Campus Student Employment

Student Appointment form

Send your completed Student Appointment Form to StudentEmployment@viu.ca before starting work. It must be completed and signed by you and your supervisor. This form can be completed on your first work day.

• We cannot process forms sent in without all the needed signatures and info. This includes Work Order numbers. This could result in delayed pay for you. 

This is the only form the Campus Employment office needs. Don't wait for Payroll documents to be ready before sending it.

Tax credit and direct deposit forms

Go to VIU Payroll to download

• TD1 Tax Form Federal - Canada Revenue Agency section
• TD1 Tax Forms BC
• Direct Deposit Instruction Form (under Miscellaneous forms).

International Students should include a copy of a valid Study Permit.

Please email them directly to Payroll - Payroll@viu.ca

or, drop off completed forms to the Payroll office in Building 300, Room 117.

Payroll cannot pay you until they receive these documents.

Timesheets

If you are paid hourly and submit timesheets, you enter them online in the Employee Portal. They are due each week on Thursdays by 3 pm. Sometimes the Payroll office may send out a change due to an upcoming holiday. View the timesheet schedule.

You will need your employee username and password for the Employee Portal. Do not use your student credentials.

Soon after you are hired, you will get an email with your employee username and new employee email address. It will go to the personal email address you submitted on the Student Appointment Form. Be sure to check that email and follow instructions or you won’t be able to submit your timesheets online. 

You must now monitor your employee email. VIU, your employer, will use it to send you information. This will include the IT and Payroll departments.  

Wage reimbursement

Work-op is a fund managed through the Student Employment office. It provides campus jobs to enrolled VIU students. Summer, fall and spring work-op applications will occur in March of each year. We approve applications based on rubric evaluations. We reimburse at minimum wage plus 12% for employer costs.

Students are allowed only one Work-op position per semester. Exceptions can be made in special circumstances. All exceptions to eligibility or to the number of positions must be approved by the Student Employment office.

Rate of pay and reimbursement

Work-op positions are reimbursed at current minimum wage, $17.85  per hour effective June 1, 2025, plus all statutory entitlements. Departments may supplement the base rate of pay with departmental funds. For example, if the approved position has higher demands or responsibilities or needs specific skills.  The department will pay for both the hourly top-up and employer's related costs from the increase (12% of hourly increase above base).

You can find the number of hours approved for your position in your approval email. You can spread these hours between the two semesters. You can also spread them between students at your discretion. You must do this within the allowed dates.

Supervisors responsibilities

Supervisors track hours. They ensure timesheets are sent to payroll each week. 

The Work-op program will not reimburse for timesheets submitted after the final timesheet deadline. If timesheets are submitted after the timesheet deadline or for hours worked outside the Work-op timelines, your department is responsible for these costs. 

Please use the tracking sheet located in the form section above.

Department or grant funded

Non Work-Op covers all other campus work for VIU students. It is paid from departmental work orders. Students must meet our eligibility requirements to qualify for student positions. They must be paid minimum wage or higher.

Research Assistant positions that are paid a bi-weekly salary or by submitting timesheets are Non Work-Op. These positions are processed through the Student Employment office.

Other research jobs, such as trainee awards or stipends are process through SCRA. Contact SRCA@viu.ca if you have questions.

Note: If a student’s course ends mid-semester, the student can work up until the last day of that semester.

Government funded

The Canada Summer Jobs program (CSJ) provides funding to help youth aged 15 to 30 get career-related work experience. A call for applications goes out every year. The Student Employment office submits an application for anyone interested in applying for funding. Once our office is notified of approval, we work with the applicants to set up the appointments. We make sure the details are in line with our funding agreement.  Then, we submit a claim form and distribute the reimbursements.

The VIU Student Employment office will apply for CSJ funding. The program is for student positions only. You cannot include faculty or staff positions in the application. This is true even if you plan to hire students. If you are not sure, please check with the applicable union before you apply. Cancelling positions because they don't follow the criteria hurts VIU’s reputation. It also hurts our ability to apply for this funding in the future.

Here is a copy of the 2024 Applicant Guide and Application Information Form booklet.

Application Timeline

• Call for Applications: March 2, 2026
• Application Deadline: March 20, 2026 by 11:59 p.m.
• Funding Decisions Released: April 3, 2026

Employment period

• Summer 2026 - May 11 to September 4, 2026
  • Postings open April 3, 2026
• Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 - September 28, 2026 to April 30, 2027
  • Postings open September 4, 2026

Student appointment forms must be submitted 10 business days before the student is eligible to start to align with institutional HR practices.

Information for Summer 2026 to come.

Minimum wage is $17.85 per hour, effective June 1, 2025. 

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.

Effective June 1, 2026, BC's minimum wage will increase from $17.85 per hour to $18.25.

After submitting the student appointment form to studentemployment@viu.ca, the Student Employment Office will submit the relevant information to HR for processing. The form must be completed and signed by the supervisor and student. Supervisors should plan for 10 business days from submitting the completed student appointment form to when the student begins working to allow for the process to be completed. We will send you and the student an email when it has been processed.

You will not receive anything from HR. New student employees will receive notification of your employee number, email address and Portal access when they have been created. Students who already have this access will not receive this notification. 

International students can work on campus according to the terms of their Study Permits, which generally allows them to work if they are enrolled in full-time classes or on a scheduled break between semesters. More information can be found here. 

Please ensure they have confirmed their eligibility before hiring and submit the Student Appointment form before they start work.

Watch for the call-out emails every Spring. 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. We will let you know within a few weeks if you were approved for any or all of the positions requested.

Supervisors need to create a posting for a funding application.

But there is a place on the posting form where it asks if you want it visible to students. If you already have a student you want to hire, answer no to this question.

Yes, and we encourage it wherever possible. Departments are responsible for the additional costs if paying above minimum wage.

Summer Work-op period is May 11 to September 4, 2026.

Fall and Spring Work-Op period is September 28, 2026 to April 30, 2027.

Fall and 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 hours can be worked any time between September 28 and the last day of April.

Summer hours can only be used in the summer, May 11 to September 4.

Fall and Spring semesters 

You must be enrolled full-time at VIU. For example, taking a three 3-credit courses, or two Academic and Career Prep or ESL courses. If you have a documented disability, you only need six credits.

Summer semester

You must be enrolled in one 3-credit course, or one ACP or ESL course in the summer or have completed 3 three-credit courses in the Spring and be registered to continue in the Fall.

International students

Per the terms of your Study Permit, you must be enrolled in full-time classes for the duration of the appointment or be on a scheduled break from your program. It is your responsibility to ensure you meet these terms and inform your supervisor and our office if changes to your enrolment make you ineligible.

No students can have more than one Work-op position in any semester. But, you can have a non Work-op position at the same time.

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 approved hours worked between all students hired for a position.

Yes. 120 hour work-op grants can be split between 2 students at 60 hours each. Opportunities cannot be split further.

Please email studentemployment@viu.ca if you have any questions or wish to adjust the hours.

Work-op grants fund 120 hour opportunities. Additional hours are paid for by the department.

The Co-Curricular Record Opportunity Directory adds all approved Work-op positions. They will automatically appear on your CCR.

For non Work-op or Canada Summer Jobs positions, contact CCR@viu.ca for information about adding these to your CCR.

If you have received approval for your Work-Op position, as a VIU faculty or staff, you will be the position Validator.

Validators approve the students' reflection. You will base approval on their selected VIU Graduate Attributes. The Co-Curricular Record team will be in touch with all Validators soon. The CCR team will provide more information and details. Thank you!