
Employee Handbook
Hours of Work, Overtime, Holidays and Vacations
HOURS OF WORK
Regular hours will vary based on position and employment type; full-time, part-time, hourly or salary. Specific hours of work is specified during the interview process but may change during the duration of employment, position change and advancement.
Full-time salaried employees are required to work 40 hours per week. Employees may also be expected to work other hours as may be requested or required from time to time in order to meet the needs and objectives of the Business. When more than 44 hours per week are accumulated, adjustments will be made to allow time off to be taken in lieu.
All salaried employees are expected to work (8) hours per day, including an unpaid 30-minute lunch break. The Business reserves the right to alter the regular work week and regular work hours at any time, although we will provide as much advance notice as possible.
Where applicable under the ESA, the employee is required to take a 30-minute unpaid rest period after five (5) consecutive hours of work. The precise scheduling of rest periods will be determined by management and are subject to the needs of the Business.
COMPETITION AND SPECIAL EVENT HOURS
Individuals within the Business may be required to work addittional hours when competitions or special events are involved as part of their role, expertise and obligations. Additional time may be required to prepare for the event and recover the facility for operations to the general public. Additional time will be mutally agreed up and time in lieu will be taken following the event to compensate for the overage in weekly hours. Overtime pay is not provided for competitions or special events unless pre-approved by the General Manager or Owner(s) of the Business.
OVERTIME
General
Unless ineligible under the ESA, hourly employees may be entitled to overtime pay for working a certain number of hours in a week, as set out in the ESA. Furthermore, unless an employee’s contract of employment states otherwise, overtime pay will be paid at one and a half (1.5) times an employee’s regular rate of pay.
Employees must always receive prior written approval from their manager before working overtime. Employees who work overtime without the approval of management will be subject to discipline. Abuse of the overtime policy is considered serious misconduct and will result in discipline up to and including dismissal.
Managers & Supervisors
Managers and supervisors do not qualify for overtime. Even if they perform other kinds of tasks that are not managerial or supervisory, they do not get overtime pay if these tasks are performed only on an irregular or exceptional basis.
Travel To and From Work
Travelling to and from work does not qualify as work time.
“Banking” Overtime
If both an employee and the Business agree in writing, an employee may receive paid time off instead of overtime pay. This is called “banked” time or “time off in lieu”.
Time off in lieu is earned at the rate of one and a half (1.5) hours of paid time off work for each hour of overtime worked.
Paid time off must be taken within three (3) months of the end of the work week in which it was earned or, with the employee’s agreement, within twelve (12) months of that work week. However, any banked time must be taken on a date mutually agreed upon in advance by the Business and the employee.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
The Business adheres to the public holiday provisions of the ESA, as amended from time to time, and will administer this policy in accordance with the requirements of the Act. Eligible employees are entitled to the following 9 public holidays stated in the
ESA with pay:
New Year’s Day
Family Day
Good Friday
Victoria Day
Canada Day
Labour Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
In addition, employees will be given the Civic holiday in August as a paid holiday. The business reserves the right to close its office from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day. This policy will be reviewed annually and will depend on operational requirements. These non-statutory days off will have no impact on an employee’s vacation or lieu time. Holiday Pay Employees who qualify for public holiday pay under the ESA will receive holiday pay calculated in accordance with the Act.
If an employee agrees to work on a holiday in accordance with the Act, they shall be compensated in accordance with the Act. In any event, this policy shall always be applied in accordance with the ESA and under no circumstances will an employee receive less than their full entitlement under the ESA, as amended from time to time.
VACATION
Vacation Time
All employees are required to take their vacation time in the calendar year in which the vacation time is earned.
Each employee’s vacation entitlement, and the method for determining that entitlement, will be specifically set out in the employee’s contract of employment. If not, it will be determined in accordance with the ESA.
You will not be permitted to carry vacation time over to a subsequent year unless you obtain approval in writing from management. However, at no time will you receive less than your vacation entitlements under the ESA.
Scheduling Vacations
All vacation requests must be made by submitting to management a completed Form A (Vacation Request Form), which can be found in the Appendix hereto. All requests for vacation must be submitted for approval at least 30 days before the start of the proposed vacation period.
All vacations must be approved by management in advance. While the Business will make every effort to accommodate employee vacation requests, the timing of an employee’s vacation is ultimately subject to management’s discretion and the needs of the business.
Furthermore, the Business reserves the right to withdraw approval for a vacation should business circumstances require it. However, should that occur, we will make reasonable efforts to minimize any inconvenience or hardship to the employee.