Canada
Dozens of companies in Canada are experimenting with a 4 day work week as part of the 4 Day Week Global pilot.
4 Day Work Week in Canada
In early 2022, Canada began a 4 day work week trial program led by 4 Day Week Global, a non-profit organization that champions the 4 day work week. In October, another round of companies began the pilot.
The goal of the program was to demonstrate that employees can maintain 100% of their productivity while working 20% fewer hours and receiving the same amount of pay.
Working Hours in Canada
Standard business hours in Canada are 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week. While some industries are federally regulated, such as banking and air transportation, other industries such as engineering, dentistry, and the medical field are permitted to work outside of standard working hours, according to the needs of their business.
Employers in Canada are required to keep records of their employees’ working hours for 36 months in order to prove that they have complied with working hours and overtime laws. In Canada, employees in federally regulated industries are compensated 1.5 times their normal pay for overtime work.
On average, employees in Canada work about 37.5 hours per week.
Vacation Policy in Canada
Compared to most countries, Canada’s vacation time policy is minimal. Although laws vary by province or territory, most require employers to provide at least 10 days off per year to employees, in addition to 9 paid public holidays.
If an employee chooses not to take vacation time, their employer earns the right to decide when the employee will go on vacation. If an employee is terminated with any accrued vacation time, the vacation time is cashed out.
Part Time Working in Canada
As of October 2022, 3.6 million employees in Canada worked part time, which is close to 20% of the total workforce.
Over 75% of Canada’s part time workers are women. When surveyed, the most common reason women gave for working part time was child-care, while only about 3% of men who work part time cited the same reason.
Working Remotely in Canada
Since the onset of Covid-19, Canada has experienced a massive surge in remote employees. In 2016, only about 4% of Canada’s employees reported working remotely, but as of 2021, 30% of Canada’s workforce was remote, a 26% increase.
The number of remote employees varies by industry. For example, 85.3% of Canada’s finance and insurance sectors report being able to do their job remotely, while industries such as hospitality, construction, and agriculture report much lower numbers of remote workers.