Amid labor shortages, employers face a new headache: On September 1, Quebec’s Labor Standards Compliance Act will limit the working hours of teenagers.
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After the under-14s were taken off the labor market on June 1, from September 1, 14-16 year-olds will not be allowed to work more than 17 hours a week or more than 10 hours between Mondays and Fridays during the school year.
“While we agree with the general objectives of this law, it is clear that its application at this point will only add to the complexity of an already quite complex period. Ultimately, it is not so much this law that is problematic. The real problem is the labor shortage that we are experiencing,” says Marie-Claude Bacon, vice president of public affairs and communications at Metro.
Obviously, she said, several branches of the organization’s various brands, including Première Moisson, Adonis, Super C, Brunet and Jean Coutu, will face additional management challenges due to the “serious shortage” affecting them.
“It can hardly be said that this law is terrible. From a social point of view, she is doing well. But it’s putting real pressure on businesses, it’s going to lead to more overtime and stress in organizations,” said Steven Kramer of WorkJam, a technology company that provides a workforce management solution, specifically for employee schedules in hospitality and retail.
Concerned Entrepreneurs
Like everyone in the industry Julie Arel, Co-owner of La Muse restaurant and Hemming supermarket in Drummondville would have done just fine without these new problems, although she says she fully agrees with the law’s purpose.
Julie Arel and Daniel Paulin, co-owners of La Muse restaurant, Hemming supermarket and attached snack bar in Drummondville, are preparing with a clear conscience to face the working hours imposed on them by the new Young Workers Act starting September 1 . Provided by The Muse
“I love my young employees. you are good But I don’t want them to be here at 42 doing the dishes! And the only way to do that is as an employer to ensure that work doesn’t interfere with their educational journey. It is our successor for all.”
Ms Arel, daughter of the former owner of the well-known Le Madrid restaurant in Saint-Léonard-d’Aston on Highway 20, says she understands the reality of workers aged 14 to 16, who now make up around 15 to 20%. its 60 employees.
“I was 13 when my father bought Madrid. So I started working very early, first as a dishwasher, then as a chambermaid. I can see that young people are tired of work these days. They need to rest, see their friends and go back to school and exercise.
At Lafleur Restaurants in the Montreal area, it is expected that some recruitment efforts will be required to adapt to the new government regulations as there are several teenagers among the staff.
“The labor shortage affects everyone. And we encourage anyone who wants to work to come,” said President George Papagiannis.
As a father whose 15-year-old daughter works part-time, he agrees with the law and says he prefers 14-16 year olds to work weekends.
Pierre Grondin, owner of the Au Toit Rouge restaurant in Quebec City, understands how difficult it is for many employers to have enough staff to meet everyone’s needs. However, he says he hasn’t waited for changes in the law to give attention to young people as young as 14. -16 years old.
“I always thought school was very important. For me it is a priority not to let young people work too much. I’m used to it, I’ve always voluntarily limited their working hours,” he says.
Confusion about the legal provisions
The new provisions of the Labor Standards Act, which include many details and some exceptions in family businesses, are still unknown to several employers contacted by Le Journal.
Michel Rochette, representative of the Retail Council of Canada (RCCD) in Quebec, makes no secret that an adjustment period may be necessary before all retailers and young employees understand the law and apply it equally.
The confusion is likely to be all the greater as restaurateurs and retailers are already living with a shortage of staff and above-average fluctuation rates.
“It’s another pressure, another rock or another challenge that’s on managers’ shoulders.”
Supporting the law is the Association Restoration Québec (ARQ), which assures that young people aged 14 to 16 can continue to work full-time during the Christmas break, spring break and summer, something many of its members are not yet aware of, however.
Who will control?
Control over young people’s working hours will be partly left to employers, but they won’t be able to take care of everything, warns Martin Vézina, who is in charge of public affairs at ARQ.
“Employers will control the number of hours in their establishment, but there could be some young workers who could escape the rule by holding multiple jobs, each of which would correspond to the number of hours but cumulatively would not. Don’t.” It’s a problem. But we can’t penalize employers because there’s no way we can check if the worker is working elsewhere,” he said, adding that parents have a role to play in supervising their teenagers.
It is difficult to know exactly how many 14-16 year olds are in the labor force as statistics for age groups are not as accurate. In 2021-2022, 39% of 15-19 year olds attending school were able to combine work and study. A 2017 high school youth health survey found that 37% of young people who worked more than 16 hours a week had high levels of mental distress.