Time Off For Employees To Vote - October 19, 2015

A federal election will be held Monday, October 19, 2015. Pursuant to the sectoral collective agreements between CSSEA and the Community Social Services Bargaining Association and the Canada Elections Act, employees are entitled to a minimum number of hours off without loss of pay during voting hours.

Key points

• Time off is without loss of pay.
• Time off is to be granted at the convenience of the employer.
• Employers need only provide sufficient time off to make up the minimum block of time during the period that polls are open.

Voting hours

Polls are open for voting as follows:
• Mountain time zone 7:30 am – 7:30 pm
• Pacific time zone 7:00 am – 7:00 pm

Employees subject to the collective agreements

According to Article 20.5 (Elections) in the collective agreements:

Any employee eligible to vote in a federal, provincial, municipal, First Nation or other Aboriginal election or a referendum shall have four consecutive clear hours during the hours in which the polls are open in which to cast her ballot.

Employers are not obligated to grant each employee four hours off work to vote where unnecessary. Rather, employers must provide sufficient time away from work to make up a four hour block of time during the period that the polls are open.

For example, if an employee in the Pacific time zone is scheduled to work from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm, the employee could:

a) Start work at 11:00 am, thus having the four (4) consecutive hours from 7:00 am to 11:00 am in which to vote; or

b) Finish work at 3:00 pm, thus having the four consecutive hours from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm in which to vote.

An employee who requires time off to vote is not permitted to choose the best time to leave work; they must take the time off at the convenience of the employer.

Other employees are subject to the Canada Elections Act

Employees not covered by the collective agreements are subject to the Canada Elections Act which entitles them to up to three consecutive hours free from work during the hours polls are open to cast their vote on the day of the federal election. The principles outlined above for employees covered by the collective agreements are applicable here; only the minimum number of hours is different.

If you have any questions, please contact your HRLR consultant.