Respite workers in Winnipeg making less than minimum wage: labour experts weigh in

Some respite workers in Winnipeg who are responsible for youth in care could be making more money working a minimum wage job. But is it legal?

CityNews’ previous story about The Link, a Winnipeg organization supporting youth and families in crisis, confirmed respite workers with the organization are being paid 15 dollars an hour as independent contractors, not employees.

The Link says it wanted to be consistent with other organizations in the respite worker sector, adding foster parents were “seeking the autonomy to hire, supervise and schedule their workers.” The Link’s chief executive officer, Kerri Irvin-Ross, previously told CityNews the move to classify respite workers as independent contractors gave workers the ability to negotiate pay rates directly with foster families.

Mike Rosenby, who worked at The Link for over 20 years but has since moved on to different social services work, says Irvin-Ross’ claims The Link is not directly involved with respite workers are “categorically untrue”, saying nothing changed in the way respite workers interacted with The Link or its foster families.

Rosenby provided CityNews with a copy of the contract he signed as an independent contractor, and labour and employment lawyer Kara Bashutski took a look at the contract.

“I would find it really hard to believe that there is a valid change from employee to independent contractor if they were doing the exact same job for years on end and then one day they suddenly become an independent contractor,” explained Bashutski.

“When we take a look at the respite support worker independent contractor agreement, there are some elements of control here that really look a lot more like an employment relationship. And why that matters is if it’s an employment relationship, these workers are entitled to basic protections under Manitoba’s Employment Standards Code.”

Bashutski says the contract provided to CityNews, which dates to 2020, raises many questions. Her key concern: control. Bashutski says independent contractors should have control over most of their business, including their rate of pay. However, the contract people have to sign says The Link is in charge of how much is being paid.

“If these really are independent contractors, they would probably be setting their own rates. If they’re not independent contractors and they’re just simply misclassified, they are now not getting the basic minimum protections that employees are entitled to,” said Bashutski.

The contract provided to CityNews lists the respite worker rates at $15 an hour, which Irvin-Ross previously confirmed was still the rate in 2024. Furthermore, it states: “…rates may be increased from time-to-time in the sole discretion of (The Link), without causing termination of this Agreement.”

Bashutski says “When look at the rates that are stipulated, that they have no ability to negotiate, they’re working for effectively 15 dollars an hour. That is below the minimum wage in Manitoba that’s currently set at $15.30 an hour, and it’s going up.”

When asked why The Link started classifying former employees as independent contractors, it says it simply fell in line with what other Manitoba agencies were doing with its respite workers and refused to answer any specific questions regarding the employment contract.

“We should let the situation dictate things and not the end result,” Bashutski explained. “So what it should have looked like is they should have sat down and analyzed these jobs and these individuals to see what job they actually were doing. If they were truly performing the services as a business in their own account, that may look like an independent contractor relationship. What appears to have happened is that they got deemed to be independent contractors for reasons I’m unsure about and then the agreements followed suit.

“They shouldn’t have made it based on what’s happening in the industry.”

But legal or not – Julia Smith, who is part of the labour studies program at the University of Manitoba, says employers who are turning employees into independent contractors is becoming more common through different industries in Canada.

“I think many people would be shocked to hear folks like respite care workers are now being converted to this model. I think it’s an alarming trend that we should be concerned about,” said Smith.

“[The contract] was really interesting to see … My understanding as a labour studies scholar, it very much looks to me like a standard employment contract that’s had the words “independent contractor” added to it. Everything from the wage scales from the rules and procedures that are outlined, all of it seems to have the trappings of a standard employment contract so it does raise questions about whether or not these folks have been misclassified. “

Smith says the move to contract workers is a popular one, but has clear winners and losers.

“Employees definitely win by saving lots of money, not having to pay things like pensions, benefits into workers compensation, all sorts of things. And the losers are, of course, the workers who now are more precarious. Their wages often decrease, they don’t have access to job security, benefits, all those kinds of things. But also the people who rely on the services that these workers provide,” said Smith.

As for respite workers at The Link, Bashutski says her interest has been piqued.

“It really depends on the individual facts, but it seems like some further investigation is needed for sure,” said Bashutski.

She suggests people who believe they may be misclassified in their roles, and cannot find recourse with their employers, contact government agencies like the Employment Standards Code in Manitoba and the Canada Revenue Agency.