Election Day is fast approaching! On Monday, May 29 th , 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:
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.

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