Toronto Employment and Labour Law Blog: Ten Critical Employment Issues Every Employer Must Face #7

Ten Critical Employment Issues Every Employer Must Face - #7: Scheduling - 

Stephen Shifty owns a clothing retailer called the Y&Z.  Y&Z is the leading global retailer of just-in-time, “WOTA” fashion: “Wear Once and Throw Away”.   Y&Z has grown rapidly by being able to change its clothing and accessories almost instantaneously.   Its inventory turns every four (4) weeks.   Its customers love the convenience, style, and timeliness of Y&Z providing them the latest fashion clothing trends for incredibly low prices.

Like all clothing retailers in the highly competitive fashion industry, Y&Z employs many high school and university students on a part-time basis at its stores.   Y&Z likes the fact that these workers share many traits with its products in terms of their flexibility and that they can be called in “like an Uber ride,” on a “just-in-time basis.”  Sometimes, when sales traffic is high at a particular location, additional employees will be told to come in right away via text.   If such a sales spike suddenly ebbs after an hour or two, these employees are sent home early to avoid having to pay wages for what Stephen Shifty calls “unproductive down time.”

The law is changing.   

The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 proposes to changes the ESA such that Employees who regularly work more than three hours per day, but upon reporting to work are given less than three hours, must be paid three hours at their regular rate of pay.  Also, under these changes, employees will be able to refuse to accept shifts without repercussion if their employer asks them to work with less than four days' notice. Finally, this Act introduces language that provides that if a shift is cancelled within 48 hours of its start, employees must be paid three hours at their regular rate of pay.

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