Upcoming Federal Election
The upcoming Federal Election is on Monday, September 20, 2021. Voting hours are from 9:30am to 9:30pm.
3 Consecutive Hours Free from Work
You are reminded that, pursuant to the Canada Elections Act, all employees who are eligible to vote are entitled to have 3 consecutive hours free from work during voting hours for the purpose of voting.
If an employee’s scheduled hours of work on Monday September 20, 2021, do not allow for 3 consecutive hours free from work between 9:30am and 9:30pm, the employee may ask his or her supervisor to grant time off from scheduled hours for voting as may be necessary to provide 3 consecutive hours. The supervisor must grant such a request and, to the extent possible, may grant the request at the time of day most operationally convenient.
No Loss of Pay
If it is necessary to provide time off from scheduled hours for voting, there can be no deduction from the pay the employee would have received had she worked the scheduled hours and not taken the time off.
Example 1: The employee is scheduled to work from 10:00am to 6:00pm. In this example, the employee has 3 consecutive hours free from work during voting hours for the purpose of voting – specifically, 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Therefore, the supervisor is not obligated to grant a request from the employee for time off from scheduled hours or a change to her scheduled hours. [NOTE: a supervisor may still have an obligation to consider a “flex time” request in accordance with an applicable collective agreement.]
Example 2: The employee is scheduled to work from 11:30am to 7:30pm. In this example, the employee only has 2 consecutive hours free from work during voting hours for the purpose of voting – specifically, 9:30am to 11:30am or 7:30pm to 9:30pm. The supervisor must grant a request from the employee for time off from scheduled hours so that the employee has 3 consecutive hours free from work during voting hours, for the purpose of voting. Subject to operational requirements, the supervisor could grant the request such that the employee works:
- 11:30am to 6:30pm; or
- 12:30pm to 7:30pm; or
- 11:30am to 1:00pm and 4:00pm to 7:30pm; or
- Any other arrangement agreeable to the employee that results in 3 consecutive hours free from work between 9:30am and 9:30pm.
If you have any questions, please contact your HR Advisor at (905) 525-9140 ext. 22247 or email: hr.mcmaster@mcmaster.ca
Payroll Administration, Things to Know