BC Business
telecommuting
How to make sure your workplace keeps working when employees telecommute and work from home. Whether in special circumstances like the 2010 Olmypics, or on a day-to-day basis, many companies have to deal with telecommuting and remote employees. Alternate Work Schedules Retail and Food and Beverage businesses have long been planning for extended hours and night time shipping and receiving because of the Olympics.
Whether in special circumstances like the 2010 Olmypics, or on a day-to-day basis, many companies have to deal with telecommuting and remote employees.
Retail and Food and Beverage businesses have long been planning for extended hours and night time shipping and receiving because of the Olympics.
As these plans roll out, surprised employees often ask whether their employers can require them to work seven days a week or change their start times to much later in the evening or early in the morning. In short, the answer is “yes,” provided that the employer also complies with Part 4, Hours of Work and Overtime sections of the B.C. Employment Standards Act.
Of course, the answer can be more complicated for those employees who have been promised a fixed schedule in their employment contracts, or who are unable to accommodate such changed schedules due to family care requirements. If an employee can show that the changed schedule results in a “serious interference with a substantial parental or other family duty or obligation,” then the employee will be protected by the Human Rights Code and be able to refuse to comply with the changed schedule. For a recent decision that examined when an employee is able to seek the protection of the Human Rights Code.
One alternative to dealing with the road closures and extra volume on transit routes is to work from home. For those employees and employers who are able to make this work, there are a few things to keep in mind.
This blog is written by Nicole Byres of Clark Wilson LLP and made available by BCBusiness to provide general information on employment law, and is not a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Neither the reading of this blog, nor the sending of unsolicited comments or emails creates a lawyer-client relationship with the writer or Clark Wilson LLP.