Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September in Quebec. What better way to mark this statutory holiday than by learning more about your rights according to the Act respecting labour standards?
Overtime
Whether your normal workweek is 32, 35 or 40 hours, your employer usually only needs to pay you overtime if you work more than 40 hours in a week, with some exceptions.
Overtime pay is usually 1.5 times your normal hourly rate. However, this doesn’t apply to any premiums. If you ask for it or if it’s in your collective agreement, your employer can replace overtime pay with paid time off.
In that case, your paid time off must be equal to 1.5 times the extra hours you worked. For example, if you worked 5 extra hours, your employer needs to give you 7.5 hours of paid time off (5 times 1.5). You need to take this paid time off within a year. If you don’t, you’ll get overtime pay instead.
Annual vacation
Whether you work part-time or full-time, your employer needs to give you paid vacation days. How many days you get depends on how many years you’ve been at your job.
If you’ve been at your job for less than a year, you have the right to one vacation day per month of work, up to two weeks. If you’ve been there between one and three years, your employer must give you two weeks of vacation per year. Finally, after you’ve worked for the same employer for three years or more, your paid vacation goes up to three weeks per year.
Note that these amounts are the minimum set by the Act respecting labour standards. If you want to ask for more paid vacation, you can always negotiate with your employer when they offer you the job.
To calculate your vacation days, you can use this tool created by Quebec’s labour board, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).
Other paid days off
In addition to Labour Day, you usually have the right to these paid statutory holidays:
- January 1st (New Year’s Day).
- Good Friday or Easter Monday (your employer chooses which one).
- The Monday before May 25th (National Patriots’ Day).
- June 24th, or June 25th if June 24th is a Sunday (Quebec’s national holiday). This statutory holiday follows some more specific rules.
- July 1st, or July 2nd if July 1st is a Sunday (Canada Day).
- The 2nd Monday in October (Thanksgiving).
- December 25th (Christmas Day).
The Act respecting labour standards also provides paid days off in some other situations. Examples include the death of a family member, your marriage, the need to take care of a loved one, or the birth of your child.
Workplace harassment
Your employer must have a policy for preventing psychological harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace and for dealing with problematic situations. This policy explains how the employer will identify and deal with harassment. It also includes training programs for preventing harassment.
If you’re dealing with this kind of situation at work, your employer must make sure that complaints stay confidential. The prevention policy must describe protection measures for employees who are experiencing harassment or who report unacceptable behaviour. In addition, the policy must outline the process for investigating complaints.
And of course, if you are experiencing sexual or psychological harassment, you can contact Quebec’s labour board, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité au travail, or even the police.