Send Student Appointment Form, completed and signed by you and your supervisor, to StudentEmployment@viu.ca before starting work. This form can be completed on your first work day. Please note that forms sent in without all the required signatures and information, including Work Order numbers, cannot be processed and could result in delayed pay for the student. 

Because this is the only form required by the Campus Employment office please do not wait for Payroll documents to be ready before sending it in.

Please go to Payroll Forms for Federal and Provincial Tax Credit & direct deposit forms. International Students should include a copy of a valid Study Permit. Please email them directly to Payroll@viu.ca without copying student employment.

Approved time-sheets signed by you and your supervisor should also be emailed to Payroll. They are generally due weekly on Thursdays, but sometimes change, so please go to Payroll to see the timesheet schedule. If you are working at VIU for the first time and don't know your employee number, please do not submit timesheets without it. Notification sent out when computer/email accounts are generated will include the number, so Payroll asks that you please wait for that notification and note it on the timesheet.

Wage Reimbursement

Work-Op is a fund managed through the Student Employment office to provide campus jobs to enrolled VIU students. Applications are open twice a year – once for the summer semester and again for the Fall and Spring together. Applications are approved based on number of hours requested and reimbursed at minimum wage plus 12% for mandatory employer costs.

Note: Students are allowed only one Work-op position per semester except in special circumstances. All exceptions to eligibility or to the number of positions must have approval from the Student Employment office.

Rate of Pay and Reimbursement

The hourly base rate for Work-Op positions is $16.75 per hour (BC minimum wage) plus all statutory entitlements. Departments intending to recognize higher demands or skill-specific qualifications required by the nature of the responsibilities in their approved position may supplement the base rate of pay with departmental funds. The department will be responsible for both hourly top-up and employer related costs associated with that increase (12% of hourly increase above base).

The number of hours your position has been approved for can be found in your approval email. These hours can be spread out between the two semesters and/or between students at your discretion within the allowed dates. Supervisors are responsible for tracking the number of hours worked and ensuring that timesheets are sent to payroll weekly. The Work-Op Program will not reimburse any timesheets that were submitted after the May 2, 2024 final timesheet deadline or for hours worked outside the Work-Op timelines.  Please see the tracking sheet that is found in the form section above.

Department or Grant Funded

Non Work-Op covers all other campus work for VIU students, paid entirely out of departmental work orders. Students must meet our eligibility requirements to qualify for student positions and must be paid minimum wage or higher. Research Assistant positions that are paid bi-weekly (salary) or by submitted timesheets are Non Work-Op and processed through the Student Employment office. Please contact srca@viu.ca for payment processes of trainee awards or stipends.

Note: If a student’s course ends mid-semester, they are permitted to work up until the last day of that month.

Government Funded

The Canada Summer Jobs program provides funding to help provide career-related work experience for youth aged 15 to 30 years old. A call for applications goes out every year, and the Student Employment office submits an application on behalf of anyone interested in applying for funding. Once our office is notified of approval, we work with the applicants to process the appointments, ensuring that the details are in line with our funding agreement, then submit a claim form and distribute the reimbursement amounts appropriately.

Watch for a call-out for Summer 2024 in the week of November 24, 2023.

Please note that all Canada Summer Jobs applications and positions will be processed as Non Work-Op appointments, according to Canada Summer Jobs and On-Campus Employment rules and deadlines. If this requires permission from your union, It will be your responsibility to obtain written permission before submitting your application information and attach it to your application information document.

Here are a copy of the 2023 Applicant Guide and Application Information Form booklet for planning purposes. The 2024 versions will be attached to the call-out email that should be sent out in late November and you will need to submit your application on the 2024 forms in case the questions have changed. 

September 1 to April 30: Fall/Spring Work-Op period (note change in dates)

• May 31: Call-Out email goes out
• June 12: Application deadline
• July 17: Approval emails sent out
• August 11: Postings go live on CareerVIU
• May 2/24: Final timesheet deadline

Late November: Canada Summer Jobs will open up applications for Summer 2024. The CSJ section above provides a link to last year's information so you can begin to plan your application.

December 22: all application information to be submitted to the Student Employment office

Watch for the call-out emails every Spring then follow the instructions to log into Experience Hub and post your job by the stated deadlines. You will also need to submit an Application Approval form by the same deadline and we will let you know within a few weeks if you were approved for any or all of the positions requested.

Starting in Summer 2023, the Work-Op dates will cover full months, rather than the previous formula (first day of a semester to the last day of final exams). This mean that the Summer Work-Op period will now always be May 1st to August 31st. The Fall/Spring Work-Op period will now be September 1st to April 30th.

Fall/Spring hours can be worked any time between the first day of September and the last day of April; Summer hours can only be used in the Summer.

Yes. You will receive notification of the number of hours you were approved for and these hours can be divided between your hired students as you like.

Yes, you can hire as many students as you like, as long as they meet the Eligibility Requirements. You will be reimbursed for the number of eligible hours worked between all students hired for a position.

No, they can definitely work more. Check your approval email to see how many hours that will be funded and consider using the Tracking Sheet above to monitor students' hours.

Yes, and we encourage it wherever possible.

Minimum wage is currently $16.75/hour. Reimbursement for hours worked is based on the minimum wage rate on the day of work. We also add 12% to the reimbursement to cover other employment costs, like vacation pay, etc.

Fall/Spring Work-Op period: after each semester ends plus an additional one before year-end.

Summer: one reimbursement after the semester ends.

Fall and Spring semesters: students need to be enrolled full-time at VIU, i.e. three 3-credit courses, or two Academic and Career Prep or ESL courses, but students with documented disabilities are eligible with only six credits.

Summer semester:  students need to be enrolled in one 3-credit course, or one ACP or ESL course.

International students: must meet all the eligibility requirements noted above but must also have a valid Study Permit or have an acknowledgement letter that indicates they have applied to renew their permit prior to its expiration date.

Students are not allowed to work in more than one Work-Op position, but they can also have a Non Work-Op position at the same time.

You need to create a posting as part of the application for funding, but there is a place on the posting form where you indicate whether you want the posting made visible to students. If you already have a student you want to hire you can just answer no to this question.

As of Fall 2021, all approved Work-Op positions have been added to the Co-Curricular Record Opportunity Directory. If you are in a Non Work-Op or Canada Summer Jobs position and are looking for your involvement to be recognized, please email CCR@viu.ca for more information.

As of Fall 2021, all approved Work-Op positions have been added to the Co-Curricular Record Opportunity Directory. If you have received approval for your Work-Op position, as a VIU Faculty/Staff you will now be considered as the position Validator. As a Validator, you will be responsible to approve the students' reflection based upon their selected VIU Graduate Attributes. The Co-Curricular Record team will be in touch with all Validator's with more information and details. Thank you!