What benefits can servers get in Saskatchewan?
The short answer
In Saskatchewan
| Health coverage | Make your home in Saskatchewan and live here at least five months a year. Moving from another province, coverage may begin the first day of the third month. Apply online through Saskatchewan Account, by mail, or in person in Regina. |
|---|---|
| Special Support Program (drug costs) | Income-tested help for anyone with Saskatchewan coverage: a deductible set from family income and a co-payment based on income and drug costs, for a calendar year. Coverage starts when your complete application arrives, and signing Side A renews it automatically each year you file taxes. |
| Family Health Benefits | For low-income working families who pass an income test run by Social Services. Parents get an eye exam every two years and drug coverage with a $100 semi-annual family deductible and a 35% co-payment; children get most dental services, eye care and formulary drugs. |
| Saskatchewan Employment Incentive | A monthly benefit for working parents with children 0 to 12 who earn at least $500 a month. The maximum is $400, $500 or $600 a month for 1, 2 or 3+ children when earned income is $500 to $2,200. SEI families are automatically reviewed for Supplementary Health Benefits, which give adults emergency dental for six months, then full dental. |
| Low-Income Tax Credit | Refundable and paid quarterly with the federal GST credit; no application beyond filing taxes. For July 2025 to June 2026: $429 per adult, $429 for a spouse, $169 per child (up to $338), reduced by 2.88% of family net income over $38,590. |
| Vacation and vacation pay | Three weeks after each year of employment, four after 10 years. Vacation pay is 3/52 (5.77%) of wages, or 4/52 (7.69%) from year 10, and covers part-time, casual and seasonal staff. |
| Public holidays | 10 a year. Holiday pay is 5% of your wages from the 28 days before, even if you started less than four weeks earlier. Work one and you earn 1.5 times your rate on top; full-time restaurant staff get 1.5 times plus holiday pay or a paid day off within four weeks. |
| Illness or injury absence | No paid sick leave. After 13 consecutive weeks, you can’t be disciplined for up to 12 days a year of non-serious illness (yours or a dependant’s), or up to 27 weeks in 52 for a serious one. A note can only be required after more than five working days in a row or repeated absences. |
“The SLITC is a fully refundable, non-taxable benefit paid to help Saskatchewan residents with low and modest incomes. You do not need to pay income tax in order to receive the benefits.” (Saskatchewan: Low-Income Tax Credit)
Plus the federal programs: What benefits can servers get in Canada?
What’s different in Saskatchewan
Two things stand out for a server here. Vacation starts at three weeks, not two, so vacation pay is 5.77% of wages rather than the 4% common elsewhere, and it’s owed on overtime and holiday pay as well. And holiday pay doesn’t wait for you to finish a probation period: a server hired a week before Labour Day is still owed 5% of that week’s wages.
The weak spot is sickness. The Saskatchewan Employment Act gives no paid sick days, only protection from being disciplined. Parents working low hours should look hard at the Employment Incentive, which can bring dental coverage with it. Everyone should file a return for the Low-Income Tax Credit, which pays out even if you owe no tax. The federal benefits come on top, EI sickness benefits among them.
Official sources
- eHealth Saskatchewan: Eligibility for health benefits
- eHealth Saskatchewan: Apply for a health card
- Saskatchewan: Drug cost assistance (Special Support Program)
- Saskatchewan: Family Health Benefits
- Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Employment Incentive (SEI)
- Saskatchewan: Supplementary Health Benefits
- Saskatchewan: Low-Income Tax Credit
- Saskatchewan Employment Standards: Annual vacation and vacation pay
- Saskatchewan Employment Standards: Calculating and paying vacation pay
- Saskatchewan Employment Standards: Paying employees for public holidays
- Saskatchewan Employment Standards: Full-time employees in a hotel or restaurant
- Saskatchewan Employment Standards: Absence from work due to illness or injury
Last verified
. Checked the government pages linked above.
Still open: The province’s pages don’t say whether tips count as wages for vacation or holiday pay. Low-Income Tax Credit amounts are indexed and, under The Saskatchewan Affordability Act, rise another 5% a year for four years.