Bill 17 comes into effect in the new year
By Kate Ayers
Staff Reporter
Farms.com
The Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act introduces changes to employment standards that will affect farms and ranches with waged, non-family employees as of Jan. 1, 2018.
Employment Standards Code provisions will not apply to family members working on the farm but operations with waged, non-family workers will be required to follow additional standards, according to an article Thursday on HighRiverOnline.com.
“There were a couple of small pieces of the Employment Standards Code that have applied in the past like maternity leave, termination notice, that sort of thing, but now it’s a few more,” Jay Fisher, communications advisor with Alberta Labour, said in the article.
After Jan. 1, 2018, non-family, waged employees on farms and ranches will be exempt from rules regarding daily and weekly hours of work and rest, shift breaks and overtime.
However, farm employees will be entitled to minimum wage, job-protected leaves, vacation time and pay, general holidays and a minimum of four days off within a 28-day period, according to the Alberta Government website.
There will also be rules for youth employment.
Producers can participate in one-hour information webinars that outline employment standard changes and definitions. Registration information can be found here.
Additional information on exemptions can be found here and definitions can be found here.
Producers can also contact Employment Standards at 780-427-3731 or 1-877-427-3731 for inquiries.