Employment Standards Information Session Presented by Alberta - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Information Session Presented by Alberta Labour Fall 2018

Employment Standards

For complete and accurate information please consult the Code, Regulations or

• ur Employment Standards Contact Centre.

Contact information and a list of resources will be provided at the end of the session. This presentation informs about Employment Standards legislation, regulations and the department's approach to complaint resolution and enforcement. The information provided is not a substitution for legal advice.

Presenting an Overview of Employment Standards

Agenda

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Minimum Standards & Entitlements
• 3. Administration & Enforcement
• 4. Questions & Parking Lot

3

• The Employment Standards Code provides the minimum standards of

employment for employers and employees in Alberta

• Agreements cannot be made for less than minimum standards
• Apply to most employees working in Alberta
• Some exemptions include:
• Federally-regulated industries
• Self-employed individual
• Contractors
• Employees covered by other Acts

What are Employment Standards?

4

5

Bill 17, the Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act, was enacted January 1st, 2018 The law relating to the relationship between employers and employees had not been updated in nearly 30 years

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Employment Standards Code Legislation Changes

• Minimum Wage
• Deductions
• Rest Periods
• Overtime
• Hours of Work Averaging Agreements & Flexible Averaging Agreements
• Job-Protected Leaves
• General Holiday Pay
• Farm & Ranch Employment
• Youth Employment Updates
• Exemptions & Variances
• Administration, Appeals, Enforcement

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Minimum Standards & Entitlements

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Wages Deductions Hours of Work Rest Periods

Wages

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• Wages are payment for work that has been done

– Wages exclude overtime pay, vacation pay, general holiday pay, termination pay, gifts, non-performance related bonuses (i.e. bonuses NOT based on hours of work, production, or efficiency), expense allowances, tips and other gratuities

• Minimum wage is $13.60 per hour
• As of October 1, 2018, minimum wage will be $15.00 per hour
• Employees are entitled to at least 3 hours at the minimum wage rate for

all shifts under 3 hours in length

• Employees that are “on call” or “standby” are not entitled to wages

unless they are required to perform work

Prohibited Deductions Allowable Deductions

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✓ Judgement ✓ Court Order ✓ Collective Agreement ✓ Personally authorized in writing by the Employee

– Social funds, benefit plans

✓ Meals & Lodging

– $4.41 for each lodging day – $3.35 for each meal consumed

× Faulty Workmanship

– Mistakes in production or accidental damage to an employer’s vehicle

× Loss of Property

– Breakage in a restaurant

× Cash Shortages

– Dine & Dash

× Uniforms

– Purchase, use, rental, cleaning

• r repair

• Employees need advance notice of their work times
• Hours of work performed by employees must be recorded
• Daily hours of work include paid breaks
• The work day cannot be longer than 12 hours
• Under some circumstances, a Director’s variance may be granted to extend

hours of work in a day past 12 hours

Hours of Work

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• Employees must receive at least 30 minutes of rest in each 5

consecutive hours of work

• If employers and employees agree, breaks may be taken in 15 minute

installments

• Employees must receive at least 1 rest day in each consecutive work

week

• Maximum of 24 consecutive work days

Rest Periods

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Consecutive Days of Rest Consecutive Work Weeks 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4

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Overtime Hours of Work Averaging Agreements Flexible Averaging Agreements

Overtime Calculations Overtime Entitlements

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✓ Most employees (including those with a monthly salary) are entitled to

• vertime pay for overtime hours

worked ✓ For most industries, overtime is calculated as the hours worked in excess of 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week, whichever value is greater ✓ If overtime is banked to be taken as time off with pay, those hours must be banked at a rate of 1.5 hours for each 1 overtime hour ✓ Overtime hours can be banked for up to 6 months ✓ Collective agreements may outline alternate banking periods

• 1. Calculate daily overtime hours

(any hours over 8 hours on each workday) 2 + 1 + 3 = 6

• 2. Calculate weekly overtime hours

(any hours over 44 hours in the week) 54 – 44 = 10

• 3. Choose the greater of the two values

10 is greater than 6 so the overtime payable is 10 overtime hours

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat Total

Hours worked

10 9 8 11 8 8 54

# of hours > 8

2 1 3 6

• Averaging Agreements between employees and employers extend the

hours an employee works in a day so that they can work fewer days in the work week

• Compressed work week arrangements may be replaced by Averaging

Agreements

• Compressed work weeks entered into prior to January 1, 2018 will

remain valid until the earliest:

• January 1, 2019
• Termination of the compressed work week arrangement
• The day a subsequent collective agreement is entered into if governed by one

Transitioning Compressed Work Weeks to Averaging Agreements

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• Provides predictability in scheduling
• HWAAs can be between:
• Individual – Between an individual and the employer
• Group HWAA – between a group of employees and the employer (with consent by majority support) OR it

may be part of a collective agreement

• If a group agreement applies, any new employees hired into the group are deemed to consent and bound

by the agreement

• HWAAs may be initiated at either party’s request
• Averages employee hours of work over 1-12 weeks to determine overtime

pay

• Scheduled daily and weekly hours of work cannot exceed:
• 12 hours per day OR
• An average of 44 hours per week

Hours of Work Averaging Agreements (HWAAs)

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Hours of Work Averaging Agreements (HWAAs)

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Scheduling Requirements:

• No more than 12 hours per day is scheduled and no more than an average of 44 hours per week is scheduled
• All work days and the number of hours to be worked on each of those work days are identified

Overtime:

• If employee is asked to work beyond scheduled hours daily overtime will apply (each shift is more than 8 hours)
• If employee is called in for extra shifts, averaging period overtime would apply for hours in excess of an average of

44 hours per week

Example: 4 days on and 2 days off in a 6 week averaging period

• Provides flexibility in scheduling for an employee
• Work schedule may be adjusted after agreement with minimal

restrictions

• FAAs are individual agreements only
• FAAs are for employees who work at least 35 hours per week
• FAAs are at the employee’s request
• Hours of work may be averaged up to a maximum of two weeks
• Daily overtime threshold is 10 hours per day

Note: FAAs may be entered into as part of a collective agreement, but these remain individual agreements

Flexible Averaging Agreements (FAAs)

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Flexible Time:

• Any time that exceeds the scheduled hours and is not considered overtime
• Each hour of flexible time can be taken as time off at the same rate it was earned (1:1) before

the end of the next averaging period Overtime:

• If the employee is asked to work longer daily hours, daily overtime is anything over 10 hours in

the day

• If the employee works additional hours, averaging period overtime applies if an average of 44

hours over the 2 week period is exceeded

Flexible Averaging Agreements (FAAs)

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Example: 2 week averaging period, 40 hour work week 10 hour daily overtime threshold

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Scheduled Hours Average/week

• ver the cycle

Week 1 10 10 10 10 8 48 Week 2 8 8 8 8 32 40

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Job-Protected Leaves

Job-Protected Leaves

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• Support employees in attending to personal and family matters
• These are unpaid leaves of absence
• Employees are eligible for the leaves after 90 days of employment
• Reservist Leave requires 26 weeks of employment
• Employees cannot be terminated or laid off for requesting or taking one
• Most leaves require employees to provide notice before commencing and

returning from a leave

• Some leaves require supporting documentation (e.g., medical

certificates)

Short-Term Leaves

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Type of Leave Amount of Time Available Bereavement leave 3 days per year Citizenship ceremony leave ½ day (one time only) Domestic violence leave 10 days per year Personal and family responsibility leave 5 days per year

• These leaves require as much notice as is reasonable and

practicable under the circumstances.

• None of these leaves require a medical certificate.

Long-Term Leaves

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Type of Leave Length of Notice Required Maximum amount

• f time available

Long-term illness and injury leave

• As soon as possible
• 1 week prior to returning

16 weeks Critical illness leave

• 2 weeks prior to leave or as soon as possible
• 1 week prior to returning
• 16 weeks to care for adult
• 36 weeks to care for child

Compassionate care leave

• 2 weeks prior to leave or as soon as possible
• 1 week prior to returning

27 weeks Maternity and parental leave

• 6 weeks prior to leave
• 4 weeks prior to returning
• 16 weeks for maternity
• 62 weeks for parental

Reservist leave

• 4 weeks prior to leave (if possible)
• 4 weeks prior to returning (if away for 4+

weeks) or as soon as possible (if away less than 4+ weeks)

• As much time as is required for deployment
• r for the operation or activity listed in the

regulation

• 20 days for annual training

Death or disappearance of a child

• As soon as possible
• 1 week prior to returning
• 52 weeks for disappearance
• 104 weeks if child has died

General Holidays Vacations

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• Alberta has 9 statutory

holidays

• Employees entitled to

General Holiday Pay when they start employment

• No distinction between

regular and irregular days of work

General Holidays & General Holiday Pay

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General Holiday Day that Holiday Occurs 2018 2019 New Year’s Day

• Jan. 1
• Jan. 1
• Jan. 1

Alberta Family Day 3rd Monday in Feb.

• Feb. 19
• Feb. 18

Good Friday Friday before Easter March 30 April 19 Victoria Day Monday before May 25 May 21 May 20 Canada Day July 1 (except if on a Sunday; then it is July 2) July 2 July 1 Labour Day 1st Monday in Sept.

• Sept. 3
• Sept. 2

Thanksgiving Day 2nd Monday in Oct.

• Oct. 8
• Oct. 14

Remembrance Day

• Nov. 11
• Nov. 11
• Nov. 11

Christmas Day

• Dec. 25
• Dec. 25
• Dec. 25

Average Daily Wage =

5% of (Wages + Vacation Pay + General Holiday Pay) earned in the 28 days prior to the general holiday

General Holidays & General Holiday Pay

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Employee Not Working Employee Working

The Employee is entitled to at least their Average Daily Wage The Employer has to pay:

• Average Daily Wage plus 1.5

times employee’s wage for all hours worked OR

• Regular wages (and overtime if

applicable), plus provide a future day off with payment of average daily wage for the General Holiday

• An employee is paid $18 hourly at a store that they have worked at for 3 months.
• In the 28 days prior to Remembrance Day (November 11th), they worked 140 hours
• They worked 6 hours on Remembrance Day

What general holiday pay should the employee receive (assuming 1.5x wages)?

Calculating General Holiday Pay

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Average Daily Wage Calculation Details Total Wages Hours worked in 28 days x hourly wage 140 x $18 = $2520 Vacation Pay 4% of Wages $100.80 General Holiday Pay No General Holidays October 13 to Nov 10 $0 Average Daily Wage 5% (Wages + Vacation Pay + General Holiday Pay) 5% (2520+ 100.80 + 0) = $131.04 General Holiday Pay Calculation Details Total Wages Hours worked on general holiday x (1.5x hourly wage) 6 hours x (1.5 x $18) = $162 Average Daily Wage 5% of (Wages + Vacation Pay + General Holiday Pay) $131.04 Total General Holiday Pay Compensation Wages Earned + Average Daily Wage $293.04

Step 1 Step 2

• Vacation time and pay are both

required

• Vacation pay is calculated on

wages

• Vacation time accrued is based on

length of employment

Vacation Entitlements

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Length of Employment Number of weeks’ annual vacation % of wages Less than 1 year Not entitled unless stated in contract 4% of wages 1-4 years 2 weeks 4% of yearly wages 5 years or more 3 weeks 6% of yearly wages

• Vacation time must be given within

12 months of becoming entitled to it

• Upon termination of employment,

employees cannot be required to use vacation time during their notice period

• Outstanding vacation entitlements

need to be paid out at termination

Vacation Entitlements

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Termination Group Termination Temporary Lay Offs

Termination of Employment

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• Notice is required to terminate the employment

relationship (both the employee and the employer)

• Notice periods are based on length of employment
• Employees can be provided with notice, wages in

lieu of notice, or a combination of both

• Certain situations do not require notice, some of

which include:

• employed for 90 days or less
• seasonally-based work
• term position being less than 12 months
• just cause situations

Length of Employment Notice Period

More than 90 days, but less than two years 1 week Two years or more, but less than four years 2 weeks Four years or more, but less than six years 4 week Six years or more, but less than eight years 5 weeks Eight years or more, but less than 10 years 6 weeks 10 years or more 8 weeks

• A valid group termination notice:

✓ Is in writing and provided to all affected employees ✓ Specifies the number of employees whose employment will be terminated ✓ States the effective date

• The amount of written notice to be provided to affected employees and their unions

is based on the number of employees being terminated: 8 weeks: 50 or more employees but less than 100 12 weeks: 100 or more employees but less than 300 16 weeks: 300 or more employees

• The Minister of Labour must be also provided written notice when an Employer

intends to terminate the employment of 50 or more employees at a single location within a 4-week period

Group Termination Notice

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• Employers may choose to temporarily layoff employees when they don’t wish to

terminate an employment relationship

• This can occur for a maximum time of 60 days within a 120 day period
• The 60 days can be extended if the employer provides wages or benefits and

employee agrees

• If the employee does not return to work by the 61st day, then the employer is

required to provide termination pay

Temporary Layoff

• A valid lay off notice:

✓ Is in writing ✓ States that it is a temporary layoff notice and its effective date ✓ Includes applicable sections of the Code Note: Collective Agreements may have other requirements for temporary layoffs.

Industries in the Regulation

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The Regulation outlines various exemptions and alternate rules for some industries

Employment Standards Regulation

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Exemptions Industries/Categories

• Hours of Work
• Overtime
• Records
• General Holiday

Pay

• Vacation Pay
• Termination Pay
• Minimum Wage
• Domestic Employment
• Ambulance Attendants
• Miscellaneous Services
• Construction
• Irrigation
• Nursery
• Oilwell Servicing
• Taxi Cab
• Trucking
• Caregivers
• Fire Fighting
• Farm & Ranch
• Youth

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Rules for Farms & Ranches

Farms and Ranches are involved in the production of:

Eggs Fruit Milk Vegetables Grain Honey Seeds Livestock

What is not considered a farm or ranch?

Mushroom farming Nurseries Greenhouses Sod Farms

Entitlements Exemptions ✓ Minimum Wage ✓ 4 days off within 28 days ✓ General Holiday Pay

• f 4.2% of wages in

the 28 days prior to the Stat ✓ Termination Pay ✓ Job-Protected Leaves ✓ Vacation Pay × Overtime × Breaks during shifts × Rules around daily and weekly hours

• f work and rest

✓ Rules apply to waged, non-family employees, including seasonal and year-round staff × Rules do not apply to

• wners and their family

members

Youth Employment

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• The Director of Employment Standards may impose conditions on the

employment of youth

• Employment is not likely to be injurious to the life, health, education or

welfare of the youth

• Changes have been proposed to youth employment laws, but are not

in effect

• Proposed changes would vary the age limits for youth employment

and alter the types of work permitted for each age group

Youth Employment Standards

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• Youth age 12 to 14 are only allowed to

work:

✓ 2 hours on school days (outside of school hours) ✓ Up to 8 hours on non-school days ✓ As a delivery person ✓ As a clerk or messenger in an office or retail store ✓ In approved occupations by the Director of Employment Standards

✓ Restaurant and Food Services Industry (in continuous presence of adult employee)

× Youth aged 12 to 14 cannot work from 9pm to 6am

Youth Employment Standards - Current

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• Youth aged 15 to 17 may work in all

industries

• If working in retail:
• 9pm to midnight requires adult presence

× Cannot work between midnight and 6am – There are no hours of work restrictions on school days; however, the life, health and education of the youth should not be negatively affected

Youth Employment Standards - Current

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Permits and Variances

Permits and Variances

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Permits Director’s Variances or Exemption Minister’s Variance

• r Exemption
• Now only for youth

employment

• A permit application

may be submitted to the Director of Employment Standards and certain criteria must be met and outlined in the application

• Most permits are now called variances
• Overtime banking extension permits are no longer

issued

• Permits issued prior to January 1, 2018 will continue

to be valid until the earlier of:

• January 1, 2019
• date of expiry stated on the permit
• Variances will only be considered to:
• Extend hours of work in a day
• Extend days of work without rest
• 3-hour pay minimum
• Extend weeks in an Hours of Work Averaging

Agreement

• Only available to

employer associations or groups

• May be used to alter

any standard(s)

• Issued for a

maximum of 2 years

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Administration & Enforcement

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Overview of Our Programs

Proactive Initiatives

Education & Outreach Proactive Inspections

Responding to Albertans

Complaint Resolution Anonymous Tips

Special Investigations & Inspections

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Enforcement Philosophy

• Employment Standards educates employers and employees about their

rights and responsibilities

• Employees and employers are encouraged to work together to find fair

and equitable resolutions

• Voluntary resolution
• Self-resolving: achieved when agreement is reached between the parties
• Can occur at any point during the complaint process, even if a complaint

is under investigation

• Mediation
• May be used by an officer to reach a fair settlement or compromise on

terms agreed to by the parties without requiring further investigation of the complaint

• as

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Investigations, Inspections and Enforcement

• Investigations occur when voluntary resolution or mediation is unsuccessful
• Inspections occur when systemic non-compliance is suspected
• Formal investigation and inspections include the examination of evidence

and documentation which, if requested, must be provided by the employer

Order of Officer

Details Non-Compliance Calculates Earnings Owed

Decision of Officer

No Entitlements Owed

Direction of Officer

Instructions for compliance

Administrative Penalties Prosecution Enforcement Actions

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Advanced Enforcement

• Administrative Penalties
• May be issued for failing to

comply with an enforcement action or authorizing instrument

• May be issued in a progressive

manner for each repeat contravention

• Minimum penalty amounts are

based on 1st, 2nd or 3rd contravention or the 1st or 2nd repetition of a failure to comply within 3 years

Level Related Legislation 1st Contravention 2nd Contravention

• r 1st

Repetition 3rd Contravention

• r 2nd

Repetition

1 Records Work Hours Overtime Breaks $500.00 $1000.00 $2000.00 2 Protected Leaves Youth employment $1000.00 $2000.00 $4000.00 3 Variances Assistance to Officers Failure to Pay Earnings $1500.00 $3000.00 $6000.00

• Prosecution
• Chronic non-compliance may result prosecution under the Code

Questions?

For More Information

PUBLICATIONS

• Posters
• Brochures/guides
• Tool kit for employers
• Sample email/newsletter/e-blast

WEBINARS & RECORDINGS

• Overview of changes
• Farm and ranch
• General holidays and vacations
• Averaging agreements
• Hours of work and pay
• Rules for the construction industry

INTERACTIVE VIDEOS

• Farm and ranch
• General holidays and general holiday pay
• Vacations and vacation pay
• Hours of work, overtime and rest

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EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS WEBSITE www.alberta.ca/EmploymentStandards EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS CONTACT CENTRE:

• 780-427-3731
• 1-877-427-3731

CONNECT WITH US Ask a question online form Employment Standards anonymous tip Employment Standards complaint SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOLS

• Termination and temporary layoff
• Vacations and vacation pay
• Payment of earnings
• General holidays