Your Obligations as an Employer with the Federal Election on Sep 20th

September 19, 2021, by HR à la carte | Work Environment and Policies

Not sure of what is expected of you as an employer on Election Day?  Here's what you need to know to plan for your employees to vote on Monday, September 20, 2021.

According to the Canada Election Act each employee is entitled to 3 consecutive hours to vote.  The polls will be open on Monday, September 20th and voting hours are varied depending on the time zone.  For example, polling stations will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Eastern time zone, but from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for those in the Mountain time zone.

If your employee has 3 consecutive hours available to him either before or after his work shift, there is no obligation on your part to provide the time off.  However, if your employee’s shift is such that she does not have a 3 hour window for voting during the 12 hour voting period, you are obligated to provide her with a 3 hour paid leave in order to vote.  You cannot have your employee use vacation, sick time or lieu time to cover the time off.  Your employee must request the time off to vote, and you must grant the request, however at a time that is most convenient for the business.

However, the above does not apply to employees of companies that transport goods or people by land, air or water who are employed outside their polling division if the additional time interferes with that transportation service. 

Are you ready for the election?  It may be worthwhile sending out an email announcement in advance to your employees letting them know how your business will be handling it based on your employees’ work schedules.

Ready, Get Set, Vote!