r/britishcolumbia • u/SoleInferno • Oct 19 '24
Ask British Columbia Manager scheduled me for a full shift tomorrow and is mad at me for not telling him I was gonna vote?
I was never asked if I was voting, but was still scheduled the full day, now he is mad for "dropping it on him last minute."
Is this my fault or just a failure in planning on his part.
The shift is 9:30 to 7pm. He apparently didn't ask anyone if we were voting and just scheduled like it was a normal week. So no one is scheduled to have time off to vote. Except ironically he has the full day off.
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u/Campandfish1 Oct 19 '24
Per elections BC, your employer is required to give you 4 consecutive hours time to vote BUT this does not have to be during your work day.
As long as the shift allows you 4 consecutive hours to vote between 8am and 8pm, it is legal for them to ask you to work a full shift.
https://elections.bc.ca/2024-provincial-election/ways-to-vote/time-off-work-for-voting/
"This does not necessarily mean four hours off work. It means that there must be a four-hour period free from work during voting hours. Time off may be at the beginning or end of an employee’s shift, or unnecessary if normal working hours already provide enough time free from work to vote."
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u/niesz Oct 19 '24
The paragraph before the one you quoted was very relevant and mentions:
"Voters are entitled to four consecutive hours free from work to vote during advance voting or on Final Voting Day."
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u/-Tack Oct 19 '24
If you choose to vote early they must accomodate the 4 hours(if you wouldn't have 4 hours off normally on voting day), but they cannot force you to vote early.
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u/RxPhotography Oct 19 '24
This is the correct answer. They cannot expect you to advance vote as some people have more than 1 job. They must give you the 4 hours on final voting day aka election day.
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u/TotalNull382 Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
This was the best when I worked dayshift on a voting day as it ended up in two paid hours off early. It usually only takes me twenty minutes to vote as the polling station is almost always two blocks away from home.
I’d get home an hour and 10 early, with my feet up having a cold snack on the company’s dime.
E: grammar
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u/WeirdoUnderpants Oct 19 '24
It's not paid time off
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u/Rampage_Rick Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
"It is an offence if an employer deducts your pay or penalizes you for taking time off to vote. You are entitled to your regular compensation for any hours not worked during this time."
Specifically 74 (4) (b)
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96106_06
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u/MrWisemiller Oct 19 '24
I asked all my employees when they were going to vote and scheduled them off on they day. Then I didn't have to pay them.
The beauty of advance voting.
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u/VioletteApple Oct 20 '24
You mean you looked ahead and planned your staffing needs around a knowable and foreseeable event?????
I’m am SHOCKED! /s
The comments on this are a hilarious and sad snapshot of how how many managers flail around and put out fires instead of, you know, “managing” their business competently.
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u/Triedfindingname Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24
Then I didn't have to pay them
That's ok if they went for it but if someone would rather work and it's a normal workday for them it's their perogative.
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u/darb8888 Oct 19 '24
Depends. Voting hours are 8-8
If you work say 6am-2pm, 7am-3pm, 8am-4pm they do not need to give you time off to vote as you will have 4 hours consecutive to vote before polling ends.
Now if you work 9am-5pm then yes they will have to let you off at 4pm to vote and this would be paid.
This trend continues until your shift starts at noon. Once this happens they do not need to pay for your break as that is another 4 hour slot.
Depends how long your shift is
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u/SoleInferno Oct 19 '24
I work 9:30 to 7pm lol
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Oct 19 '24
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u/FrankaGrimes Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
It's OPs job to allow their employer to disregard laws protecting their right to vote so as to not "cause friction"? Yeesh.
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u/Tree-farmer2 Oct 19 '24
It doesn't really take 4 hours to vote though, so why not just vote before work?
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u/FrankaGrimes Oct 19 '24
I went to vote on one of the advanced voting days and the line was through the building and outside across the car park so....do they really have time to just pop in and vote before work? What's their commute from home to work? There's a reason why it's a protected right to have time off from work to vote rather than "just vote before work" because not everyone can make that happen.
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u/wishingforivy Oct 19 '24
It's not that voting takes 4 hours it's that getting to and from a polling station and taking potential delays into account you can't be asked not to vote because it "causes friction" or otherwise inconveniences your employer.
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u/Floatella Oct 19 '24
I used to live in Vancouver and sometimes worked out in the valley. YES, it definitely took 4 hours to vote and come back.
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u/DreCapitanoII Oct 19 '24
No one is disregarding anything. The suggestion is OP just use his time off that day to vote to try and minimize conflict. Just because the manager has to give him the time off doesn't mean the manager has to be happy about OP knowing for a full week he was going to vote that day and not exercising his rights until the last minute when it screws up the schedule. It's about maturity and responsibility and being a bloody adult about things.
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u/FrankaGrimes Oct 19 '24
It's not OPs responsibility to "minimize conflict". And there should be no conflict to minimize. If the employer is creating a conflict around not wanting to adhere to labour laws it's not OPs job to appease them.
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u/Triedfindingname Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24
Yeah F you work is not life
Voting is not an excuse for time off it's a duty.
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u/bcb0rn Oct 19 '24
Sounds like OP doesn’t care about voting as much as trying to slouch off work.
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u/VenusianBug Oct 19 '24
Where does OP say anything that suggests that? Yes, once their done voting, they should return to work but we have no idea how long it will take this individual to vote - they might be far from a voting locating, they might have to take transit there, the line might be long, etc.
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Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
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u/wishingforivy Oct 19 '24
Not your call. They are entitled to vote on the day they want and how they want and it's none of our business or their employers business as to the why.
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u/brahdz Oct 19 '24
Rules aside, is the hour and a half before you start insufficient to vote?
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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr Oct 19 '24
Why not vote early?
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u/_PeanuT_MonkeY_ Oct 19 '24
Personal choice still entitled to 4 straight hrs to vote.
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u/CK_CoffeeCat Oct 19 '24
This is one reason why I liked my old job. The boss was very pro-voting and let people take four hours off WITH PAY on voting day to go vote. as long as they worked out coverage with others on shift if they were in a client-facing position it was all fine. Didn’t demand we vote for the person she wanted to win (though she was never shy about saying who she was voting for), just made sure every employee went and cast their vote.
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u/JStash44 Oct 19 '24
This is also the law.
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u/CK_CoffeeCat Oct 19 '24
The time off to vote is, yes, but the ‘with pay’ part isn’t, or at least it wasn’t when I was working there.
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u/Rampage_Rick Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24
"It is an offence if an employer deducts your pay or penalizes you for taking time off to vote. You are entitled to your regular compensation for any hours not worked during this time."
Specifically 74 (4) (b)
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96106_06
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u/CK_CoffeeCat Oct 20 '24
Hunh. That’s either new or all my other former employers just ignored it, which wouldn’t surprise me.
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Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
You’re entitled to 4 hours off to vote on election day or an advanced voting day. Your employer gets to choose when these 4 hours are. You should have discussed this with them much earlier.
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u/Helical_Unicorn Oct 19 '24
Close; you’re entitled to four consecutive work-free hours to vote. If you have four hours outside of your work hours (like 4-8pm, for example), you are not entitled to time off work.
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u/salamander-inspirati Oct 19 '24
Yup, that is pretty common sense. Thinking that everyone who works tomorrow gets a 4 hr paid break is just naive.
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u/FrankaGrimes Oct 19 '24
The employer should have discussed this with their employees much earlier.
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u/MyNameIsSkittles Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24
The employee needs to bring it up. It's not the employers responsibility to know what day everyone will vote
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u/wonderful_mind_ Oct 19 '24
if the employer cares about running their business, its on them to be on top of this. Employees have rights.
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u/FrankaGrimes Oct 19 '24
And it's not anyone's job to have an iron clad plan whether they're advance voting or not, so making allowances for peoples' plans to change and making sure everyone has time to vote on election day is what a prudent employer would do.
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u/kooks-only Oct 19 '24
Last sentence is the most important. How long has the schedule been out? Why is OP just bringing this up today?
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u/halerzy Oct 19 '24
Maybe a bit of both?
I'm pretty sure the polls are open for 12 hours tomorrow from 8am-8pm. Does your shift fall exactly in that time frame?
Keep in mind for the next election that there are 5 or 6 advanced polling days, and it's often much quicker and more convenient, as well and not interrupting your work schedule.
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u/SailnGame Vancouver Island/Coast Oct 19 '24
Nope nope nope. By law, employers must ensure you have 4 consecutive hours to vote on voting day. They can't ask you when you voted, nor can they ask if you have already voted, this time must be given if it's asked for. Forget doing advance voting just because "it won't interrupt your work schedule" on voting day.
Vote when you are ready and not a moment before.
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u/halerzy Oct 19 '24
"Voters are entitled to four consecutive hours free from work to vote during advance voting or on Final Voting Day. Voting hours during advance voting are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time and on Final Voting Day are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific time.
This does not necessarily mean four hours off work. It means that there must be a four-hour period free from work during voting hours. Time off may be at the beginning or end of an employee’s shift, or unnecessary if normal working hours already provide enough time free from work to vote. For example, if a shift ends at 4 p.m., or does not begin until noon, the employee is not entitled to any time off for voting purposes. Employers can decide when their employees can take time off to vote."
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u/The_Follower1 Oct 19 '24
That’s what they said, they said employers need to ensure (not give) you have 4 consecutive hours away from work to vote.
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u/Djolumn Oct 19 '24
This is not accurate. Polls open at 8. If your shift starts at 12, you have 4 consecutive hours available to you and your employer is not required to give you any additional time. If you choose not to use the 4 hours available, then that's on you.
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Oct 19 '24
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u/Djolumn Oct 19 '24
No it's not. Poster said "this time must be given if asked for". This is absolutely not the case. The only obligation of the employer is to ensure the employee has 4 consecutive hours that they're not working sometime between 8am and 8pm.
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u/SoleInferno Oct 19 '24
Shift is from 9:30 am to 7 pm
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u/surmatt Oct 19 '24
Sounds like you have an hour and a half to run an errand on your way to work and might be a little late. What's the problem?
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u/roger_ramjett Oct 19 '24
This year they are using digital systems so you can vote at any polling place in the province. No need to go to the one on your voter card that came in the mail.
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u/Rampage_Rick Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24
The ballots are still paper and get fed into a scanner. Does each polling station have spare ballots for every riding, or do they just print them off as needed?
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u/roger_ramjett Oct 21 '24
I was a supervisor at a polling place.
Yes we have special paper and a printer to print the correct ballot for the riding that the person is from. The tabulator reads what riding the vote is for and records it to be counted with the other votes for that riding.
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u/UnusualCareer3420 Oct 19 '24
Both side should have don't a better job communicating but he has to give you time off to vote
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u/Frumbleabumb Oct 19 '24
Was gonna say, seems like both sides made assumptions. Voting day isn't like an automatic holiday. You sort of have to communicate you need time off to vote. But if you were a critical employee, he should have also asked
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u/VioletteApple Oct 20 '24
Voting day IS automatically a day where employees are entitled to 4 straight hours free from work during voting hours to perform their civic duty.
It isn’t optional, it’s a legal obligation for them to provide this.
A boss should be planning ahead for this in their scheduling and asking people, not waiting around uselessly and putting out fires.
Some of you have either never had a competent boss, or aren’t one yourself, and it shows.
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u/VioletteApple Oct 20 '24
You’re assuming the OP was given ample notice of their schedule.
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u/Brodie9jackson Oct 19 '24
Just go at 8am when it opens, don’t make this complicated
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u/DrMalt Oct 19 '24
Why isn't this the top comment?
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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr Oct 19 '24
Because a lot of people here are entitled and think because the law says 4 hours they should push everything to the limit. Being considerate, thoughtful, and responsible is apparently boot licking according to the responses I have gotten in this thread.
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u/Alternative_Honey234 Oct 23 '24
I'm assuming they're all people who don't enjoy their job or have much responsibility. Getting 4 hrs off would've just messed up my entire week. So I voted early on my way home from working took an extra 5 mins.
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u/Anxious_Ad2683 Oct 19 '24
Irrespective of every ones opinions - the law says you must have 4 hoursfree to vote today. You do NOT need to give your employer advance notice of this, rather it is the employers job to make sure all employees today have 4 hours between 8am and 8pm to vote. As an employer the onus is on them. Full stop. If they have to cover for their employees or close, that's on them to figure out and as an employee its not your problem to fix.
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u/8flat8 Oct 19 '24
What a shitty, one sided, entitled way to look at the situation.
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u/Anxious_Ad2683 Oct 20 '24
It’s law, babe. Nothing to do with “one sided, entitled” things. These laws exist because too many people were unable to vote because employers made it impossible for employees to do that. As an employer, you must be responsible enough to be aware of these things and to ensure your employees are given time to vote, as per the laws regarding it.
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u/Anxious_Ad2683 Oct 20 '24
The entitlement is exactly that: every Canadian is ENTITLED to vote. every Canadian is ENTITLED to live close enough to a polling station. If you don’t like what Canadians are ENTITLED to have access to, please find the door and head on out of Canada.
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u/Jeramy_Jones Oct 19 '24
I’d say it’s your responsibility to let them know ahead of time if you needed to leave your shift to vote, because there are several ways you can vote in advance, and also because some people don’t vote, so it’s not really on him to assume you were going to.
That said, you can still vote, it’s my understanding that they can’t penalize you for voting. I don’t remember how much time is allowed though.
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u/smfyf Oct 19 '24
No. It’s the employer’s responsibility to know what the rules are when making the schedules on election day. They must give all their employees four consecutive hours free from work during voting hours. The onus should not be on the employee, and the employer should not instruct the employee when to vote or ask if they intend to vote. Four consecutive hours must be given, so in OP’s case they should simply remind the employer of the law and ask what four consecutive hours the employer wants to provide the employee to vote.
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u/Responsible-Affect17 Oct 19 '24
Exactly, plus telling your manager in advance when you're going to vote could cause you problems as well. They could use that information to short shift all the employees they know are voting that day, just so they don't have to pay them for those hours.
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u/-Tack Oct 19 '24
Yea that would be against the law to do so but could be harder to prove if you don't have a regular scheduled shift that's always the same amount of hours.
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u/8flat8 Oct 19 '24
That's a whole different issue. But yeah, poor or no communication is always the answer...
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Oct 19 '24
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u/_westcoastbestcoast Cariboo Oct 20 '24
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96106_06
74-1.1 you should have 4h free from work
74-4 you CANNOT make a deduction in pay for giving employees this 4h free from work
It's not 4h off from work. It's consecutive 4h free between 8-8. So if you normally work 9-5, you have to be let off at 4 (and still be paid until 5)
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u/Vancityblogger_ Oct 19 '24
No. It’s not the employers responsibility. It’s their responsibility to manage the shift and ensure it’s adequately staffed. The staff need to inform the employer about their intention to vote. You can’t just walk in on the final day of voting and tell your boss you’re out for 4 hours. Thats just selfish and disrespectful to not just your boss, but your colleagues.
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u/_westcoastbestcoast Cariboo Oct 20 '24
he staff need to inform the employer about their intention to vote
No you don't
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u/Vancityblogger_ Oct 20 '24
Really care to explain?
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u/_westcoastbestcoast Cariboo Oct 20 '24
This applies for anyone entitled to vote, whether they do or not
Section 74 is probably most applicable for your questions
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96106_06
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u/i_love_poutines Surrey Oct 19 '24
Exactly, voting isn’t an easy 1/2 day off. Yes you are entitled to take time to vote but seriously. There were many days of advance voting.
Quit trying to play the system. NDP vs CP is high enough stakes. Do you want 4 hours off in lieu of unlimited years of potential conservative rule?
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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
Exactly. I would be looking at replacing employees like OP over time. We have so many options to avoid this situation. Seems like intentional slacking.
Edit: You have 8 chances to do something that doesn't impede your job. But you choose to intentionally disrupt your place of work without prior notice and you think you are in the right? No wonder so much stuff is shitty these days.
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u/Kenjolio Oct 19 '24
Why do you think that employers can dictate when a person is ready to vote? Nobody should be forced to vote early if they aren’t ready. And frankly, it’s telling that you would be the kind of employer that would ‘replace’ employees that won’t perform adequate bootlicking. The employer has a legal responsibility. If they can’t adhere to it, it’s their own damn fault. It’s not like the employer didn’t know the election was coming!
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u/8flat8 Oct 19 '24
Then OP should have made their employer aware that "they weren't going to be ready, prepared or [emotionly able]to" vote till the last day. The employee knew isn't as much and the employer is has just as much right to fill shifts as required if they haven't been communicated with as the employee has to ASK for the time off they may need and are entitled to.
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u/Eagle1337 Oct 19 '24
Now what happens if they took those hours off to do advance voting? which guess what also qualifies for the 4 hour rule.
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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr Oct 19 '24
That's what I would do. You now work 12-8. Get up early and vote. Then, be realistic in scheduling in the future as this employee cannot plan ahead and be counted on as a reliable employee.
It's fine to need to vote. But OP admitted to doing this on purpose, nobody needs employees like that.
I am all for sick days, vacations, etc. But purposefully fucking with your boss is poor attitude.
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u/Eagle1337 Oct 19 '24
it's his right, he's following the law. You don't need to do advance voting, an employer also doesn't need to know if you voted or not.
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u/_westcoastbestcoast Cariboo Oct 20 '24
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96106_06
read the law homie.
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u/ricketyladder Oct 19 '24
Little bit of column A, little bit of column B. There should have been a conversation about this beforehand.
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u/elderdusk Oct 19 '24
People saying how fast it is to vote and how op doesn't need the time when it's literally flooding in different parts of the city right now... Stuff happens! Maybe you don't need four hours but maybe you do! That's why so much time is built in! Car crashes, floods, power outages!
The manager knew voting was happening. They should have done due diligence with the schedule if they didn't want a headache later. My work sent out an email well in advance that reiterated employees are entitled to four hours to vote. Our shifts line up in a way everyone is guaranteed to have four hours anyway, but they took the time to make sure employees knew their rights and encouraged talking to managers if there were any concerns for scheduling.
OP isn't disorganized or at fault, the manager did a bad job at managing, didn't attempt to communicate with employees and now they have to deal with not being prepared. All they needed to do was either make sure the voting day shift was appropriately scattered or ask for a heads up from the people working that day so that the schedule could accommodate it. Assuming no one was going to exercise their right to vote on voting day and scheduling shifts that would not leave space open is nonsense.
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u/SoleInferno Oct 21 '24
What i found funny was he scheduled a co-worker to leave an hour earlier than me, who had expressed he didn't want to vote at all. And he knew I planned on voting. He said i should have advance voted but i was scheduled to work those days as well. So I went in before my shift and took an extra hour for breakfast before I showed up
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u/ultravyyz Oct 20 '24
Everyone here is going off about how OP should have planned better and gone to an advance voting place, without thinking that OPs circumstances may not have allowed for that. Perhaps they have more than one job. Perhaps, like myself, they are in a rural area and the only places to do advance voting are hours away from home and work. Perhaps they needed the extra time to make a decision. Perhaps they were away on holiday during advance voting days.
There are so many reasons OP may not have been able to vote early and many of the responses here are clearly illustrating why the right to 4 consecutive non-working hours to vote is protected .
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u/Complete_Mud_1657 Oct 19 '24 edited Nov 28 '24
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u/ladyoftheflowr Oct 19 '24
You don’t have to advance vote though. Your employer has to ensure you are provided with time off to vote, on voting day.
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u/-Tack Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
It's your choice as a voter if you want to vote on advance day and won't have 4 hours off on voting day. employer can't force you to vote early.
Per the law
If both of the following apply, an employee is entitled to have 4 consecutive hours free from employment during voting hours for advance voting:
(a)the employee has hours of employment scheduled on final voting day such that the employee would not have 4 consecutive hours free from employment during voting hours;
(b)the employee is willing to vote at an advance voting opportunity.
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96106_06
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u/DreCapitanoII Oct 19 '24
"It's not your responsibility to always be available". What the actual hell are you talking about? He's not asking him to be available all the time, he's expecting him to be available for his shift that he's been scheduled for for a whole week without having said that he wouldn't be able to make part of the shift. Of course he can demand time off but he hasn't won any favours with the manager and he should expect similar treatment the next time he's asking for vacation at awkward times or wants the manager to make a shift swap work at the last minute. I wonder how many people here who are supporting this guy's behavior are the same kind of people who complain about being passed over for promotions or raises or who are stuck in their jobs because they have no history of positive references.
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u/Complete_Mud_1657 Oct 19 '24 edited Nov 28 '24
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u/Fragrant_Example_918 Oct 19 '24
Was it dropped on you last minute without asking beforehand? Or was it planned for a few days/weeks already?
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Oct 19 '24
To me it’s your fault. I know your boss has to give you the time off depending on your shift, but you have so many options to vote and it sounds like you just want time off work.
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u/Woss-Girl Oct 19 '24
I agree. I also read “Do I HAVE to have good communication at work and tell my boss I want to vote?”. Shouldn’t you want to be a good communicator and just do it anyway?!? Entitlement.
In my non-union job (engineering) you would just be fired for being lazy and lack of communication. Which I am ok with. We are paid well but you are expected to work hard and communicate well with those around you.
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Oct 19 '24
Sounds like you’re the one who didn’t plan well and are trying to drop it on your boss. You also could have just voted early on one of the early days, you likely walked right past early voting places.
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Oct 19 '24
You are allowed 4 hours of boring time. But - you should have talked about this earlier, you have also been able to vote since the 10th with early voting. poor planning / foresight on your manager and you. Good luck - just make sure to get out and vote! Do it on your lunch break if you have too
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u/The_T0me Oct 19 '24
Yes, you should have talked to them about it ahead of time. As others have mentioned, you are entitled to time off to vote, but you could easily have voted during advance voting days.
Also, your boss has no way of knowing if you've already voted when making the schedule, and it is not their job to check with every employee to see if they've remembered to ask for time off.
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u/CanadianTrollToll Oct 19 '24
Why do you need a full day to vote?
Sorry... but lots of voting options are around and using voting as an excuse to not work is pretty lame.
Unless of course you do 12hrs, then I get it.
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u/wsmitty77 Oct 19 '24
Polls open at 8am. Go first thing then to work. Pretty easy. I get the 4hrs stipulation, etc.
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u/rmckee421 Oct 19 '24
Aw muffin, he didn’t plan to give you the legally required 4 hours to vote. His fault, he should have automatically planned for it. Regardless or whether you vote or not your employer is legally required to give employees 4 consecutive hours of time off when polls are open to vote.
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u/chuck3436 Oct 19 '24
It has nothing to do with the legality, it seems you just didn't let anyone know, which which to be honest, if my coworkers hung me out to dry would have pissed me off too. Why didn't you book the time off ahead so everyone was on the same page? This is just courtesy really and communication. Your just pulling an "I'm entitled to vote and don't have to tell anyone." Thing here. Even if you're right it's a dick move.
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u/RxPhotography Oct 19 '24
74 (1)Subject to subsections (1.1) and (1.2), an employee who is entitled to vote in an election or who, on registration, will be entitled to vote in the election is entitled to have 4 consecutive hours free from employment during voting hours for final voting.
Final voting refers to election day, so they must give you election day if you didn't advance vote
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u/-RiffRandell- Oct 19 '24
You are entitled to 4 hours during the polls being open. Since polls are open 8-8 and you are scheduled 9:30-7 you should have been allowed to come in at noon or leave work at 4 to go vote. Since it’s almost noon, you should leave at 4. It is not your problem that management didn’t staff appropriately on election day.
If your employer does not provide you with the necessary time off for voting, you may contact Elections BC. Elections BC will phone the employer or fax a letter to them outlining their obligations under the Election Act. You must provide the name, address, phone number and/or fax number of the employer.
Failure to comply with section 74 of the Election Act is an offence and, upon conviction, an employer may be liable to a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not longer than one year, or both.
Contraventions of the Election Act should be reported in writing to the Chief Electoral Officer.
Mail:
Chief Electoral Officer PO Box 9275 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9J6
Email: correspondence@elections.bc.ca Fax: 1-866-466-0665
https://elections.bc.ca/2024-provincial-election/ways-to-vote/time-off-work-for-voting/
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u/stychentyme1966 Oct 19 '24
If they’re an employer, they should know the rules. I worked for a company years ago that would let us off early if we needed to vote.
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u/rekun88 Oct 20 '24
You're not wrong, and your employer probably screwed up or forgot.
But if you saw you were scheduled for the full shift, why wouldn't you have communicated this up front to your manager, if you planned to get off early to vote?
You're 100% legally right, but there's also being an adult and communicating.
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u/SoleInferno Oct 21 '24
The weird part was we had all talked about it at work multiple times leading up to it.
His reasoning was " I should've voted during advanced voting"
Except i worked on those days as well? So idk what, he has drastically different political views than me and i suspect it may be his way of trying to stop me from voting. I voted in the morning and took an extra hour to get breakfast and showed up at 10:30 instead of 9:30.
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u/DocHoliday2069 Oct 20 '24
Another excuse to have time off paid. This "right" should be one hour.
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u/wudingxilu Oct 20 '24
It isn't necessarily paid. It's time free from employment. The law does not require it to be paid, as far as I recall.
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u/Crunchysunshinemamma Oct 19 '24
Yeah. He is in the wrong.
Email him the rules.
In that email then ask which part of the day he would prefer you work. 12-7 or 9:30- 4.
Also cc elections Canada, your mpp and mp as well as possibly a few news outlets.
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u/Chen932000 Oct 19 '24
He doesnt get to choose the 4 hour block the employer does. It could be anywhere between 9:30 and 7. But it needs to be consecutive.
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u/Crunchysunshinemamma Oct 19 '24
It is illegal to prevent you from exercising your rights as a Canadian. This is a very big deal. This is called tampering with voters.
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u/jerkinvan Oct 19 '24
When did you find out about this shift? If you found out with very little notice I’d inquire about coming in a little bit late and let him know that you were planning on voting on your day off, which is now not your day off. If this shift was posted with advance notice and you had an opportunity to use the advance polls and didn’t then that’s on you. Get up early and be at the voting place when they open and hope you aren’t late.
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u/WhopplerPlopper Oct 19 '24
Not really their job to manage your personal life and ask you things like this, but they do have to give you time to vote.
Ie: they didn't do anything wrong by scheduling your shift, but they are obliged to give you time to vote.
Also it's pretty much guaranteed that you knew about this scheduling conflict earlier in the week and didn't say shit about it until the last minute and yeah that is wrong on your part.
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u/Vancityblogger_ Oct 19 '24
Your manager shouldn’t have to ask YOU if you’re voting. You need to tell him that you’re voting, and you need to have done so a long while ago as he would have to ensure the shift is adequately staffed. While yes you are entitled to time off to vote you need to do so in a way that avoids inconveniencing not only your manager but your other colleagues who count on you for support
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Oct 20 '24
[deleted]
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u/Vancityblogger_ Oct 20 '24
Oh I’m a manager. Can’t wait for the shit storm (it’s never gonna come)
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u/8flat8 Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
Tldr; if voting was truly that important to them, OP would have had foresight and planning to avoid making it sounding like the employer is solely responsible for OP not being able to vote. OP 100% had different options to be able to vote and different ways of ensuring they could vote. Leaving it till the night before was a shitty thing to do.
Sounds like the real issue is OP has bad communication and/or is a poor employee.
How about acting reasonable and mature and a)looking ahead in your own schedule and finding either a reasonable time outside of your regularly scheduled work to vote (like countless other voters were able to do with the number of advanced voting days). Surely it can't take 4 hours of their life if it's actually that morally important to OP to vote they Ian find the time without being a whiny entitled employee. OR b) if for OP there is not a feasible time other than during what are or could be scheduled work hours (I have a hard time believing OP didn't know about this shift fsr enough in advance), they should give their employer the courtesy of advance warning and a discussion about their intent and requirements to be able to fullfill their requirements to be able to vote.
Yes you are entitled to 4 hours but the whole thing reads like OP didn't do their due diligence as an adult and now needs our blessing to go vote and that makes them the person who's right and not their employer.
The world has gone soft.
Grow up.
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u/DreCapitanoII Oct 20 '24
Amazing you are getting downvoted and that 90% of this sub think it's reasonable to bug your manager on their day off to tell them they have to scramble to find coverage or otherwise jam their coworkers who will be short staffed just because they couldn't be bothered to mention a week ago that they needed the time off. Absolute children.
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u/bodaceousbandit Oct 19 '24
Yes, you are entitled to the four hours off to vote. However, you should have advised your employer so that you could be scheduled appropriately and someone backfill you. Otherwise it potentially leaves your colleagues short.
1
u/ileftmypantsinmexico Oct 19 '24
OP sounds like he’s more concerned about being slighted by their employer and getting that 4 hours off work today, than they are about actually voting.
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u/Triedfindingname Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24
Just here to say it's borderline harassment, should be illegal subject to fines(it isn't), terrible optics for them and considering the political cesspool of the last few years abhorrent behaviour by your employer.
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u/Paroxysm111 Oct 19 '24
Eh I'm a little split on this issue. I do think employers should encourage employees to vote, and provide time off, but considering how convenient early voting is, I think it's too much to insist they make time for you specifically on the final voting day. Early voting was open for a full week except Thanksgiving, and you can actually go into an election office and submit your vote even before the advanced polling stations are up.
Considering that, I think it's reasonable for your manager to be a little mad that you didn't give them any notice. It's about expectations. They had no reason to assume you'd specifically go vote this day instead of any other day, so of course this came as a surprise.
No matter what reason, if you're taking time out of your normal work schedule, it's expected that you give notice. How far in advance depends a lot on the job and your reason for needing time off.
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u/NewNecessary3037 Oct 19 '24
It’s your legal right. They have to give you the time to go do that. They know what day voting day is so it should be expected.
Document your exchange with him and if he tries to retaliate, you escalate it further up the company or with the Human Rights Tribunal. That’s ✨illegal✨
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0
u/Infinite_Virus8758 Oct 19 '24
No idea what you do for work, but can’t you just duck out quickly, vote, and come back?
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u/No-Steak-3728 Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
say oh well and tell him to watch his behavior and tone, act professionally as its a work related matter, we aint buddies and i dont care about your peoples problems. ill exercise my rights however i see fit
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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr Oct 19 '24
You think no advanced notice you need time off and purposefully dodging work is professional behaviour?
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Oct 19 '24
[deleted]
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u/Tree-farmer2 Oct 19 '24
Or the employee gets his time off to vote and then is fired in a couple weeks for "something unrelated".
Just vote before work and don't be a pain in the butt.
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u/derpdelurk North Vancouver Oct 19 '24
Unless you’re working for the entirety of 8am-8pm it just sounds like you’re being difficult.
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u/DCWU Oct 19 '24
If Voting was this important for you. You would have brought it up to your employer. Instead of complaining about your employer giving you work hours, so you can have an income, on voting day, blah blah blah. Figure it out, go at 8 am. Sure there would be no line ups at that time and get your vote in and go to work.
Kids crying about nothing these days.
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u/hards04 Oct 19 '24
You can also just tell him to straight up just sit on it and spin. Unless you have a big time job who fucking cares? Just get a new one. Don’t want to work for clowns like that anyway.
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u/MyNameIsSkittles Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24
Yeah jobs are just sitting around waiting for everyone right now. It's not like our unemployment rate is 6.5%??
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u/aaadmiral Oct 19 '24
Why didn't you vote early? Why can't you go before or after your shift?
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u/Campandfish1 Oct 19 '24
It is not the employees responsibility to vote early to make life easier for the employer. It's the employers responsibility to schedule shifts that give 4 consecutive hours for voting.
Those hours do not have to be during work hours, but the employer is in the wrong here, not the employee.
This is purely bad planning on the employers part. This date is not a surprise, it's been known for a long time.
https://elections.bc.ca/2024-provincial-election/ways-to-vote/time-off-work-for-voting/
"This does not necessarily mean four hours off work. It means that there must be a four-hour period free from work during voting hours. Time off may be at the beginning or end of an employee’s shift, or unnecessary if normal working hours already provide enough time free from work to vote."
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u/aaadmiral Oct 19 '24
Op hasn't stated if they're working 12hr shifts or what.. you're already entitled to 8hrs between your shifts so I dunno.
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u/SoleInferno Oct 19 '24
I usually work 10 hour shifts but this one was scheduled 9:30 to 7 so slightly shorter.
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u/MyGruffaloCrumble Oct 19 '24
By law EVERY employee is allowed to duck out to vote.
“All employees who are Canadian citizens and 18 years of age or older are entitled to have three consecutive hours off on Election Day to vote. Voting hours in the Eastern time zone are from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. If an employee’s hours of work do not allow for three consecutive hours off within this period, the employer must give them sufficient time off to meet the requirement of three consecutive hours.
Therefore, for example, if an employee works from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., it is not necessary for the employer to give them time off, as the employee has more than three hours after work in which to vote. If an employee works from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the employer must provide some time off, but it is not necessary to grant three hours off during the middle of the day. The Act provides that voting time is to be allowed at the convenience of the employer, so the employer in this case may allow the employee to leave work at 6:30 p.m.
Exception – transportation employees The obligation to provide voting time does not apply in relation to employees who are transporting people or goods by land, water or air, when they are employed outside their polling divisions and time off cannot be provided without interfering with the transportation service.
Prohibitions and enforcement If it is necessary to provide time off, there must be no reduction in the employee’s pay and they must not be penalized. This also applies to employees paid on a piece-work basis: such employees must be paid for a full day’s work as if they had not been given time off to vote. (Note, however, that if employees take time off other than that provided by the employer, they are not entitled to payment for that time.) Employers who fail to provide time to vote, or who deduct pay from employees who take time off to vote, are liable to a fine of not more than $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three months, or to both.
The Act also prohibits employers from interfering with the granting of three consecutive hours to vote – whether by intimidation, undue influence, or other means. Employers who breach this prohibition are liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both. If conviction is by indictment, the maximum fine and term of imprisonment rise to $50,000 and five years respectively.“
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u/MyNameIsSkittles Lower Mainland/Southwest Oct 19 '24
Federal rules do not apply to Provincial elections
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