Tim Hortons minimum wage costs by the number

The Great White North Franchisee Association says the minimum wage increase will cost the average Tim Hortons franchise $243,889.10 a year. Here’s a closer look at the numbers provided by the association, which says on its website it represents 50 per cent of the Tim Hortons chains in Canada. The figure is based on a minimumwage increase of $2.40 an hour The calculation assumes the $2.40 increase will be applied to every worker’s salary.

Employees who were making the previous minimum wage, $11.60 an hour, or less than the new rate, $14, are legally entitled to a raise.

Some businesses have said the higher rate will inflate their entire payroll because they want to maintain pay differentials between newer hires and more senior staff. The $2.40 rate is bumped up to $3.35 an hour when other costs are factored in. GWNFA says this figure includes Canadian Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, Employee Health tax, workers’ compensation premiums, training costs, sick leave and increased vacation pay.

Increased vacation pay introduced by Bill 148 will only impact workers who have been with a company for five years or more. They will now be entitled to three weeks leave. Average number of employees at a Tim Hortons store: 35 Average increased cost for one full-time employee: $6,968.26 Divided by the hourly cost increase (of $3.35) per employee and a 52week year, this figure suggests Tim Hortons employees work a 40-hour week.

The Star obtained a week’s schedule for one Toronto-based Tim Hortons franchise. It listed 30 employees and four managers. That week, the average working week for employees was around 25 hours. This may not be typical for other Tim Hortons locations.

According to 2016 Statistics Canada data, the average food services employee in Toronto works 30 hours a week.

Some 46 per cent of Toronto food services employees worked parttime in 2016.

The Canada-wide average for accommodation and food services sector in 2017 was 35 hours a week.

A final note: students under 18 who work 28 hours or less when school is in session, or work during a school break or summer holidays, have a lower minimum wage. Their minimum hourly rate is $13.15.