Employer Obligations on Alberta Election Day May 29, 2023

Election Day is fast approaching! On Monday, May 29th, Albertans go to the polls.

The Election Act in Alberta requires employers in Alberta to provide employees with time off to vote, as follows:

• Electors should have three consecutive, non-work hours to vote during one of the days of advance voting or on Election Day.
• If an elector’s work schedule does not provide for the three consecutive hours, the employer must provide extra time off. The employer retains the right as to when to give the employee time off, whether on any of the days of advance voting or on Election Day.
• When the extra hours are provided by the employer, the time given must be paid, and no penalty should be imposed on the employee for taking time off.
• The extra time off is for voting only.

Electors may also vote by Special Ballot.

NOTE: Electors that have already voted are not eligible for extra time off on an advance voting day or on Election Day.

Examples

1. An elector works all 5 days of advance voting and must work between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm on Election Day. As the employee has three consecutive hours between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm to vote, the employer does not need to provide extra time off for voting.
2. An elector works all 5 days of advance voting and on Election Day between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. The employee does not have three consecutive non-work hours for voting on any voting day. The employer could provide either two hours off in the morning (9:00 am to noon) or one hour in the evening (5:00 pm to 8:00 pm) on any of the voting days. In this example, the employer retains the right as to when to give the employee time off.

NOTE: The employer may determine what impacts their operation the least.
As such, employers start looking at your schedules now and find out who needs to leave your workplace on Monday, May 29th to vote. And get out and vote!!

If you have any questions on your rights and obligations related to Election Day, please email me at knutz@west-legal.ca or kim@sunstonelegal.com