Alberta overhauls rules for workplace

The Alberta government is planning to make sweeping changes to its employment standards law next year that will affect payroll administration in the province.

In June, the province’s legislative assembly passed Bill 17, the Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act. The bill amends many sections in the Employment Standards Code and introduces a number of new unpaid leaves. It also make broad changes to the province’s Labour Relations Code, which covers unionization and collective agreements.

With the exception of changes affecting youth employment, the employment standards amendments will come into force Jan. 1, 2018.

“The rules that govern our workplaces haven’t been updated since 1988,” Labour Minister Christina Gray said when she tabled the bill. “That’s nearly three decades with no major changes, just some minor tweaking every now and then. Think about how much our workplaces and our world have changed over the past 30 years. Not only have Alberta’s workplace laws lagged behind the times; they’ve lagged behind the rest of Canada as well.”

Currently, Alberta only has job-protected leaves for maternity, parental, compassionate care and Canadian Forces reservist leave. The amendments will add the following leaves to the code, some of which are common in other parts of Canada:

•16-week illness/injury leave

•five days of leave for personal and family responsibilities

•three-day bereavement leave

•52-week leave for parents whose child has disappeared as a result of a crime

•104-week leave for parents whose child has died as a result of a crime

•36-week leave for parents whose child is critically ill

•10-day domestic violence leave

•half-day of leave to attend a citizenship ceremony to receive a citizenship certificate.

In addition, the employment period to be eligible for all of the code’s unpaid leaves will decrease from 52 weeks to 90 days.

The bill will also make changes to compassionate care leave, including increasing the maximum leave from eight weeks to 27 weeks. It will also allow employees to take the leave in multiple weekly instalments, rather than a maximum of two periods, as is now the case.

The maximum length of maternity leave will also increase, rising from 15 weeks to 16 weeks.  While the amendments do not change the length of parental leave (37 weeks), Gray said the government may increase it in the future to align it with proposed EI changes affecting parental benefits.

Other changes that will affect payroll include the following:

•Employees will be able to save time in an overtime bank at a rate of 1.5 hours for each hour of overtime worked, up from one hour banked for one hour worked. Employees will also be able to bank the time for up to six months instead of three months.

•Employers will have to provide employees with at least a 30-minute break for every five consecutive hours of work instead of a 30-minute break for shifts that are more than five consecutive hours. Employees could take the breaks in two 15-minute periods if employees and employers agree.

•Compressed work weeks will be replaced by averaging agreements that will allow employers and employees to agree to average an employee’s hours of work for one to 12 weeks to determine if the employee is eligible for overtime pay.

•Employees will no longer have to work for their employer for at least 30 days before a holiday to qualify for general holiday pay. All employees will be eligible for paid holidays unless they do not work on the holiday when required or scheduled to do so or they are absent without the employer’s consent on their last regular workday before or first scheduled work day after the holiday.

•Pay for a general holiday will be calculated using an employee’s average daily wage, which will be five per cent of an employee’s wages, vacation pay and general holiday pay earned in the four weeks before a holiday.

•A distinction between regular and non-regular work days for calculating pay for working on a holiday will be eliminated. Instead, if employees work on a holiday, employers will have to pay them either their average daily wage plus 1.5 times their regular wage rate for the hours worked or pay their regular rate for the hours worked plus provide them with another day off with holiday pay.

•Employees will be allowed to take their vacation in periods as short as a half-day.

•The code will clarify the type of deductions employers may lawfully take from employees’ wages and will explicitly prohibit deductions for faulty work and cash shortages.

•Employers will be prohibited from requiring employees to use banked overtime or vacation during a termination notice period, unless both sides agree to it.

•The amount of termination notice employers will have to give for a group termination, where 50 or more employees are let go from a single location in a four-week period, will increase from four weeks and will depend on the number of employees being terminated. For 50 to 100 employees, eight weeks’ notice will be required. For 101 to 300 employees, 12 weeks’ notice would be needed, rising to 16 weeks for more than 300 workers.

•Termination pay rules for an individual termination will also apply to groups.

•Temporary layoffs will be limited to 60 days within a 120-day period, although employers could extend the period if the employees agree and it pays them wages and/or benefits.

The amendments will also change the rules for employing workers younger than 18 years of age, including increasing the minimum age for work from 12 to 13. Work for children under 13 will be restricted to “artistic endeavours” that the employment standards director approves.

In addition to artistic work, the amendments will allow children aged 13 to 15 to do “light” work. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds could do any type of work, except for “hazardous” work unless the director issues a permit for it, a responsible adult supervises the work, the employees are adequately trained and their health, safety and well-being are protected.

“Alberta’s workplace rules do not align with our international labour obligations, such as the International Labour Organization’s convention 138 on youth employment, which Canada has agreed to ratify and which comes into effect in just a short while,” said Gray. “The hours youth work and the duties they’re permitted to perform will be restricted.”

The government has not yet announced an in-force date for the amendments affecting youth employment.

“My department will consult with stakeholders to develop lists of light work and hazardous work, and these sections to do with youth work will be proclaimed once that work is completed,” she said.

Reaction to the amendments has been mixed.

Labour groups have generally applauded the changes, with the Alberta Federation of Labour saying they “will bring Alberta’s workplace legislation in to the 21st century and bring us another step closer to the Canadian mainstream.”

Opposition politicians say they generally favour the employment standards changes. Their criticisms have mostly centred on amendments to the Labour Relations Code, which they say will hurt businesses by tipping the balance in favour of unions.

Organizations have expressed concerns with some of the measures, including the change that will allow employees to bank overtime at a rate of time-and-a-half instead of straight time.

“Using banked overtime is currently a win-win, allowing employers to save on costs and employees to get more time off work,” said Janet Riopel, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.

“In this fragile economic climate, this change will likely result in employers cutting back on overtime, so employees will lose out,” she said.

Gray disagreed, saying change to banked overtime is “something that other Canadians have had for quite some time.”

“Albertans need modern, balanced workplace legislation that protects the rights of hardworking Albertans and helps businesses to stay competitive.”