Should Alberta Change Its Employment Standards Rules?
Official title: Employment standards engagement
Why This Matters
Work in Alberta? These rules affect your paycheque. How much vacation you get, when you're paid for holidays, how layoffs work—it all matters. Young workers and their parents should note the youth employment changes too.
What Could Change
Bill 32 passed in July 2020. It changed rules around averaging agreements for hours of work, rest periods between shifts, and temporary layoff notices. Employers now have more flexibility in scheduling, while some worker protections were adjusted.
Key Issues
- How much vacation time should employees receive?
- How should general holiday pay be calculated?
- What rules should govern youth employment?
- How should hours of work averaging agreements function?
- What notice should be required for temporary layoffs?
How to Participate
- This consultation is now closed. Review the what we heard report to see how Albertans responded.
- Learn about the resulting legislation: Bill 32: the Restoring Balance in Alberta's Workplaces Act.
What Happened
Over 5,400 Albertans responded to the online survey in November 2019. Feedback covered vacation time, holiday pay, youth employment rules, hours of work averaging, group terminations, layoff notices, termination pay, administrative penalties, earnings statements, and variances to employment standards. The input guided Bill 32, which was introduced on July 7, 2020.