A woman and former employee of a Vancouver-based international student placement agency fought her former employer for thousands in unpaid wages and an unpaid bonus.
According to a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal dispute, the applicant, MY, brought a case against the respondent, All Seasons FSI Ventures, located on Robson Street in Vancouver.
“We provide study abroad programs in Canada and the United States, as well as in the Oceania area, including Australia and New Zealand. Our staff members offer thorough consultation for each and every client, providing them with a program that best fits their needs,” All Seasons says on its website.
The applicant claimed that she worked for All Seasons, and it failed to pay her, claiming $2,979.61.
All Seasons didn’t deny that it owed the applicant money; however, it did dispute how much she was owed. All Seasons also denied that she was owed a bonus, claiming she was only owed $2,199.88.
The applicant worked for All Seasons from May 28 to June 14, 2024. She was earning a minimum wage of $16.75 per hour between May 28 and 31, and $17.40 an hour beginning June 1.
She was also entitled to overtime amounting to 1.5 times her hourly wage.
After calculating her pay, the tribunal determined the applicant was owed $602.15 in May.
Complicating matters in the case, both parties disagreed about the number of hours the applicant worked in June. The applicant claimed she worked 80 regular hours and 18.6 overtime hours. All Seasons refuted that, suggesting she worked 49 regular hours and 8.6 overtime hours.
“All Seasons admits there was an error in its original calculation. It says its accountant only included hours from one timecard when there were 2 timecards. All Seasons refers to a new calculation ‘below,’ but there is no new calculation included in the submissions. All Seasons also did not provide copies of the timecards that it refers to,” the tribunal decision says.
Because of the mistake in its calculations, the tribunal accepted the applicant’s evidence, agreeing that All Seasons owed $1,877.46 for June, for a total of $2,479.61 in unpaid wages.
The applicant claimed that she was entitled to a $500 hiring bonus.
“She said All Seasons agreed to pay her $500 for the task if she was the successful candidate. She relies on the All Seasons’ payroll journal printout, which shows it intended to pay her the $500 bonus,” the tribunal decision adds.
While All Seasons didn’t deny that it had offered the applicant a bonus, it stated that the bonus was not provided in writing.
The tribunal member overseeing the case pointed out that because All Seasons didn’t provide a written contract, it couldn’t determine whether there was an agreement clause in it.
All Seasons further claimed that the employee was only entitled to the bonus if she completed her training with performance exceeding expectations, but it didn’t provide the tribunal with any details about what the applicant needed to do to earn the bonus.
The tribunal preferred the applicant’s evidence, ordering All Seasons to pay the bonus.
When all was said and done, the Vancouver international student agency was ordered to pay the applicant $3,308.44 for unpaid wages, her bonus, and tribunal fees.