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This is moreso for our Tumblr users that have full and part time jobs (because I literally NEVER see anything about about this kind of crap). Familiarize yourself with your physical working limits as well as your local working laws! While some companies are fantastic at minding labor laws, there are some instances where they will overlook, nitpick, and cut corners. Since I m in Canada, (specifically Alberta so these will be Alberta based), here s a small list of need-to-knows for working persons with links to government pages for more info. Even if you aren t from Alberta Canada, please consider skimming through the following and looking up the appropriate information for your area. ;
An employee is entitled to at least 30 minutes of rest (break) in each shift longer than five consecutive hours of work. That means if you shift is five hours or more, you are entitled to a half hour break. If your shift is less than five hours, depending on how long your shift is you re entitled to one fifteen minute break. For most retail companies, you must take your breaks every two hours into your shift. (I.e, one fifteen, one half hour, second fifteen) You must take your half hour break between your fourth and fifth hour of work. You cannot skip out on breaks I cannot stress this enough. If you have to go on break, tell your supervisor and GO ON BREAK. Granted sometimes you need to wait on your fifteens to ensure your store has adequate staff so keep that in mind too.
An employer must allow an employee at least 8 hours of rest between shifts. In each 7-day period, the employer must give one full day of rest, though an employee may agree to work up to 24 days in a row. At the end of this 24-day period, the employer must provide at least four consecutive days of rest. ** In many retail companies, you are not permitted to work seven days in a row. If your manager or supervisor schedules you as such, TELL THEM IMMEDIATELY.
Except for certain industries and professions, most employees are entitled to overtime pay. The basic overtime is all hours worked in excess of 8 hours a day or over 44 hours a week. Except where overtime hours are accumulated under an overtime agreement, all overtime hours must be paid at the rate of at least one and half times (1.5 x) the employee s regular wage rate.
If an employee has been discriminated against, they may make a complaint to the Alberta Human Rights Commission. The Commission only considers discrimination on the basis of: Gender, Religion, Race, Ancestry, Colour, Physical or Mental Disability, Age, Family Status, Martial Status, Source of Income, Sexual Orientation and Place of Origin. These terms are nationwide in Canada.
The Occupational Health and Safety Contact Centre is available to answer your questions and provide any additional information that you may need. The Contact Centre can be reached by calling 1 866 415 8690. (Remember, the number is for Alberta)If you are injured at work, report it to your manager or supervisor as soon as you can. They ll ask you to fill out an incident report if not, ask for one! There s more information plus contact numbers about that here.
Anywhom, that s my little tidbit of information to share with all of you. Again, please try to get to know your working laws because it could help you weed out which employers are awesome and which ones are shit.
Speaking of, please do not force yourself to stay with just one company especially if they treat you like crap, overwork you and stress you the fuck out. Don t put up with a shitty workplace just because it has good pay or was the only place that hired you when you were desperate to cover your bills. It s okay to look for other, better work and attend interviewswhile working. If you find a better job, give your existing job two weeks notice (written notice is ideal. don t just abandon your old job it looks really bad on you if a future employer calls your past one to review your work ethic and they say you just didn t show up one day).
Hope this was helpful. Feel free to add on if you want! Remember this was mostly Alberta based, so laws may differ from yours!
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