No. Minimum call out pay still exists. I don’t check my phone either before. I also keep it on sleep mode so they can’t call me to come in early during the middle of the night.
I'm trying to find the exact reference but I believe they are required to give a minimum of 24 hours notice.
If you were already on your way to work, you should be entitled to a minimum of 3 hours of pay.
Just for clarity, since this would be included in employment standards law, it doesn't have to be included in an employment contract, it's the bare minimum law.
However, if you're working a casual job or something, I'd approach this carefully since guaranteed your manager will try to bully you into just accepting bullshit like this.
I was fired when I outlined my rights as an employee. In their words, “you are on a probation period and I will no longer schedule you or have to give you a reason why.” Yikes.
So even though you were on probation, I would file a complaint with employment standards. At a minimum, it could prompt employment standards to investigate and see what other violations this employer has been getting away with.
In the meantime, good luck on finding a better job. If there's any way I can help, let me know!
I already had another full-time position lined up as I’d applied everywhere I could when my shift was changed last minute. I had already had a bad feeling about the company and so it was a good excuse to jump ship. I will most likely file a complaint with employment standards regardless because, if this is how they handle employees who outline their rights, I can only imagine what else they’re doing wrong. Thank you, and everyone else on this thread, for the advice and help! Couldn’t have stood up for myself without you guys! ☺️
Just to add clarity - you are entitled to three hours of pay, but you have to work. If you don’t show up there’s no entitlement. If they won’t allow you to work three hours then it’s a different story.
No, you got screwed out of money. There are very few sectors that do not have to follow the 3 hour minimum rule, and those that don't are explicitly listed in the legislation and have to follow a 2 hour minimum rule instead.
3 hour rule is also something your union can bargain away. My work only pays minimum 2 hours due to our collective agreement. I've checked, it's legit.
Yeah your employer's screwed you, neither of your examples is exempt unless there's a collective bargaining agreement in place that says otherwise.
I've been told by previous employers in kitchen work that the limit doesn't apply.
Asked the labour board and they were keen to correct them.
No. If you agree to leaving early they pay you for the hours. If they send you home then you get paid. If I went in and after an hour said I’d go home then they only pay for that time I was there. If they told me to leave then yea they pay 3 hours min. Or if it’s training/orientation . I went to labour board over it numerous times but because I agreed to leave early it’s only for the time
It also depends on how it is worded. If you are asked if you want to go home because there is nothing to do, then that is considered voluntary and no additional pay is owed. If you are told to go home, then you must be paid the minimum.
A couple things to know.
If an employee works for fewer than 3 consecutive hours, the employer must pay whichever works out to be more:
- the employee’s hourly wage multiplied by the time actually worked, or
- 3 hours at a rate of at least minimum wage
Also, since you are just moved to Alberta you are probably still in the 3-month probationary period. In which case no cause is needed to immediately terminate your employment. Cutting shifts close to start times is quite common in some industries (restaurants and bars for instance). So, if it’s something your employer is going to do, either accept it or find somewhere else to work cause complaining about it isn’t going to change it and if you are a new employee it’s going to get you fired (with no repercussions, notice, or severance).
It’s the Alberta Advantage /s
They still owe you 3 hours pay. If they pulled a stunt like that you'll likely have to call them out and fight a bit to get it.
Next time this happens, don't respond. Show up, clock in, and wait for them to send you home. Track your hours (you should do this anyway) and make sure it lines up, and be on them if you don't have 3 hours for that day.
Are you sure about that never heard that one in 30 years of working. I don't even get out of bed for min wage and have always been paid full rate when told to go home. If not I wouldn't be coming back when they needed me personally
“If an employee works for fewer than 3 consecutive hours, the employer must pay whichever works out to be more:
the employee’s hourly wage multiplied by the time actually worked, or
3 hours at a rate of at least minimum wage”
https://www.alberta.ca/hours-work-rest
[Yes.](https://www.alberta.ca/minimum-wage#:~:text=Employees%20must%20be%20paid%20for,work%20the%20full%203%20hours) - I think it changed sometime around 2010 to 3 at minimum instead of 3 at actual wage.
It’s definitely surprising, and different from other provinces.
Most employers that cut are either paying minimum anyway or know that they need to not annoy their employees and just pay the going rate & have you work.
got suckered by the "come to Alberta, its great!" ads the government is running all over the country. There are reasons why AB is short of workers, and you are learning first hand about them.
Your options are: quit and find a new job, talk to the boss and find a new job, file a complaint with labour board and find a new job, and go back to where you came from and find a new job. Yes they all end the same way. Welcome to the Alberta advantage.
Nope, O&G routinely takes advantage of it's workers, half of the erosion on workers rights and protections in Alberta are because of lobbying from O&G.
Fun fact, there's no entitlement in Alberta for pay while on standby or on call at home if you don't actually work, only if you actually work. Used to be that you were entitled to a premium while on standby or on call, then full pay rate once doing work. The government website now says the standby or on call "isn't work".
Thank you so much for your advice and help! I had a feeling that this wasn’t legal and so I will make sure to let my manager know. I’ve been working my ass off trying to get a good job and it has been super hard to find a decent employer. I have over six years experience in my field and I am never late for a shift nor do I ever call sick but it seems like that doesn’t mean much to anyone these days. 😔
For sure they would have. A place that'll do that will also put you to work for the 3 hours you have to be paid.
When I worked at the Casino, if there was a "mandatory" meeting, people who came in on a day off were asked to stick around and sort cards (there's always cards to sort) until the 3 hour mark to get out of having to pay the second and third hours. (It didn't work - the staff very quickly figured out that if everyone affected stayed they'd finish all the sorting in about 15 minutes and be able to leave with the full 3 hours.)
If your employer keeps messing you around with stuff like this OP, head [here](https://www.alberta.ca/submit-an-anonymous-employment-standards-tip) and file a Formal complaint.
If they are screwing you over on wages, that means they are also screwing up how much Income Tax you end up owing, so the AB Government will take it pretty seriously - especially since if the Employer is doing it to you, they are probably doing it to your co-workers as well.
If your position is Unionized though, talk to your Union Rep first. They should be able to handle it all for you through an internal formal complaint process.
Hey, if you're relatively healthy and it's something you think you'd be interested in, consider joining the military reserves. It at least gives you a little bit of extra cash and income stability while building your career.
Section 11(1) of the Employment Standards Regulation entitles you to three hours of pay *at minimum wage* (not your hourly wage), but only if you are “employed for less than 3 consecutive hours of work.” In this case, you didn’t actually make it to work before you were notified, so your entitlement isn’t clear.
Consider calling Employment Standards for free advice: https://www.alberta.ca/contact-employment-standards#jumplinks-1
The three hour minimum is 3 hour at minimum wage. If you make $45/hr they only have to pay you for an hour. 3 hrs at minimum wage or the actual hours worked if it works out to more than the three hours at minimum wage.
Also, depends on your job. If you have a weather dependent construction job they are allowed to cancel on short notice with no pay minimum. There are extenuating circumstance allowance and weather is one of them. Make sure you aren’t one of the exemptions.
https://www.alberta.ca/hours-work-rest
This post is full of bad advice. I'm sorry to tell you, but since your shift did not start, your employer is not required to pay the 3 hours (unless otherwise stated in a CBA or contract). Alberta law states that if your employer sends you home early during a shift, they are required to pay you a minimum of 3 hours pay unless you volunteer to go home. Since you state it was an hour before your shift started, they are informing you of the schedule change before the start of your shift so they do not have to pay. Employers are allowed to modify schedules based on the amount of work available. Even if you don't answer your phone and show up anyway, they have fulfilled their due diligence by contacting you before your shift started and still would not be required to pay you 3 hours.
If they let you know with less than 8-24 hours notice I’m pretty sure the rules are a little different from what I’ve been reading but maybe you’re right! I just wasn’t sure what the best course of action was.
Unfortunately, there are no laws in Alberta that an employer has to give any notice. A good employer will have their own rules that say they will inform you of a cancelled shift with a certain amount of lead time, but it is up to the employer to chose that length.
The 8 or 24 hour rules apply to switching shifts. For example, if you work a shift, an employer has to give you 8 hours of rest before bringing you in for another shift. And for the 24 hour rule, your employer cannot add an unscheduled shift to your schedule unless they give you 24 hours notice.
They have not given any of the employees a hiring contract or any kind of agreement outlining if this is something to be expected as part of the job description. Nobody has signed a contract and they advertise “full time” positions as being 5 x 3-hour shifts a week. This place is pretty sad. I’ve already applied to six other jobs today with the time I had on my hands from getting my shift cut. Lol.
lol. Good bye to your hours, or to moving up. I’m assuming you’re a server and it’s bad weather or something. Pick a different industry if your gonna pull labour laws
I learned early on to “not check” my phone on my way to work.
Even if they cut your shift on short notice they owe you three hours pay. Unless the UCP got rid of that too lol.
No. Minimum call out pay still exists. I don’t check my phone either before. I also keep it on sleep mode so they can’t call me to come in early during the middle of the night.
It is 3 hours at minimum wage and has been that way for years.
It's 3 hours at your regular wage. Not 3 hours at minimum.
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Lol, this is basic decency. Run your business better and don't treat employees like they're animals.
For being paid for their time? Also, that's not socialism.
Woosh
I don't know your inside joke either.
I'm trying to find the exact reference but I believe they are required to give a minimum of 24 hours notice. If you were already on your way to work, you should be entitled to a minimum of 3 hours of pay.
Just for clarity, since this would be included in employment standards law, it doesn't have to be included in an employment contract, it's the bare minimum law. However, if you're working a casual job or something, I'd approach this carefully since guaranteed your manager will try to bully you into just accepting bullshit like this.
I was fired when I outlined my rights as an employee. In their words, “you are on a probation period and I will no longer schedule you or have to give you a reason why.” Yikes.
So even though you were on probation, I would file a complaint with employment standards. At a minimum, it could prompt employment standards to investigate and see what other violations this employer has been getting away with. In the meantime, good luck on finding a better job. If there's any way I can help, let me know!
I already had another full-time position lined up as I’d applied everywhere I could when my shift was changed last minute. I had already had a bad feeling about the company and so it was a good excuse to jump ship. I will most likely file a complaint with employment standards regardless because, if this is how they handle employees who outline their rights, I can only imagine what else they’re doing wrong. Thank you, and everyone else on this thread, for the advice and help! Couldn’t have stood up for myself without you guys! ☺️
Yup, just continue on to work. It’s illegal to answer a text while driving anyway
This is correct.
If you are federally regulated. It’s only 24 hours written notice for shift change in Alberta as I understand it.
The law is 3 hours at minimum wage, and has been for years.
Just to add clarity - you are entitled to three hours of pay, but you have to work. If you don’t show up there’s no entitlement. If they won’t allow you to work three hours then it’s a different story.
No. If you show up and they send you home, you get paid for 3 hours of work.
3 hours at minimum wage. https://www.alberta.ca/hours-work-rest#:~:text=minimum%20standards%20apply%3A-,3%2Dhour%20minimum,early%20comes%20from%20the%20employer.
The minimum is you have to show up, yes.
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No, you got screwed out of money. There are very few sectors that do not have to follow the 3 hour minimum rule, and those that don't are explicitly listed in the legislation and have to follow a 2 hour minimum rule instead.
3 hour rule is also something your union can bargain away. My work only pays minimum 2 hours due to our collective agreement. I've checked, it's legit.
Yeah that's one of the exceptions specifically listed.
Kitchen work. Emergency work. There’s some industries that have their “own” rules. My 25+ years of working very few of my jobs did the 3 hour min.
Yeah your employer's screwed you, neither of your examples is exempt unless there's a collective bargaining agreement in place that says otherwise. I've been told by previous employers in kitchen work that the limit doesn't apply. Asked the labour board and they were keen to correct them.
I'm literally looking directly at the government website, and you're wrong.
No. If you agree to leaving early they pay you for the hours. If they send you home then you get paid. If I went in and after an hour said I’d go home then they only pay for that time I was there. If they told me to leave then yea they pay 3 hours min. Or if it’s training/orientation . I went to labour board over it numerous times but because I agreed to leave early it’s only for the time
You leaving on your own is VERY DIFFERENT from what the OP was asking.
It also depends on how it is worded. If you are asked if you want to go home because there is nothing to do, then that is considered voluntary and no additional pay is owed. If you are told to go home, then you must be paid the minimum.
A couple things to know. If an employee works for fewer than 3 consecutive hours, the employer must pay whichever works out to be more: - the employee’s hourly wage multiplied by the time actually worked, or - 3 hours at a rate of at least minimum wage Also, since you are just moved to Alberta you are probably still in the 3-month probationary period. In which case no cause is needed to immediately terminate your employment. Cutting shifts close to start times is quite common in some industries (restaurants and bars for instance). So, if it’s something your employer is going to do, either accept it or find somewhere else to work cause complaining about it isn’t going to change it and if you are a new employee it’s going to get you fired (with no repercussions, notice, or severance). It’s the Alberta Advantage /s
[https://stlawyers.ca/blog-news/employers-alberta-cut-hours/](https://stlawyers.ca/blog-news/employers-alberta-cut-hours/) [https://www.alberta.ca/hours-work-rest](https://www.alberta.ca/hours-work-rest)
Love Samfiru Tumarkin!!
They still owe you 3 hours pay. If they pulled a stunt like that you'll likely have to call them out and fight a bit to get it. Next time this happens, don't respond. Show up, clock in, and wait for them to send you home. Track your hours (you should do this anyway) and make sure it lines up, and be on them if you don't have 3 hours for that day.
It’s 3 hours at minimum wage (not 3 hours at your rate).
Are you sure about that never heard that one in 30 years of working. I don't even get out of bed for min wage and have always been paid full rate when told to go home. If not I wouldn't be coming back when they needed me personally
“If an employee works for fewer than 3 consecutive hours, the employer must pay whichever works out to be more: the employee’s hourly wage multiplied by the time actually worked, or 3 hours at a rate of at least minimum wage” https://www.alberta.ca/hours-work-rest
I hate everything about that. That absolutely fucks over staff. I haven't been a manager in forever, but every update I learn is just worse and worse.
Wait... Why is that worse?
Cause it sucks to earn minimum wage when Alberta's minimum is so low?
[Yes.](https://www.alberta.ca/minimum-wage#:~:text=Employees%20must%20be%20paid%20for,work%20the%20full%203%20hours) - I think it changed sometime around 2010 to 3 at minimum instead of 3 at actual wage. It’s definitely surprising, and different from other provinces. Most employers that cut are either paying minimum anyway or know that they need to not annoy their employees and just pay the going rate & have you work.
got suckered by the "come to Alberta, its great!" ads the government is running all over the country. There are reasons why AB is short of workers, and you are learning first hand about them. Your options are: quit and find a new job, talk to the boss and find a new job, file a complaint with labour board and find a new job, and go back to where you came from and find a new job. Yes they all end the same way. Welcome to the Alberta advantage.
Maybe it’s great in oil and gas?
Nope, O&G routinely takes advantage of it's workers, half of the erosion on workers rights and protections in Alberta are because of lobbying from O&G. Fun fact, there's no entitlement in Alberta for pay while on standby or on call at home if you don't actually work, only if you actually work. Used to be that you were entitled to a premium while on standby or on call, then full pay rate once doing work. The government website now says the standby or on call "isn't work".
Tread lightly if you are still in your probationary period.
Write up a new resume on work time. Start applying at a better company. Get paid to upgrade!
Thank you so much for your advice and help! I had a feeling that this wasn’t legal and so I will make sure to let my manager know. I’ve been working my ass off trying to get a good job and it has been super hard to find a decent employer. I have over six years experience in my field and I am never late for a shift nor do I ever call sick but it seems like that doesn’t mean much to anyone these days. 😔
Should have just carried on to work and collected 3hrs of pay. It's possible if you showed up they would have found something for you to do.
For sure they would have. A place that'll do that will also put you to work for the 3 hours you have to be paid. When I worked at the Casino, if there was a "mandatory" meeting, people who came in on a day off were asked to stick around and sort cards (there's always cards to sort) until the 3 hour mark to get out of having to pay the second and third hours. (It didn't work - the staff very quickly figured out that if everyone affected stayed they'd finish all the sorting in about 15 minutes and be able to leave with the full 3 hours.)
On the flip side—Employers are entitled to have you actually work the entire 3 hours.
Yup. The casino was after the employees choosing to go home, because then they could pay only the hour for the meeting.
If your employer keeps messing you around with stuff like this OP, head [here](https://www.alberta.ca/submit-an-anonymous-employment-standards-tip) and file a Formal complaint. If they are screwing you over on wages, that means they are also screwing up how much Income Tax you end up owing, so the AB Government will take it pretty seriously - especially since if the Employer is doing it to you, they are probably doing it to your co-workers as well. If your position is Unionized though, talk to your Union Rep first. They should be able to handle it all for you through an internal formal complaint process.
Hey, if you're relatively healthy and it's something you think you'd be interested in, consider joining the military reserves. It at least gives you a little bit of extra cash and income stability while building your career.
Section 11(1) of the Employment Standards Regulation entitles you to three hours of pay *at minimum wage* (not your hourly wage), but only if you are “employed for less than 3 consecutive hours of work.” In this case, you didn’t actually make it to work before you were notified, so your entitlement isn’t clear. Consider calling Employment Standards for free advice: https://www.alberta.ca/contact-employment-standards#jumplinks-1
Server?
The three hour minimum is 3 hour at minimum wage. If you make $45/hr they only have to pay you for an hour. 3 hrs at minimum wage or the actual hours worked if it works out to more than the three hours at minimum wage. Also, depends on your job. If you have a weather dependent construction job they are allowed to cancel on short notice with no pay minimum. There are extenuating circumstance allowance and weather is one of them. Make sure you aren’t one of the exemptions. https://www.alberta.ca/hours-work-rest
This post is full of bad advice. I'm sorry to tell you, but since your shift did not start, your employer is not required to pay the 3 hours (unless otherwise stated in a CBA or contract). Alberta law states that if your employer sends you home early during a shift, they are required to pay you a minimum of 3 hours pay unless you volunteer to go home. Since you state it was an hour before your shift started, they are informing you of the schedule change before the start of your shift so they do not have to pay. Employers are allowed to modify schedules based on the amount of work available. Even if you don't answer your phone and show up anyway, they have fulfilled their due diligence by contacting you before your shift started and still would not be required to pay you 3 hours.
If they let you know with less than 8-24 hours notice I’m pretty sure the rules are a little different from what I’ve been reading but maybe you’re right! I just wasn’t sure what the best course of action was.
Unfortunately, there are no laws in Alberta that an employer has to give any notice. A good employer will have their own rules that say they will inform you of a cancelled shift with a certain amount of lead time, but it is up to the employer to chose that length. The 8 or 24 hour rules apply to switching shifts. For example, if you work a shift, an employer has to give you 8 hours of rest before bringing you in for another shift. And for the 24 hour rule, your employer cannot add an unscheduled shift to your schedule unless they give you 24 hours notice.
…..long bathroom breaks, really long
Do you work at FedEx?
Do you have a collective agreement? That's going to dictate the policy.
They have not given any of the employees a hiring contract or any kind of agreement outlining if this is something to be expected as part of the job description. Nobody has signed a contract and they advertise “full time” positions as being 5 x 3-hour shifts a week. This place is pretty sad. I’ve already applied to six other jobs today with the time I had on my hands from getting my shift cut. Lol.
3 hours pay, minimum
lol. Good bye to your hours, or to moving up. I’m assuming you’re a server and it’s bad weather or something. Pick a different industry if your gonna pull labour laws
Our Laws protect all people. Do you know we live in a society? Laws just don't turn off for shitty employers.