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Northwest Territories Leave & Compensation

All you need to know about employee’s leave, compensation, statutory holidays, vacation and other entitlements under the Northwest Territories Employment Standards Act  

Sick Days: 5 days’ unpaid Sick Leave for employees who’ve been employed by same employer for at least 30 days 

Leaves of Absence (all leaves are unpaid unless specified otherwise):    

  • 17 weeks’ Pregnancy Leave 
  • 61 weeks’ Parental Leave 
  • 3 to 7 days’, depending on where employee lives, Bereavement Leave for death of a family member 
  • 27 weeks’ Compassionate Leave to care for a family member suffering from a serious medical condition, with a significant risk of death 
  • 37 weeks’ Family Caregiver Leave to care for a critically ill child family member 
  • 17 weeks’ Family Caregiver Leave to care for a critically ill adult family member 
  • 10 days’ plus 15 consecutive weeks’ Family Violence Leave, the first 5 days of which must be paid if the employee has at least 3 months’ employment (1 month of employment required for unpaid leave) 
  • Reservist Leave for as long as necessary to perform reservist duties 
  • Emergency Leave for as long as necessary as employees can’t work due to a declared emergency 
  • Court Leave for as long as necessary for employee to attend jury selection, serve on a jury or answer a summons to be a witness 

Vacation: Employee must work 1 full year to be entitled to vacation time 

  • Entitled to 2 weeks of vacation after each of the first 5 years of employment and must be paid at least 4% of vacationable earnings 
  • Entitled to 3 weeks of vacation after 6 consecutive years of employment and paid at least 6% of vacationable earnings. 

Statutory Holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Canada Day, First Monday of August, Labour Day, National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day 

Stat Holiday Pay Entitlement: To be eligible for stat holiday pay, employee must:  

  • Work for the same employer at least 30 days in the 12 months before the holiday 
  • Work on the statutory holiday if called to work 
  • Work the last scheduled shift before the holiday and the next scheduled shift after the holiday 

Stat Holiday Pay Amount: 

(If worked): Overtime for the hours worked on the holiday plus an average day’s pay or another day off with pay 

(If not worked): Average day’s pay  

PAY:   Minimum Wage: $16.95 per hour 

Standard Work Hours: 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week  

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION:  Average Workers’ Comp Assessment Rate 2026: $2.40 per $100 assessable payroll Workers’ Comp Maximum Assessable/Insurable Earnings 2026: $116,000