This workshop covers the minimum standards of employment in Alberta – in other words, the rules that employers must adhere to under Alberta legislation. Employers can choose to offer workers more than these standards if they would like, but never less. Employment Standards 101 looks at the ins-and-outs of employment rules in the province and provides workers with information to advocate for themselves, file complaints against their employers if necessary, and where to seek help.
Disclaimer: This workshop is for informational purposes only. The information provided is current as of June 24, 2025. Always check with Alberta Employment Standards to get the most up-to-date information about employment rules in Alberta.
With Canada facing so many critical challenges, April 28 may be one of our country’s most important federal elections. If you’ve already had the chance to cast your vote in the advance polls, you’re among 7.3 million other Canadians who set a new record for advance voter turnout. For workers who have opted to wait until election day to vote—it’s your right to do so—we’ve got a run-down of everything you need to know so you can cast your ballot and ensure that your voice is heard.
Workers are entitled to 3 consecutive hours for voting
Let’s say you’ve been scheduled to work from 9 AM to 5 PM. This means that before work you only have 1.5 hours to vote, and after work, you only have 2.5 hours to vote, which is not enough time.
In this case, your employer must provide you with time off work to vote. That might look like coming in to work late at 10:30 AM, or leaving early at 4:30 PM, depending on what your employer decides will work best. Workers do not get to decide when they get take time off to vote during the day—this decision is up to the employer.
If your work hours prevent you from having three consecutive hours to vote, it’s a good idea to discuss this with your employer before election day to ensure that you are both on the same page.
Pay deductions, penalizing employees and prohibiting employees from voting is not permitted
If you need to take time off from work to allow for three consecutive hours to vote, your boss is not permitted to deduct your pay. Employers are required to pay you the same amount that you would have made during your scheduled hours.
Employers are not permitted to penalize workers in other ways (for example, suspension or termination) if they take time off work to allow for three consecutive hours to exercise their right to vote.
Finally, employers are not permitted to attempt to stop their workers from voting in elections by using their influence, through intimidation, or any other means.
There is an exception to the rules around taking time off to vote for workers in the transportation industry. Employers in the transportation industry do not have an obligation to provide their workers with 3 consecutive hours to vote if the following four conditions are met, as outlined by Elections Canada:
the employer is a company that transports goods or passengers by land, air or water;
the employee is employed outside of his or her polling division;
the employee is employed in the operation of a means of transportation; and
the time off cannot be allowed without interfering with the transportation service.
What can workers do if their employer doesn’t respect their voting rights?
If your employer refused to allow you time off to allow for 3 consecutive voting hours on election day, or if your employer penalised you or deducted your pay for taking time off work to vote, it can be helpful to keep a record of what happened. This might look like paystubs, emails or text message records to or from your employer, or writing down a summary of a discussion with your employer after it occurred.
On the first question of the complaint form, select: “To report a potential contravention” as the reason for contacting the Commissioner for Canada Elections.
For the second question, select “Time off work to vote” as the subject of your question or complaint.
To complete the form, fill in all other required information and provide a detailed description of how your employer prevented you from having 3 consecutive hours to vote, how they penalised you, or how they deducted pay for voting.
Did you know? Election day falls on April 28, the National Day of Mourning for workers who lost their lives at work, were injured or became ill because of their job. Learn more about the National Day of Mourning by visiting the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
From the 3-hour minimum rule to vacation entitlements for part-time employees (yes, you read that right!) how well do you know your rights rights at work? The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta has put together this article with 10 commonly overlooked rights for Alberta workers.
We are lucky to have laws in Alberta that protect us at work. There are many different laws but the big ones are:
Unfortunately, many people don’t realize the protections they have under the law. Here are some of the rights you might not know you have.
1. Your boss has to pay you for at least 3 hours of work – even if you were sent home early because there was not enough work to do.
If you worked for less than three hours, your employer must pay you at least minimum wage for three of hours of work (unless an exception applies – see below). A meal break of one hour or less is not part of the 3 consecutive hours of work. For example, if you work from 6pm to 9:30pm and take a one hour dinner break from 7pm to 8pm, your employer has to pay you for 3 hours even though you only worked for 2.5 hours.
If you worked for three hours or more, your employer must pay you for what you worked.
In some jobs, if you work less than 2 hours, your employer only has to pay for 2 hours of work. Those jobs are:
part-time employees in recreational or athletic programs run by a city, town, Métis settlement or a not-for-profit community service organization;
school bus drivers;
students 13, 14, or 15 years of age employed when the student is required to attend school.
2. You have the right to (and should) refuse any work that is unsafe.
Yes! It is your right to refuse work that is a threat to you or your co-workers’ safety and is beyond what is normal for your job. The Occupational Health and Safety Act protects you from getting in trouble from your boss if you refuse unsafe work.
3. Your boss can’t take money from your pay cheque for broken items or shortages at the cash register.
Your boss is never allowed to deduct from your wages for broken items, faulty workmanship or shortages in the cash register (if anyone else had access to it). But… these rules do not apply to your tips.
For example, if you dropped a glass at work, your boss cannot take money from your wages to buy a new one. Your boss could, however, take money from your tips that evening to cover the cost of the glass.
