Ahead of election day on 21 October 2019, employers may be wondering what their obligations are towards their employees. Below is an overview of the applicable rules.
The Canada Elections Act(1) provides that every employee who is an elector is entitled to three consecutive hours off work to vote.(2) To qualify as an elector the employee must, on polling day, be a Canadian citizen who is 18 years of age or older.(3) The act states that employers must not, by intimidation, undue influence or by any other means, attempt to interfere with the granting of this time off.(4)
Three consecutive hours at employers' convenience
If an employee's work schedule allows for three consecutive hours to vote, the employer need not give the employee any additional time off.
However, if an employee's work schedule does not allow for three consecutive hours to vote, the employer must allow the employee to take the necessary time off work, with pay, to ensure that they have three consecutive hours off work to vote. This time off work is "at the employer's convenience". For example, employees could be released at the beginning, during or end of their working day.
Voting hours are summarised in the chart below. For instance, in Quebec and Ontario polling stations are open from 9:30am until 9:30pm. If an employee works from 10:00am until 7:00pm with a 30-minute lunch break, the employer must allow the employee to leave at 6:30pm to satisfy its legal obligations. The employer must pay the employee for the 30 minutes of time off as though the employee had remained at work.
In theory, the act does not prevent an employer from changing an employee's schedule, subject to the specific provisions of the employee's employment contract or a collective agreement. For instance, if a Quebec or Ontario employee works from 10:30am to 7:30pm but is asked by their employer to start and finish an hour earlier, from 9:30am to 6:30pm, the employer need not compensate the employee, as they will have had three consecutive hours to vote before 9:30pm, as set out in the act.
|
Time zone |
Voting times (local) |
|
Newfoundland |
8:30am to 8:30pm |
|
Atlantic |
8:30am to 8:30pm |
|
Eastern |
9:30am to 9:30pm |
|
Central |
8:30am to 8:30pm |
|
Mountain |
7:30am to 7:30pm |
|
Pacific |
7:00am to 7:00pm |
An employee can waive their right to time off work to vote. If the employee waives this right, they can stay at work. However, the employer may have to prove that the waiver was made voluntarily and was not the result of the employer's interference with the employee's right to time off work.
Exception – transport companies
The act sets out that the obligations described above do not apply to transport companies and their employees operating a means of transport outside their polling division if the time off to vote cannot be allowed without interfering with the transport service.(5) In such a case, the employer need not grant the employee time off to vote.
Employers cannot withhold pay because an employee has taken time off work to vote.(6) Improper withholding occurs if an employee is paid less than the amount they would have earned on that day had they not taken the time off to vote.
Both withholding pay and interfering with an employee's right to three hours of time off to vote constitute an offence under the act. Such an offence is punishable by a fine of up to C$2,000, imprisonment for up to three years or both.(7) Further, using intimidation, undue influence or any other means to prevent eligible employees from having three consecutive hours to vote is an offence punishable by a fine of up to C$50,000, imprisonment for up to five years or both.(8)
Endnotes
(7) Ibid, Sections 489(1) and 500(1).
(8) Ibid, Sections 489(3) and 500(5).
This article was first published by the International Law Office, a premium online legal update service for major companies and law firms worldwide. Register for a free subscription.
