Employment Standards and Overtime Pay
CRITICAL ISSUES IN EMPLOYMENT LAW - HALIFAX WORKSHOP
On April 5, 2006 Mary Belliveau, Director of Labour Standards for the Nova Scotia Environment and Labour, presented information regarding Employment Standards and Overtime Pay to approximately 50 Human Resources professionals from the greater Halifax area. A second presentation was offered by Rick Dunlop and Rebecca Druhan, both Associates with Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales in the Halifax office, on Critical Issues in Employment Law.
Employment Standards and Overtime Pay
Mary discussed how she has led the division and program through a significant renewal initiative, resulting in improved complaints resolution, and better communication with employers, and responsive service to employees and employers alike.
Mary discussed the history of the NS Labour Standards and their current status - before and after new regulations of October 2003, the affect it has had on employers, employees and government. Mary reviewed the changes in the workplace over 40 years, not only for the employee but also for the employer, the demographics, diversity, multi-cultural, types of jobs, standards and regulations.
Presentation was very relevant to region as many still were not sure how the legislation of overtime affected salaried and contracted personnel.
Mary advised that the most commonly asked question to Labour Standards involved termination - amount of notice and vacation pay. Nova Scotia is unique in that any person employed for 10 years or more cannot be fired or suspended unless there is a restructuring of workplace and the position has been eliminated, or there have been major safety or trust violations. Mary offered the Labour Standards web site as resource to Frequent Questions and Answers.
Mary also mentioned that in Nova Scotia, which has a minority Government, Members of the House can put forward a Private Members Bill to amend or change any regulations - we are not expecting any however.
|
Workplace.ca is your gateway to Canadian management and workplace resources. It has all the tools you need to create and use successful management
and human resources strategies.
