecutive weeks. They aren’t paid, so a sick shift costs you that day’s wage and tips. Your employer can’t make you bring a medical note to take one.
Breaks. The 30-minute eating period is unpaid unless your contract says otherwise, and coffee breaks aren’t required.
Cut early on a slow night. If you normally work more than 3 hours a day and get sent home before 3 hours, the three-hour rule means you’re still paid for 3 hours at your regular rate. The ministry’s own example is a liquor server sent home after two hours, who is owed a third hour at the regular rate. It doesn’t help if you leave early on your own, or if your regular shift is 3 hours or less.
Official sources
Last verified
. Checked the provincial pages above, the Government of Canada minimum wage database, and Job Bank 2025 wages.