Memo: Federal Election, Monday, May 2, 2011

The purpose of this memorandum is to advise you of the University’s obligations to staff and faculty who will be working or have teaching commitments on Monday, May 2, while voting is underway for the Federal election.

Voting in the Lower Mainland is scheduled on Monday, May 2, from 7 am until 7 pm. UBC staff and faculty who are registered voters and who are scheduled to work or have teaching commitments that day are entitled, under the Canada Elections Act, to three consecutive hours in which to vote. Many employees’ scheduled working hours may overlap with voting hours.

For Staff:

Those UBC staff scheduled to start work later than 10 am or to finish work by 4 pm will not need extra time off to vote.

However, many staff are scheduled to work from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm or from 9 am to 5 pm, leaving them with fewer than three hours of personal time before the start or end of the day in order to vote. Others may be working longer days because of flex time. These staff members may require one or more hours of paid time off, at the beginning or end of Monday’s workday, to add to their personal time in order to have three consecutive hours in which to vote.

If staff request paid time off in order to have three consecutive hours of personal time to vote, they must be allowed enough paid time away from work to ensure they have a full three hours in which to cast ballots. The Act confirms that the time off may be scheduled when “convenient” for the employer, so it is up to the employer to determine whether an employee is permitted a late start or an early finish. If you have any questions regarding scheduling hours on May 2, please contact your Human Resources Advisor or Associate.

For Faculty:

We anticipate that faculty members will make the necessary adjustments to what has been scheduled for that day in order to allow them time for voting. However, it is expected that all classes will proceed as scheduled.  Please contact Faculty Relations if you have any questions or concerns about rights and obligations of faculty on Election Day.

Alternatives:

For those staff and faculty interested in advanced voting the dates are as follows: Friday, April 22, Saturday, April 23, and Monday April 25.

Mail-in voting is also an option and details can be found on the Elections Canada website: http://www.elections.ca/home.aspx.

Additional Resources:

Download a PDF version of the above email memo:

Elections Act: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/.

View this memo as a PDF.