Willow BergeronUNITE HERE Hospitality Workers Collective Agreement 2025–2027 — Complete Guide to Your Rights and Pay
If you work in a hotel in Canada — making beds, serving banquets, staffing the front desk, or cooking in a kitchen — there is a good chance your wages and working conditions are shaped by a UNITE HERE collective agreement. As of 2025, UNITE HERE Canada and its locals represent approximately 18,000 hotel and food-service workers at major chains including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG properties from Vancouver to Toronto. The 2025–2027 round of bargaining has delivered some of the strongest wage increases in the union's Canadian history, with cumulative gains of 21–34 per cent depending on the local and property.
This guide explains who is covered, what wages you can expect, how overtime and premium pay works, your vacation and leave rights, what happens when your job ends, and what CPP, EI, and health benefits mean for your take-home pay. At the bottom of the page, a free interactive calculator lets you model your net pay, overtime earnings, vacation entitlement, severance, and statutory holiday value in minutes.
Who Is Covered by This Agreement
UNITE HERE Canada negotiates property-by-property and through pattern bargaining agreements. The union operates through several major locals:
- Local 40 — British Columbia, covering downtown Vancouver luxury properties, airport hotels, and resort properties.
- Local 75 — Southern Ontario, covering Toronto's flagship hotels including the Fairmont Royal York, Park Hyatt, and dozens of mid-tier properties.
- Local 261 and 272 — Ottawa and Eastern Ontario hotel and food-service workers.
- Local 47 — Alberta, covering select hotel properties in Calgary and Edmonton.
Covered classifications typically include room attendants (housekeeping), front desk agents, guest services agents, banquet servers and bartenders, cooks and kitchen staff, laundry attendants, door attendants, and bell staff. The collective agreement applies to all workers in these classifications at covered properties, whether full-time, part-time, or casual.
Workers who are managers, supervisors with the power to discipline, or who perform primarily administrative work are generally excluded from bargaining unit coverage. If you are unsure whether you are covered, your shop steward or local union office can confirm.
Current Wage Rates and Pay Grid (2025–2026)
Wage rates under UNITE HERE agreements are property-specific, but the union uses a city-wide pattern standard to drive comparability across an urban market. Based on recently ratified agreements and press releases from UNITE HERE Local 40 and Local 75, the following rates reflect the 2025 landscape:
British Columbia (Local 40): In downtown Vancouver, the 2024–2027 round delivered a cumulative 34 per cent wage increase. Room attendants at flagship Hyatt and Westin properties moved to approximately $32.50/hour as of January 1, 2025, with further annual increases scheduled for 2026 and 2027 pushing rates above $37.00/hour by end of term. At Hilton properties in Burnaby, room attendants reached approximately $28.10/hour at the same date, with a 21.5 per cent total increase over the agreement.
Ontario (Local 75): In Toronto, the city-wide standard room attendant rate for properties covered by Local 75 reached approximately $28–$32/hour in 2024–2025, with annual escalators building to roughly $30–$34/hour by end of the 2027 term. The ratification of the One King West agreement in June 2025 confirmed that workers who had been below the city standard received catch-up increases of $4–$6.20/hour over the agreement term, with back pay of up to $1,900.
Provincial Minimum Wage Floor (Ontario): Even at non-unionised properties, the Ontario general minimum wage is $17.60/hour effective October 1, 2025, rising to $17.95/hour effective October 1, 2026. Hotel workers at unionised properties under UNITE HERE earn substantially above the minimum wage floor.
Classification Examples (2025 rate range across Local 40 / Local 75 covered properties):
| Classification | Approximate 2025 Range |
|---|---|
| Room Attendant | $26.00 – $32.50/hr |
| Front Desk Agent | $24.00 – $30.00/hr |
| Banquet Server | $22.00 – $28.00/hr |
| Cook (First) | $28.00 – $34.00/hr |
| Laundry Attendant | $23.00 – $29.00/hr |
Rates at your specific property will be set out in your local collective agreement. Contact your shop steward for the current wage schedule.
Overtime Rules and Shift Premiums
Overtime rules depend on whether your employer is federally regulated or provincially regulated. Most hotel and food-service employers in Canada are provincially regulated, meaning provincial Employment Standards Acts apply — but the collective agreement may and often does improve on statutory minimums.
Ontario ESA (Employment Standards Act, 2000): Overtime is payable at 1.5 times your regular rate for all hours worked in excess of 44 hours in a workweek. There is no daily overtime trigger under Ontario law. Employers may offer banked time in lieu of overtime pay (1.5 hours off per overtime hour), but only with your written agreement and only if the time off is taken within three months.
British Columbia Employment Standards Act: BC has both daily and weekly overtime triggers:
- Hours 1–8 per day: regular rate
- Hours 8–12 per day: 1.5× rate
- Hours beyond 12 per day: 2× rate
- Hours beyond 40 per week: 1.5× rate
The CBA may establish higher thresholds or additional shift premiums. Common premium structures negotiated in hotel CBAs include:
- Evening premium (e.g., shifts starting after 3 pm): typically $0.75–$1.50/hour above base
- Night premium (e.g., shifts starting after 11 pm): typically $1.00–$2.00/hour above base
- Weekend premium (Saturday/Sunday): typically $0.50–$1.25/hour above base
Room Attendant Productivity Standard: The UNITE HERE pattern standard — pioneered at the Fairmont Royal York under Local 75 — limits room attendants to 14 rooms per day as a workload ceiling. This standard is referenced as the best in Canada and is incorporated into Local 75 and Local 40 agreements as a health and safety protection.
Vacation and Leave Entitlements
Under the UNITE HERE collective agreement, vacation entitlements generally meet or exceed the Ontario ESA and Canada Labour Code minimums. Here is what you are entitled to under the statutory floor, against which your CBA improves:
Ontario ESA minimums:
| Years of Service | Vacation Time | Vacation Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5 years | 2 weeks/year | 4% of gross wages |
| 5 or more years | 3 weeks/year | 6% of gross wages |
Canada Labour Code minimums (for federally regulated workers):
| Years of Service | Vacation Time | Vacation Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5 years | 2 weeks | 4% |
| 5–9 years | 3 weeks | 6% |
| 10 or more years | 4 weeks | 8% |
Vacation pay accrues on each pay period (commonly paid out on each cheque as a percentage) or accumulates for a lump sum payout before your scheduled vacation — the arrangement is specified in your collective agreement. Many UNITE HERE agreements add additional vacation entitlement for senior workers beyond the statutory minimum.
Other Leave Rights:
- Pregnancy leave: up to 17 weeks (Ontario ESA, unpaid; EI maternity benefits available)
- Parental leave: up to 61–63 weeks (Ontario ESA, unpaid; EI parental benefits available)
- Personal emergency leave / sick leave: 3 days paid, 2 days unpaid under Ontario ESA (your CBA likely provides more)
- Bereavement leave: varies by CBA (typically 3–5 days with pay)
Notice Period and Severance Pay
If your employment is terminated without cause, you are entitled to notice or pay in lieu. The rules differ between Ontario ESA and the Canada Labour Code.
Ontario ESA (s.57) — Statutory Notice:
| Length of Employment | Notice Required |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 1 week |
| 1–3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3–4 years | 3 weeks |
| 4–5 years | 4 weeks |
| 5–6 years | 5 weeks |
| 6–7 years | 6 weeks |
| 7–8 years | 7 weeks |
| 8 or more years | 8 weeks |
Ontario ESA (s.64) — Severance Pay: An additional severance entitlement applies if: (a) you have worked five or more years, and (b) your employer has a payroll of $2.5 million or more. Severance pay is one week per year of employment (or partial year), with no maximum cap under the ESA.
Canada Labour Code (ss.230–235) — Federal Workers:
- Minimum notice: 2 weeks (after 3 months of service)
- Severance: 2 days per year of service (minimum 5 days, maximum 40 days) — applicable after 12 months
Common Law Notice: In addition to statutory minimums, courts may award additional "reasonable notice" based on factors including age, length of service, position, and availability of similar employment. Common law awards often equal approximately one month per year of service for long-tenured employees. Your collective agreement's grievance and arbitration process is typically the avenue for disputes about termination rights.
Recall Rights: UNITE HERE agreements include layoff recall rights. Based on the 2025 bargaining round, recall protections extend up to 24 months after layoff, with unlimited recall rights for workers laid off due to hotel renovations or other temporary closures. This was reinforced in the Local 40 Vancouver downtown agreements ratified in November 2024.
CPP, EI, and Health Benefits
Every worker in Canada with insurable employment contributes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI). Here are the 2025 rates (verified against current government schedules):
Canada Pension Plan (2025):
- Employee contribution rate: 5.95% on pensionable earnings between $3,500 (basic exemption) and approximately $71,300 (Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings — YMPE)
- Maximum annual employee CPP contribution: approximately $4,034
- CPP2: An additional 4% on earnings between the YMPE and approximately $81,900 (Year's Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings — YAMPE); maximum approximately $426/year
Employment Insurance (2025):
- Employee premium rate: 1.64% of insurable earnings up to approximately $65,700
- Maximum annual employee EI premium: approximately $1,078
- Employer rate: employee premium × 1.4 (unless reduced rate agreement applies)
Health and Welfare Benefits (UNITE HERE): Under the UNITE HERE Benefits Canada plan (administered for Local 75 members by Soben Management Ltd., and similar plans under Local 40), coverage includes:
- Vision care: up to $400 per adult every 18 months
- Paramedical services: 95% reimbursement up to $1,500/person annually (physiotherapy, massage therapy, chiropractor, etc.)
- Dental and orthodontic care
- Short-term disability (weekly indemnity up to approximately $638/week)
- Life insurance
Part-Time Benefit Eligibility: Part-time workers under the Local 75 plan use an hour bank system: coverage is maintained by drawing down 60 banked hours per month. Workers who regularly work 20 or more hours per week will typically qualify for benefits coverage, consistent with the CBA threshold of 20 hours per week for health and welfare eligibility. In British Columbia, the 2024 Local 40 agreements secured year-round health benefits for all workers, including part-time, at covered Vancouver properties — described as a rarity in the Canadian hospitality sector.
Key Changes in the 2025–2027 Agreement
The 2025–2027 round of bargaining reflects the post-pandemic recovery in the hotel sector and significant cost-of-living pressures. Key gains negotiated in this round include:
- Substantial wage increases: Cumulative increases ranging from 21 per cent (Ontario, shorter-term comparisons) to 34 per cent (BC downtown Vancouver) over three years — well above inflation.
- Reduced housekeeping workloads: The 14-room-per-day standard has been extended to additional properties and reinforced in existing agreements.
- Extended recall rights: Workers have up to 24 months of recall protection after layoff, with unlimited recall rights for renovation-related layoffs.
- Improved benefits for part-time workers: The 20-hour weekly threshold for health and welfare eligibility ensures more part-time workers access benefits, and the Local 40 agreements secured year-round coverage regardless of seasonal hours fluctuations.
- Tip and service charge protections: Gratuity distribution language has been strengthened, building on Ontario's Protecting Employees' Tips Act, 2016 which already prohibits employer withholding of tips except for lawful tip pooling arrangements.
- Scheduling improvements: Provisions addressing predictive scheduling and advance notice of shifts reflect the union's push for greater work-life balance for hotel workers.
How to Use This Free Calculator
The UNITE HERE Hospitality Workers Free Calculator below has six tabs to help you understand your total compensation:
Wages & Tax — Enter your hourly rate and hours worked per week to see your estimated gross annual income, CPP deductions, EI premiums, and federal income tax. The result is your estimated net annual and net monthly take-home pay. Note that provincial tax is not included — your actual net will be lower by your provincial rate.
Overtime & Premiums — Enter your base rate, regular hours, and overtime hours to calculate your overtime pay. Toggle between Ontario (44h/week threshold) and BC (daily/weekly triggers). Add shift premiums (evening, night, weekend) to see their impact on your weekly and annual earnings.
Vacation Pay — Select your province and years of service to see your vacation entitlement in weeks and your vacation pay as a dollar amount. You can also see how much vacation pay is accruing on each paycheque.
Notice & Severance — Enter your province, years of service, and annual salary to calculate your statutory notice entitlement and severance pay under Ontario ESA or the Canada Labour Code.
CPP & EI — See your annual CPP (including CPP2) and EI contribution totals, broken down monthly, along with the employer's matching contribution for context.
Statutory Holidays — See the value of each federal and provincial statutory holiday at your hourly rate, and calculate what you would earn if required to work a holiday (including premium pay).
Legal Disclaimer: Calculations are indicative only and do not constitute legal advice. Employment standards vary by province and whether you are federally regulated. For specific advice, contact the Canada Labour Program at 1-800-641-4049, your provincial Employment Standards office, or a labour lawyer. For grievances related to your collective agreement, contact your UNITE HERE local union representative.
