Are Employees Entitled to Time Off Work to Vote in the Federal Election? Pt. I |Malcolm MacKillop

MALCOLM MACKILLOP

Are Your Employees Entitled to Time Off Work to Vote in the Upcoming Federal Election?

Part I

With Canada’s federal election only three weeks away, employers should confirm whether any employees will need time off work to vote on election day. Whether an employee is entitled to time off work to vote will depend on the employee’s hours of work and the voting hours in the time zone in which the employee resides.

Employees Must Have Three Consecutive Hours Outside of Work to Vote The Canada Elections Act (the “Act�) governs federal elections and requires employers to give employees who are qualified to vote (i.e. Canadian citizens who are at least 18 years old) time off work to vote on election day.

Per the Act, employees who are qualified to vote must have three consecutive hours to vote on election day.

However, that requirement does not give every employee the right to take three hours off work on election day.

Rather, employees are only entitled to the minimum amount of time off work required to ensure they have at least three consecutive hours outside of work to vote.

Some employees may not be entitled to any time off work to vote because their work schedule already provides them with three consecutive hours outside of work to vote. Others might be entitled to as little as a half an hour or as much as three hours of time off work to vote.

An employee’s entitlement to time off work to vote will depend on how their hours of work coincide with the voting hours in the relevant location. The voting hours are determined by time zone and outlined on the next slide.

Voting Hours for Each Time Zone

*Please note that the voting hours may vary in Saskatchewan when daylight saving time is in effect for the rest of Canada. Please refer to Elections Canada for more information.

Check for Part 2 soon!

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