Guides
Paying Residential Cleaners in Ontario: Overtime, Vacation, and ESA Rules
Ontario employment standards for residential cleaners vary by status: company employees get overtime after 44 hours, but homeowner-hired domestic workers do not.
What to take away
- Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA) covers most residential cleaners, even when the work happens inside private homes.
- Cleaners employed by a cleaning company get overtime after 44 hours in a work week. Cleaners hired directly by a homeowner as domestic workers do not.
- Vacation pay is 4 percent of gross wages for most cleaners, rising to 6 percent after five completed years with the same employer.
- Records decide an ESA claim. Missing time records can lead to an order to pay owed wages, vacation pay, and overtime.
Who has jurisdiction and what worker status changes
Provincial ESA is the state-level floor for wages in Ontario. Municipal rules, such as Toronto's business licensing bylaw, do not set overtime or vacation pay amounts. Private rules in a service agreement or condo declaration can give a cleaner more than the ESA but cannot reduce the ESA minimums. The key status question is whether the cleaner is an employee of your company, a domestic worker hired directly by the owner or occupier, or an independent contractor. Independent Contractor vs Employee explains the tests in detail. The Ontario ESA defines a domestic worker as a person employed by the owner or occupier of a private residence, not by a service company. That status changes overtime, but not minimum wage or vacation pay.
Overtime rules for house cleaners
For cleaners on your company payroll, overtime starts after 44 hours in a work week. The overtime rate is one and one-half times the regular rate. The province's overtime pay guide sets out the calculation. A cleaner hired directly by the owner or occupier is a domestic worker under the Ontario ESA and is not covered by the hours of work and overtime provisions. This is the exemption owners hear about. It does not apply to your cleaning company employees just because they clean a private home. The work week can be any recurring seven-day period. You cannot keep changing it to avoid the 44-hour threshold. Time spent travelling between jobs during the day is usually work time if it is part of the job, not a commute from home.
Vacation and public holiday pay
Vacation pay for residential cleaning company employees and domestic workers is 4 percent of gross wages. It rises to 6 percent after five completed years with the same employer, according to the province's vacation guide. You can pay vacation pay on each cheque instead of giving paid time off. You need a written agreement or an established practice. Public holiday pay applies to most cleaners who work their scheduled shift before and after the holiday, unless they are exempt by regulation. No municipal bylaw changes these percentages. A condo building's cleaning rules do not change vacation pay.
Documents an ESA review will ask for
If a cleaner files an application for an ESA review, the ministry requests these documents:
- Time records showing hours worked each day and week
- Pay statements showing gross wages, deductions and vacation pay
- Written employment terms or a Residential Cleaning Service Agreement
- Public holiday pay calculations A missing time record is often treated as evidence that favours the cleaner's version of hours. Keep at least three years of records, as the ESA requires.
What triggers a claim and what happens if you skip it
Most ESA claims start when a cleaner leaves and asks for unpaid overtime or vacation pay. A former employee can file a claim with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. No permit is needed to file. If an employment standards officer finds a violation, the officer can order the business to pay owed wages, vacation pay, and overtime. That order can be filed in court and enforced like a judgment. For a cleaning company, the unpaid amount often grows because the officer can add vacation pay on the unpaid overtime.
A cleaning company cannot avoid ESA overtime by calling a worker an independent contractor if the ministry finds the worker is actually an employee. Residential Cleaners Charge GST/HST is a separate tax question. In British Columbia, When to Register covers workers' compensation registration for residential cleaners.
Common questions
Are residential cleaners in Ontario entitled to overtime pay? Cleaners employed by a cleaning company are entitled to overtime after 44 hours a week. Cleaners hired directly by a homeowner as domestic workers are exempt from overtime. Does a cleaner hired through my company count as a domestic worker? No. The Ontario ESA defines a domestic worker as someone employed by the owner or occupier. A company employee is not a domestic worker, so the overtime exemption does not apply. Can I pay vacation pay as a percentage on each cheque? Yes, if the employee agrees in writing or the practice is established. The minimum is 4 percent, rising to 6 percent after five years. What records must I keep for an ESA audit? Keep daily and weekly time records, pay statements, vacation pay calculations, and written terms for at least three years.
