Policy: 3.2 Hours of Work, OT, Holiday and Vacation Policy 
Section: Personnel

Download Hours of Work, Overtime, Holidays and Vacation Policy

1.Purpose  

The purpose of this policy is to define standard working hours, breaks, and scheduling expectations for full-time, part-time, and casual employees at the Northern Association of Community Councils Inc. (NACC). This policy outlines the holidays observed by the NACC, the entitlements related to General Holiday Pay, and the conditions under which employees qualify for holiday benefits. Additionally, this policy establishes clear guidelines for the accrual, use, and management of overtime for all employees at the NACC.

2. Authority

Under NACC By-laws, directors may adopt, amend, or repeal policies relating to the governance, management, operation, and affairs of the Corporation that are not inconsistent with the NACC’s By-laws, as the directors may deem appropriate from time to time.

3. Policy  

It is NACC policy that the Association will follow and comply with standards established by  The Employment Standards Code of Manitoba and its Regulations for all employees.

If an employee is uncertain about the application of this policy, then they should consult with the Executive Director.

4. Hours of Work, Overtime, Holidays and Vacations

a) Hours of Work 

i) Regular core business hours are as follows (except for holidays): 

  • Sunday: Closed 

  • Monday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM 

  • Tuesday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM 

  • Wednesday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM 

  • Thursday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM 

  • Friday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM 

  • Saturday: Closed 

 ii) Regular Hours of Work – Full Time Employees

  • The standard working day for full-time employees shall be seven (7.5) hours per day within a period of eight (8) consecutive hours
  • The standard working week for full-time employees shall be thirty seven and a half (37.5) hours in five (5) days with two (2) consecutive days off.
  • The standard work year for full-time employees shall be 1950 hours.
  • Hours may also be scheduled to meet workload requirements.
  • Where applicable under the Employment Standards Code, an employee is entitled to take a 30-minute unpaid rest period after five (5) consecutive hours of work. The precise scheduling of rest periods will be determined by management and are subject to the needs of the Association.  
  • The Association reserves the right to alter the regular work week and regular work hours at any time, and will provide as much advance notice as possible. 
  • Employees may also be expected to work other hours as may be requested or required from time to time to meet the needs and objectives of the Association.

iii) Part-Time

  • Part-time employees shall work less than 35 hours per week.  

iv) Casual Staff

  • Hours for casual staff shall be scheduled to meet workload requirements. 

v) Lunch Break

  • A minimum ½ hour paid lunch period will be provided to all full time employees.  
  • Lunch periods for part-time and casual employees shall be based on hours of work and will be scheduled by their immediate supervisor.

vi) Coffee Breaks

  • Two paid 15-minute coffee breaks are provided for full time employees.
  • Coffee breaks for part-time and casual employees shall be based on hours of work and will be scheduled by their immediate supervisor.

b) Overtime 

i) General 

  • All employees shall endeavor to schedule their work responsibilities in such a manner that the need for overtime is minimized.
  • Employees must receive prior written approval from their manager before working overtime. 
  • Employees may be required to work overtime outside of their regularly scheduled hours. 
  • Unless an employee’s contract of employment states otherwise, or they are ineligible under the Employment Standards Code, overtime pay will be paid at one and a half (1.5) times an employee’s regular rate of pay. 
  • For most employees, and unless an employee’s contract of employment states otherwise, overtime pay is earned when an employee has worked more than 7.5 hours in a day or 37.5 hours in a work week. Each hour of overtime worked will be paid at the overtime rate.  

ii) “Banking” Overtime

  • If both an employee and the Association agree in writing, the employee may receive paid time off instead of overtime pay. This is called “banked” time or “time off in lieu”.  
  • For each hour of overtime worked, 1.5 hours of time is banked, which is paid at the employee’s regular wage rate when the employee takes the time off.  
  • Paid time off in-lieu of overtime must be taken within three (3) months of it being earned. However, any banked time must be taken on a date mutually agreed upon in advance by the Executive Director and the employee. 
  • Banked time may be used at the incumbents’ discretion and on the approval of the direct supervisor of the employee but generally only on an exception basis.

iii) Maximum Banked Overtime

  • A maximum of thirty-seven and a half (37.5) hours shall be banked at any one time and hours will be recorded bi-weekly on the employees’ timesheet.  Overtime will be reconciled at the end of each quarter and the employee and the Executive Director will determine a plan for usage.
  • If an employee anticipates a need for time off for personal reasons, the employee may, with permission from the Executive Director, arrange their schedule in such a manner as to accumulate overtime sufficient to cover time off.
  • Exceptions to these guidelines may be considered with prior approval of the Executive Director.

iv) Managers & Supervisors

  • Managers and supervisors do not qualify for overtime. Even if they perform other kinds of tasks that are not managerial or supervisory, they do not get overtime pay if these tasks are performed only on an irregular or exceptional basis
  • Exceptions to these guidelines may be considered with prior approval of the Executive Director.

v) Overtime Calculation

  • Sick benefits are not included in the calculation of overtime hours.

vi) Abuse of the overtime policy is considered serious misconduct and will result in discipline up to and including dismissal.  

c) Travel 

  1. Business travel for conferences, meetings, etc., that requires an employee to depart from or arrive at home on a non-workday does not constitute work time but does constitute travel time. 
  2. Travel time may be paid at a different rate of pay from the employee’s usual rate, but such rate of pay will be at least the minimum wage under the Employment Standards Code.  
  3. If travel is part of the employee’s job or could be reasonably expected to occur while performing one’s duties, it qualifies as work time. 
  4. Some travel, which may be exceptional to the employee’s normal duties, may, at the discretion of the Executive Director qualify as work time. 
  5. Travelling to and from work does not qualify as work time.

d) General Holidays 

i) General

The Association adheres to the general holiday provisions of the Employment Standards Code, as amended from time to time, and will administer this policy in accordance with the requirements of the Code. Eligible employees are entitled to the ten (10) general holidays stated in the Code with pay being: 

  • News Year’s Day (January)
  • Louis Riel Day (February)
  • Good Friday (April)
  • Victoria Day (May)
  • Canada Day (July)
  • Labour Day (September)
  • National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September)
  • Thanksgiving Day (October)
  • Remembrance Day (November)
  • Christmas Day (December)

ii) Additional Holidays 

Employees are also entitled to the following additional NACC recognized holidays, with the same holiday pay rules as set out below. 

  • Easter Monday (April)
  • Civic Holiday (August)
  • Boxing Day (December)

iii) Holiday Pay for General Holidays

  • Employees who qualify for General Holiday Pay under the Code for Recognized General Holidays will receive holiday pay calculated in accordance with the Code. 
  • If an employee agrees to work on a General Holiday in accordance with the Code, they shall be compensated in accordance with the Code. 
  • In any event, this policy shall always be applied in accordance with the Code and under no circumstances will an employee receive less than their full entitlements under the Code, as amended from time to time. 

Guidelines 

  1. All employees are entitled to General Holiday Pay for recognized general holidays.  General Holiday Pay is five per cent (5%) of the employee’s total wages in the four-week period immediately before the holiday.  Overtime is not included in this calculation.
  2. If a recognized General Holiday occurs during a vacation period, regular time in lieu shall be added to the end of the vacation time.
  3. All employees receive General Holiday Pay unless: 
    1. They are absent from work on a General Holiday that is normally a workday and they are expected to work.
    2. They are absent from work, without permission, on their last scheduled workday before the holiday or their first scheduled workday after the holiday, unless the absence is due to illness.
    3. No General Holiday Pay is owed to employees who received a day off in lieu of the holiday.
  4. Employees who work on a Recognized General Holiday are entitled to 1½ times their regular rate for the hours worked in addition to a day off; or 2½ times their regular rate for the hours worked.
  5. An employee who is required by virtue of their religion to take a certain day off shall normally use overtime or vacation time for this absence. In exceptional circumstances, the Executive Director may allow the employee to substitute a statutory holiday for this day. In this situation, the employee is not entitled to compensatory time for working on a statutory holiday.

e) Vacation 

i) General

  1. Each full-time salaried employee’s vacation entitlement, and the method for determining that entitlement, will be specifically set out in the employee’s contract of employment. If not, it will be determined in accordance with  The Employment Standards Code. 
  2. Vacation time must be taken within ten (10) months of it being earned. After that time, an employee will not be permitted to carry vacation time over to a subsequent year unless the employee has obtained approval in writing from the Executive Director.
  3. All vacation requests must be made by submitting a request in writing to management. 
  4. All requests for vacation must be submitted for approval at least 30 days before the start of the proposed vacation period. 
  5. All vacations must be approved by management in advance. 
  6. While the Association will make every effort to accommodate employee vacation requests, the timing of an employee’s vacation is ultimately subject to management’s discretion and the needs of the Association. 
  7. The Association reserves the right to withdraw approval for a vacation should business circumstances require it. However, should that occur, the Association will make reasonable efforts to minimize any inconvenience to the employee. 

ii) Vacation Entitlement Guidelines

  1. Length of service shall be used to calculate an employee’s vacation entitlement and vacation pay earned as follows for full time salaried employee unless the employee’s contract provided otherwise: 
    • Employees will receive at least two weeks of vacation after each of the first four years of employment. After completing 5 years of service, an employee will receive a minimum of 3 weeks of vacation. In other words, employees are entitled to 2 weeks vacation leave, after each year of service, for the first 4 years. After 5 consecutive years of service, an employee will be entitled to 3 weeks vacation leave. 
    • Vacation pay is calculated based on the gross earnings in the previous year. Employees who are entitled to two weeks of vacation receive 4% of their gross wages as vacation pay and employees with three weeks’ vacation receive 6%. In other words, in the 5th year of employment, employees earn 4% of their total annual income as vacation pay. However, as soon as they have completed their 5th year, they are entitled to 3 weeks of vacation and 6% on the prior year
  2. An Employee does not earn vacation leave when on an authorized leave of absence, with or without pay.
  3. Requests for extended unpaid vacation beyond days earned may be granted at the discretion of the Executive Director.  
  4. An employee who suffers the death of an immediate family member during their vacation may be entitled to Bereavement Leave and such leave shall not be considered as vacation.
  5. When an employee is hospitalized or injured during their period of vacation there shall be no deduction from vacation credits for such absence.  The period of vacation so displaced shall be added to the vacation period or reinstated for use at a later date at a time mutually agreed with their Supervisor.  No allowance will be considered without verification or proof.
  6. Vacation pay shall be paid on each pay period for part time staff and casual staff.   
  7. Vacation leave shall be taken or paid out within the year it was earned by the employee unless prior approval to carry over is approved by the Executive Director.
  8. Employees still in their probationary period will not be entitled to take any vacation, but will accumulate vacation time during probationary period.
  9. Upon termination of employment annual vacation owing will be settled by payment based on days or weeks of annual vacation still unused but entitled to by the employee by applying the above criteria.
  10. Further information and guidance on Vacation Entitlement and Vacation Pay standards under the Employment Standards Code are published by the Province of Manitoba in a Fact Sheet which can be accessed online at: Employment Standards | Employment Standards | Vacations and Vacation Pay

f) Monitoring and Review

This policy will be reviewed every two (2) years by the Executive Committee or more frequently if required to ensure compliance with any changes in employment standards to ensure its continued relevance and alignment with the NACC’s operations. Changes to the policy will be documented and communicated to the Board for approval. 

g) Board Acceptance

This policy will be approved by the Board of Directors. The President / Chair of the Board will sign and date the policy to indicate its approval and adoption. 

Reviewed:  June 23, 2025 

Revisions Approved: June 23, 2025