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| Employers > Human Resource Management
Guide |
Human Resource Management Guide
If your employees are governed by all or part of the Act respecting labour
standards, the Human Resources Management Guide is required reading.
It will guide you in carrying out the various procedures involved in
managing human resources and help you to verify, step by step, whether
or not you comply with the Act. Of course, the agreement that has bound
you and your employees may include conditions of employment that are superior
to those set out in the Act.
The Human Resource Management Guide contains references to the Act respecting
labour standards and its attendant regulations and to the National Holiday
Act. It will make consulting this Office Edition easier.
Moreover, if you are an employer in the sectors of the men’s and
boys’ shirt industry, women’s clothing industry, men’s
clothing industry and leather glove industry, you also have obligations
that are mentioned in the Regulation respecting minimum labour standards
specific to certain sectors of the clothing industry. This Regulation establishes
labour standards dealing with the minimum hourly wage rate, the duration
of the regular workweek, statutory holidays, the annual leave
and leaves for family events.
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Administrative
Instruments |
When you start up a business, you must, among other things, register
with the ministère du Revenu du Québec.
To manage your business in accordance with the Act respecting labour
standards, you must have certain administrative instruments prescribed
by this Act.
You must:
- set up a registration system or keep a register showing information,
for each of your employees, on some twenty different items (Regulation
respecting a registration system or the keeping of a register);
- be able to issue pay sheets to your employees containing enough
information for them to check how their wages have been calculated (Act
respecting labour standards, ss. 46
to 49);
- be prepared to issue written notices of termination of employment
or of layoff for six months or more (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 82 to 83.2)
and in the case of collective dismissals, issue the required notice
to the Minister (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 84.0.1
to 84.0.15);
- be able to issue a work certificate to an employee who requests
one on leaving his job (Act respecting labour standards, s. 84).
The employer subject to the Act and who has employees working in Québec
must pay a contribution to the Minister of Revenue, unless he is explicitly
exempted therefrom under section 39.0.1 of the Act respecting labour standards.
An employer who is subject to the Act must file each year a statement
using the prescribed form and send it the ministère du Revenu du
Québec (ss. 39.0.1
to 39.0.4 of the Act respecting labour standards).
When you consult a section of the act, we suggest that you also refer
to its interpretation.
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Hiring
a New Employee |
There are a number of points that should be clarified whenever you hire
a new employee. These points involve such matters as wages, working hours,
leaves and absences.
With regard to wages, it is important to:
- tell the employee what his wage rate will be and specify how
he will be paid: by the hour, by the week, by commission, on the basis
of production or otherwise (Regulation respecting labour standards,
ss. 2 to
4.1);
- determine the mode of payment: cash, cheque or bank transfer
(Act respecting labour standards, s. 42);
- explain to the employee how gratuities will be distributed,
if you collect them for him and the existence of a tip sharing arrangement
where applicable (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 50
and 50.1);
- decide what deductions will be made from the employee’s
wages and, if necessary, obtain written authorization from him (Act
respecting labour standards, s. 49);
- specify, if necessary, the amount that will have to be paid
for room and board (Regulation respecting labour standards, ss. 6
and 7; Act respecting labour standards, s. 51.0.1);
- tell the employee how long each pay period will be (Act respecting
labour standards, s. 43).
With regard to working hours, it is also a good idea to tell the employee
everything he needs to know about his regular work schedule and overtime.
In particular, you must:
- establish his work schedule and specify in particular the length
of the meal period, the length of coffee breaks and other breaks, if
any (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 57,
58 and 79);
- establish the length of a regular workweek (Act respecting
labour standards, ss. 52
and 53; Regulation respecting labour standards, ss. 9
to 13; Order
respecting the retail food trade);
- tell the employee whether the standard pertaining to the number
of hours in a regular workweek applies to him (Act respecting labour
standards, s. 54);
- tell him whether he might be called upon to work overtime (Act
respecting labour standards, ss. 55
and 56);
- remember that an employee may refuse to work beyond his normal
working hours (Act respecting labour standards, s. 59.0.1);
- determine which day(s) will correspond to the weekly rest period
(Act respecting labour standards, s. 78).
When you hire a new employee, you must also clarify certain questions
related to leaves and authorized absences. You must:
- tell the employee what reference year is in force in the enterprise
(Act respecting labour standards, s. 66);
- specify whether the enterprise shuts down during the holiday
period (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 71
and 73);
- draw up a list of statutory holidays that employees may take
(Act respecting labour standards, s. 60;
National Holiday Act, s. 2);
- check the circumstances under which an employee may be absent
from work with or without pay for family or parental matters (Act respecting
labour standards, ss. 79.7
to 81.17) or owing to sickness or accident (Act respecting labour
standards, ss. 79.1
to 79.6).
When you consult a section of the act, we suggest that you also refer
to its interpretation.
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While
the Employee is Working |
When you hired your new employee, you dealt with questions
related to wages, working hours, leaves and absences. Now that he is on
the job, you will have to comply with the terms and conditions of payment
that you have agreed on. You will also have to apply the various provisions
governing statutory holidays, the paid annual leave, maternity leave, paternity leave,
parental leave and psychological harassment
in the Act respecting labour standards and the National Holiday Act.
With regard to statutory holidays and the National Holiday, you must:
- determine whether the employee meets the eligibility criteria
(Act respecting labour standards, ss. 59.1
and 65; National Holiday Act, ss. 16
and 17);
- decide whether you will grant a compensatory holiday or pay
a compensatory indemnity to an employee who is required to work on a
statutory holiday or on the National Holiday (Act respecting labour
standards, s. 63;
National Holiday Act, s. 5);
- decide whether you will grant a compensatory holiday or pay
a compensatory indemnity to an employee who is on his annual leave at
the time of a statutory holiday or the National Holiday (Act respecting
labour standards, s. 64;
National Holiday Act, s. 6);
- calculate the statutory holiday and National Holiday indemnity
due to the employee, where applicable (Act respecting labour standards, s. 62; National
Holiday Act, s. 4).
With regard to the paid annual leave, you must:
- determine whether the employee is entitled to the leave (Act
respecting labour standards, s. 77);
- calculate the number of days to which the employee is entitled
(Act respecting labour standards, ss. 67
to 69);
- set the date of his annual leave and notify the employee at
least four weeks ahead of time (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 70
and 72);
- calculate the indemnity related to the leave (Act respecting
labour standards, ss. 74
and 75).
With regard to maternity leave, you must:
- remember that the employee may be absent from work without
pay for examinations related to her pregnancy (Act respecting labour
standards, s. 81.3);
- confirm, with the employee, how long she will be on maternity
leave, when she intends to leave work, and when she intends to return
to work (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 81.4
to 81.6);
- remember that the employee may be entitled, in some cases,
to a special maternity leave (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 81.5.1
to 81.5.3);
- remember that, in some cases, you may require an employee to
produce a medical certificate stating that she is fit to work (Act respecting
labour standards, ss. 81.8
and 81.9);
- plan to reinstate the employee in her former position, with
the same benefits, when she returns to work (Act respecting labour standards, s. 81.15.1).
With regard to paternity leave, you must:
- be aware that the employee may be absent for not more than five consecutive weeks, without pay, on the birth of his child (s. 81.2 of the Act respecting labour standards).
With regard to a parental leave, you must:
- determine whether the employee meets the eligibility criteria
(Act respecting labour standards, s. 81.10);
- check, with the employee, if he wishes to avail himself of
the parental leave, confirm the duration thereof, where applicable,
as well as when he will be leaving and when he expects to return to
work (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 81.11
to 81.14);
- remember that you must reinstate the employee in his former
position with the same benefits at the end of a parental leave (Act
respecting labour standards, s. 81.15.1).
As for the psychological harassment,
you must:
- see to it that the employee’s work environment is free
from psychological harassment (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 81.18
and 81.19);
- take reasonable steps to ensure that the employee’s right
in the field of psychological harassment is respected (Act respecting
labour standards, s. 81.19);
- remember that the foregoing provisions and the related recourses
for sections 123.7, 123.15 and 123.16 are deemed to form an integral
part of every collective agreement (Act respecting labour standards, s. 81.20);
- remember that an employee referred to in any collective agreement
must exercice the recourses provided for therein, insofar as such a
recourse exists for him (Act respecting labour standards, s. 81.20).
When you consult a section of the act, we suggest that you also refer
to its interpretation.
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When
an Employee Leaves or is Dismissed |
If one of your employees resigns or you cancel the contract of employment
of an employee, you must apply certain standards and procedures in order
to comply with the Act respecting labour standards.
You must:
- issue the employee a work certificate if he asks for one (Act
respecting labour standards, s. 84);
- give the employee written notice, within a certain time limit,
if you are dismissing him, laying him off permanently or are laying
him off for a period of six months or more (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 82 to 83.2);
- give the notices within the required time periods before making
a collective dismissal (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 84.0.4
to 84.0.7 and 84.0.13);
- pay the employee, when he leaves, a severance indemnity to
compensate for the paid annual leave to which he is entitled and from
which he has not benefitted (Act respecting labour standards, s. 76);
- remember that, in certain cases, you may not dismiss, suspend
or transfer an employee or practice discrimination or take reprisals
against him (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 122,
122.1 and 123.1);
- remember that an employee who is credited with two years of
uninterrupted service may file a complaint with the Commission des normes
du travail if he feels that he has been dismissed without good and sufficient
cause (Act respecting labour standards, s. 124);
- remember that an employee who believes that he was the victim
of psychological harassment can file a complaint with the Commission
des normes du travail (Act respecting
labour standards, ss. 123.6
and 123.7);
- remember that complaints for a prohibited practice, psychological
harassment and a dismissal not made
for good and sufficient cause may be heard by the Commission des relations
du travail (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 123.4, 123.9, 123.12 and 126);
- remember that an employee can be represented before the Commission
des relations du travail by the Commission des normes du travail in
cases involving complaints related to a prohibited practice, psychological
harassment and a dismissal not made
for good and sufficient cause (Act respecting labour standards, ss. 123.5, 123.13 and 126.1).
When you consult a section of the act, we suggest that you also refer
to its interpretation. |
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Labour standards
