Manitoba vs. Alberta. Leave provisions.

Introduction

When a link breaks, something stops working. Similarly, an employee is a piece of the economic chain that sometimes may or may not prevent absences from work which requires protection. “A statutory leave grants an employee a defined period of time off work, without pay, and requires that the employer save the employee’s job until they return, provided the employee returns within the allowed time period (Doorey, 2020, p. 316). In this document, I will compare the legislation and regulations of two provinces, Manitoba and Alberta, focusing on only the sections of the law that deal with leave provisions, including designated holidays, holiday pay, vacation and other leaves. Also, I will analyze leaves related to critical illness and long-term leave for serious injury or illness to determine what impact it would have on Manitoba's company operating in Alberta based on the leave provisions in place in these two jurisdictions. To collect information for this analysis, I reviewed a textbook about the Law of Work, sections of the legislation that I am referring to in this analysis, and some websites related to leave provisions.?

Manitoba and Alberta have similarities and differences in terms of leave provisions

On one hand, the number of leaves of absence, statutory holidays, and vacation days are similar in both Provinces. For example, Manitoba has eight statutory holidays and thirteen leaves of absence while Alberta has nine holidays and twelve leaves. Also, vacation periods are identical, both provinces with 2-3 weeks. On the other hand, both employment codes have differences in their content. For instance, Alberta does not include leave for organ donation and all its leaves provisions contain an expressed clause about the termination of employment. Manitoba and Alberta are similar in various points of their leave provisions but are different because Manitoba includes one additional unpaid leave and Alberta’s Code considers more details about the termination period.

Critical illness and long-term for serious injury or illness leaves hold differences in both provinces

First, there are differences related to critical illness. For example, in Alberta, an employee is eligible to take this leave after the first 90 days of employment, 60 days more than in Manitoba. In addition, in Alberta, the number of unpaid weeks to care for a child is 36 and for adults 16, while in Manitoba is 37 for a child and 17 for adults. Second, there are differences related to long-term leave for serious injury or illness. For example, in Alberta, the leave duration is 16 weeks, one week less than in Manitoba and the employee must give a written notice including the estimated date to return to work. Moreover, vacation must be used immediately after the leave expires or later if the employer and employee agreed. In Alberta, in both types of leaves, the employer must reinstate or provide employees with alternative work returning after the leave period (Employment Code, Alberta, 2000, s. 53.963, 53.972(1), 53.973, p. 59, 51). Both types of leaves in Alberta require more days to be eligible and have fewer leave provision days.

Alberta’s leaves provision would impact Manitoba's company

Benefits influence employee morale.?Less flexibility in Alberta’s Employment Code might affect employee morale in Manitoba's companies. Indeed, Manitoba's employees must wait 60 days more than in Manitoba to be eligible to take leaves related to critical illness or serious injury or illness. Also, the leave period is one week less than in Manitoba, employees cannot take new leave after the first leave, and the vacation period must be used immediately after the leave period (Employment Code, Alberta, 2000, s.53.96(2), 53.97(1,2) p. 47, 50). Fewer benefits cause discouragement.

More requirements mean more workload.?The administrative workload might be increased because additional legal requirements demand more time for administrative processes. For example, in Alberta, the employment code requires written notice before returning to work (s.53.962(1), 53.972(1), p. 49, 51). Moreover, the employer must reinstate an employee on the same job or similar after the leave period (s. 53.963, 53.973, p. 49, 51). Manitoba's company would spend additional work time on these requirements.

Absenteeism is costing.?Fewer leave provisions days could increase absenteeism and operational cost. For example, in Alberta, new employees might need a leave of absence within the first 90 days (s.53.96(2), p. 47). Then, to avoid absenteeism, Manitoba's company, due to its essential activities with people with disabilities, should have available part-time or casual employees to cover these absences. This would increase the operational cost of the recruitment and selection process to hire new employees. Additionally, new employees would demand additional costs during the onboarding and training period. Indeed, due to a support worker is a unionized position, during these periods Manitoba's company should pay all benefits according to the collective agreement. Moreover, the lack of available candidates would obstruct the hiring process and demand to pay other employees a premium rate for overtime (Employment Standard Code, Alberta, 2000, s. 22.1, p. 21). In fact, In Alberta, a home care worker is an occupation in demand (Top In-Demand Jobs in Alberta | Arrive, 2022). Manitoba's company would face a challenge in hiring new employees, so it would have to pay overtime.

Less unpaid leaves period in Alberta might decrease employee morale. Also, the administrative processes and operational costs for Manitoba's company might increase due to hiring new employees or paying overtime.

Conclusion

Statutory holidays and leave provisions and the conditions under which an employee qualifies vary across Alberta’s and Manitoba’s jurisdictions. These variations would impact Manitoba's company under Alberta’s Employment Code. Despite similarities in the number of leave provisions between these provinces, Alberta’s Code includes a section related to job termination but does not consider unpaid leave for organ donation. When comparing leave of critical illness and long-term leave for serious injury or illness in both provinces, Alberta’s regulations contain fewer unpaid weeks for leave than Manitoba’s and require a longer period to be eligible. The differences in leave provisions would impact Manitoba's company, deteriorating its employee morale and increasing its administrative workload and operational costs. Manitoba's company should analyze deeper Alberta’s employment regulations and marketplace, to understand business risks and how to control them to implement a successful operation in another province.

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References

Employment standards rules –?Job-protected leaves. (2022). Retrieved 22 November 2022, from https://www.alberta.ca/job-protected-leaves.aspx

Employment standards. (2022). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from https://www.alberta.ca/employment-standards.aspx

Employment Standards | Employment Standards | Leave Related to Critical Illness. (2022). Retrieved 22 November 2022, from https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/doc,leave-related-to-critical-illness-of-a-child,factsheet.html#q1580

Leave of Absence in Canada - Canadian Work Leaves. (2022). Retrieved 23 November 2022, from https://www.canpay.com/payroll-information/provincial-leaves-of-absence.html

Spiridon, A. (2019). How will Canada Labour Code changes affect employers? | Benefits Canada.com. Retrieved 23 November 2022, from https://www.benefitscanada.com/news/bencan/how-will-canada-labour-code-changes-affect-employers/

Top In-Demand Jobs in Alberta | Arrive. (2022). Retrieved 26 November 2022, from https://arrivein.com/career-ca/most-in-demand-jobs-in-alberta-for-newcomers/

Doorey, D. (2020).?The Law of Work. Second Edition. Emond Montgomery Publications Limited