Alberta Health Services (AHS) has ordered some non-unionized employees to take 2 unpaid days off before April 2026 as it navigates ongoing “budgetary pressures.”
“AHS continues to look for efficiencies and cost savings to meet our financial commitments without impacting patient care,” spokesperson Kristi Bland said in an email to CBC News.
“This is a one-time measure impacting some of our non-unionized workforce. It does not impact frontline staff, and no health-care services will be impacted by this measure.”
Bland didn’t disclose how many staffers are mandated to take the 15.5 hours of unpaid leave, but shared that workers earning below a certain threshold aren’t affected.
The bombshell update comes as the Alberta government continues to restructure of the province’s health system.
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“If this move by AHS truly is a ‘one-time measure,’ it’s unlikely that affected non-unionized employees have grounds for a constructive dismissal claim,” said Lior Samfiru, an employment lawyer and national co-founding partner of Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
“However, if unpaid leave mandates become a regular occurrence — regardless of an individual’s earning threshold — workers can absolutely pursue full severance through a constructive dismissal claim since employers in Canada don’t have the right to force...
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