Canadian Payroll Reporter

3 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News CPR | January 2018 New workplace rules in Alberta, Ontario Both provinces implemented wide-ranging employment standards changes Jan. 1 BY SHEILA BRAWN A NEW YEAR is bringing new employment standards require- ments to Alberta and Ontario. On Jan. 1, governments in both provinces implemented wide- ranging changes. In Alberta, the changes are the first overhaul of the Employment Standards Code since 1988. "That's nearly three decades with no major changes, just some minor tweaking every now and then," said Labour Minister Christina Gray. "Not only have Alberta's workplace laws lagged behind the times; they've lagged behind the rest of Canada as well." In Ontario, the amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 came in response to a government-appointed in- dependent review of the prov- ince's workplace laws to make them more relevant to today's workplace. "The world of work has changed. The economy has changed. Globalization and oth- er pressures have been brought to bear on the Ontario econo- my and those workplaces that existed in the mid-1990s have changed. But the rules haven't," said Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn. The amendments in both provinces affect nearly all as- pects of employment stan- dards, including hours of work, overtime, holidays, vacations, unpaid leaves, deductions, and terminations. To help employers ensure that their workplace policies comply the new requirements, here is a look at some of the main changes in both provinces: Hours of work and overtime What has changed: In Alberta, employees who have agree- ments with their employer to take time off in lieu of overtime pay now earn 1.5 hours of time off for every hour of overtime they work. Previously, it was one hour for one hour. Employees may also now bank the time for up to six months. Averaging agreements have replaced compressed work- weeks in Alberta for determin- ing an employee's entitlement to overtime. The agreements allow employers to average work hours over a period of one to 12 weeks to determine overtime entitle- ment if the majority of employ- ees affected by the change agree. Existing compressed work- week arrangements remain valid until next January or until the agreement is terminated, which- ever comes first. In Ontario, new overtime pay rules apply to employees who hold more than one position with their employer. If these em- ployees work overtime, they are now entitled to be paid at the overtime pay rate that applies to the position for which they are working overtime. What has not: In Alberta, em- ployees continue to be entitled to overtime pay if they work more than eight hours a day or 44 hours per week, whichever is greater. In Ontario, overtime still applies after 44 hours. The over- time pay rate in both provinces remains 1.5 times the employee's regular rate. Statutory holidays What has changed: Employees in Alberta are no longer required to work for their employer for at least 30 days in the 12 months before a general holiday in or- der to be eligible for holiday pay. Now, all employees covered by the code's holiday provisions are paid for holidays unless they do not work on the holiday when scheduled or required to do so or are absent from work without the employer's consent on their regularly scheduled working day immediately before or after the holiday. In both jurisdictions, there are new rules for calculating holiday pay. In Alberta, an employee's average daily wage for holiday pay calculations is now five per cent of the wages, vacation pay and general holiday pay that the employee earned in the four weeks right before the holiday. In Ontario, public holiday pay is now based on the total amount of regular wages that an employ- ee earns in the pay period right before the holiday, divided by the number of days the employee worked during that period. Alberta has also implement- ed changes affecting pay for working on a holiday and com- pensating employees for holi- days if their employment ends before they take a substituted holiday or one that fell during their vacation. The Ontario amendments also require employers to give employees a written statement when they substitute another day for a statutory holiday. What has not: The statutory holidays recognized in each ju- risdiction remain the same. Vacations What has changed: In Ontario, employees with at least five years of service with their em- ployer are now entitled to at least see OVERHAUL page 8 Credit: 2009fotofriends (Shutterstock) The Alberta legislature overhauled provincial employment standards for the first time in nearly 30 years.

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