Double (16-Hour) Shift Was Not Prohibited By ESA Or OHSA: Arbitrator

A labour arbitrator has held that the practice of unionized long-term care home employees voluntarily working two 8-hour shifts in succession did not violate the Ontario Employment Standards Act or Occupational Health and Safety Act.

With respect to the ESA, the arbitrator held that the practice did not violate section 18(1) which required that employers "give an employee a period of at least 11 consecutive hours free from performing work in each day." That was because, according to the arbitrator, s. 18(1) permitted an employee to voluntarily work more than 13 hours in a day; as such, the collective agreement provision permitting double shifts was a greater right or benefit and thus did not violate the ESA.