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November 25, 2002 - NEWS
Employment Standards Changes in Effect November 30
The long-awaited second round of changes to the Employment Standards Act come into effect November 30. The changes will allow for greater flexibility around hours of work, overtime and statutory holiday pay requirements. The quid pro quo however is that employers who violate the Act will now face higher penalties than ever before, ranging from $500 to $10,000.
Earlier this summer, the first round of changes was made including:
- Records must be kept for two years, down from five.
- The minimum daily call-in is two hours; four hours if scheduled to work more than eight hours.
- Liability for unpaid wages is changed from two years to six months.
- Directors of a company are not personally liable for unpaid wages if a company is in bankruptcy or insolvency.
- The Employment Standards Branch can help employees and employers reach a binding settlement agreement.
- Collective agreements are no longer required to meet or exceed certain provisions of the act. Disputes over minimum standards for workers under a collective agreement go to grievance procedure.
- Self-help kits to help employees determine if a problem exists, what compensation is owed and acts as a basis for discussion between the employee and employer. If the problem cannot be resolved at that stage, an Employment Standards Branch officer will resolve the dispute.
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On November 30, the following changes will be enacted:
- Averaging agreements replace flexible work schedules and permit the 40-hour work week to be averaged over one, two, three or four weeks.
- Daily overtime remains at time-and-a-half after eight hours and changes to double time after 12 hours.
- Requirements are simplified for statutory holiday pay.
- The definition of manager is expanded to include those who direct or supervise non-staff resources.
- Penalties become mandatory for breaking rules, rising if the same rule is broken repeatedly within a three-year period:
| First determination |
$500 |
| Second determination |
$2,500 |
| Third determination |
$10,000 |
- The grounds for appeals to the Employment Standards Tribunal have been clarified. The tribunal will hear appeals to decide if the Employment Standards Branch has erred in law or if new information has come up that was not available at the time of the original decision.
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More detailed information on these changes can be found on the provincial government's website at www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb.
| ICBA is the voice of BC's construction industry. For further information, or if you have any questions or comments regarding this article, please contact ICBA. |
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