Working & Volunteering

The Office of the Appeals Advisor (OAA) was established to advance the interests of injured workers and their dependants. Appeals advisors are all certified in Tribunal Administrative Justice, are specialists in interpreting and applying the Workers’ Compensation Act and WCB policies. They will walk you through the appeals process and act as your representative throughout. The OAA acts independently of WCB when representing workers and, whenever possible, they try to work directly with WCB’s customer service areas to resolve issues so that a formal appeals hearing is not necessary. There is no charge to you for this service.

Generally, employment refers to work in non-unionized work settings. Employment standards are the minimum standards established by law that define and guarantee rights in the workplace. Each province and territory has its own legislation.This research guide is provided by Alberta Law Libraries.

Related topics include:

• wrongful dismissal
• human rights in the workplace
• privacy
• workplace health and safety
• worker’s compensation
• unemployment insurance

The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is a National Indigenous Organization representing the political voice of Indigenous women, girls and gender diverse people in Canada, inclusive of First Nations on and off reserve, status and non-status, disenfranchised, Métis and Inuit. NWAC works on a variety of issues such as employment, labour and business, health, violence prevention and safety, justice and human rights, environment, early learning childcare and international affairs.

The WRC helps Alberta workers through advocacy, a Casework Program, and Public Legal Education. If you need help with an employment issue, the WRC is ready to help.

Handy guide to terminology pertinent human rights law, privacy, revealing gender identity to other employees, use of bathrooms and other issues regarding accommodation of trans-identified persons in the workplace.

The Centre provides worker-focused resources about:

• Health hazards on the job
• Legislation and legal rights for a healthy and safe workplace
• Research on health and safety issues and trends affecting workers

They also offer courses that are designed to give workers a better understanding of their Health and Safety rights and responsibilities, and provides tools for making the workplace safer.

Alberta Works helps unemployed people find and keep jobs, employers meet their need for skilled workers,  Albertans with low incomes cover their basic costs of living. They offer services in different ways through: Employment Services, Employment and Career Resources,Training Supports, Alberta Job & Career Fairs.,  Workforce Partnerships, Income Support, and Health Benefits.

Rights at Work is a collection of resources developed by the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta and funded by the Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism Fund. The resources make use of real‐life scenarios to demonstrate Alberta legislation that protects workers.Resources include tipsheet, videos, quizzes and articles.

Volunteer Alberta aims to empower Alberta’s nonprofit sector organizations through knowledge exchange and strategic connections. Their risk management resources include an Insurance Toolkit and Guide to Director’s and Officer’s Liability.

LawNow is a bi-monthly digital public legal education magazine which has been  published by the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta for almost 40 years.  Its articles  and columns are written in plain language and take a practical look at how the law relates to the every day lives of Canadians. In each issue, LawNow’s employment law column takes a look at a specific topic in this area of law and explains it clearly and concisely.

These FAQs are provided by the Canadian Legal FAQs, a website of the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta. These FAQs provide information about employment law in Alberta and are divided into 12 sections: General; The difference between employees and independent contractors; Contract of Employment; Employment Standards; Pay; Overtime; Hours of Work; General Holidays & General Holiday Pay; ; Vacations & Vacation Pay; Maternity & Parental Leave; Termination & Temporary Layoff; and Enforcement of Labour Standards.

These “How old do I have to be?” FAQs are provided by the Canadian Legal FAQs, a website of the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta. They provide answers for youth about age-related issues under various topics: family, criminal, medical and health related, legal and financial, activities (such as driving), school and work.

The Foundation works to strengthen the charitable sector through policy research, public awareness research and analysis, consultations on the regulation of charities, seminars and workshops on key issues and concerns affecting charities as well as special projects. Particular areas of concern are management development and leadership and building capacity within organizations devoted to early childhood development. They provide a variety of publications related to this work.

This site provides links to community grants, programs and services designed to assist non-profit organizations, communities, and volunteerism, as well as links to tools and resources to help.

Volunteer Canada is the national voice for volunteerism in Canada. Since 1977, Volunteer Canada has been committed to supporting volunteerism and civic participation through ongoing programs and special projects. National in scope, Volunteer Canada’s board members, partners and members represent hundreds of different communities across Canada.

The ECVO is a charitable organization dedicated to providing leadership and mobilizing the collective resources of the voluntary sector, to enhance programs, services, operations and governance of not-for-profit organizations in the Edmonton region. ECVO’s primary goal is to be a collective voice for the not-for-profit sector, to build the sector’s capacity and to raise awareness of those cross-sectoral issues that have the greatest impact on the organizations we represent.

Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada strives: to provide national leadership for those working in the field of Volunteer Management; to maintain a professional Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice in the management of volunteer resources; to promote professional development in the management of volunteer resources; and to collaborate with provincial, national and international organizations.

Volunteers and the Law in Alberta provides information for both volunteers and the organizations who recruit them, as to what the law is regarding volunteering. The site is divided into two sections; Volunteers and Organization/Board Member, so as to make finding the information you need as fast and easy as possible.

This online resource was created by the Alberta Voluntary Sector Insurance Council and the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations to assist nonprofits with understanding and managing their insurance issues. It explains the basics of insurance, understanding a policy and managing your policy. It includes a section about Volunteers and Insurance, and provides information for volunteer board members.

The Workers’ Compensation Board – Alberta is an independent organization that manages workers’ compensation insurance based on legislation. WCB-Alberta is not a provincial government department or crown corporation. The organization is employer funded to provide cost-effective disability and liability insurance. Workers’ compensation provides assistance to injured workers for lost income, health care and other costs related to a work-related injury.

This web page from the Labour Program of the government of Canada contains information on the following: workplace safety; prevention; workkers compensation; ; compliance policy; and mental health in the workplace.

The Canadian Human Rights Act gives each of us an equal opportunity to work and live without being hindered by discriminatory practices. The Canadian Human Rights Commission is responsible to investigate and try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the provision of services by federally regulated organizations. Information is provided about which organizations these are, and about the nature of discrimination and harassment and what can be done.

The Alberta Labour Relations Board is the independent and impartial tribunal responsible for the day-to-day application and interpretation of Alberta’s labour laws. The Board administers and interprets the Labour Relations Code and other laws focused on unionized workplaces. The Board actively encourages dispute resolution, employs officers for investigations and makes major policy decisions.

This webpage from the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s website explains the rights and responsibilities of the Alberta Human Rights Act in the workplace.

Information includes how the Alberta Human Rights Act applies to the workplace, right and responsibilities of employees and employers, rights and responsibilities for trade unions and occupational associations, FAQs and resources related to the topic.

Imagine Canada is a national charitable organization whose cause is Canada’s charities and nonprofits. They support and strengthen charities and nonprofits so they can, in turn, support the Canadians and communities they serve. Sections include: Ethical Code program; Insurance and liability resource centre for non-profits; Charity tax tools; and Non-profit library.

Charity Central is a Canada-wide charity law education initiative which supports Canadian charities in understanding and complying with the requirements of the Income Tax Act in the areas of receipting, fundraising, record keeping, and accountability and transparency practices. The audiences for the resources are small, medium and large charities; staff, board members and volunteers involved with charities; and professionals and educational agencies that support the charitable sector. Charity Central is a website of the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA).

This publication is for workers who want to know more about employment rules in the Alberta workplace. It discusses legislation covering workers, their rights before starting a job, their rights and responsibilities on the job, and leaving the job temporarily or permanently. Information is provided on employment standards, workplace health and safety, human rights and workers’ compensation. Key contacts and resources for Alberta employees are also included. (PDF – 40 pages)

The Young Workers Zone was created by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety to help young people stay healthy and safe at work. Teachers, young workers, parents and employers can get the information and tools needed to venture into the work world on a safe footing.

This publication explains the provisions of the Act as they apply to pregnancy, breastfeeding, maternity and parental leave, adoption, and childcare obligations. It also provides resources for finding more information about maternity leave and parental leave, which includes leave for adoptive parents.

This division of Alberta Employment and Immigration will help temporary foreign workers to learn about their rights and find solutions for problem situations. Booklets and brochures are available for employers and for workers. (Guide for Employees is available in 13 languages.) A walk-in office and a helpline are offered for assistance.

In this issue of English Express you will learn about human rights in Alberta with examples and illustrations. English Express uses simple and easy to understand English for anyone to understand their publication.(PDF – 23 pages)