September 12, 2025

On September 10, 2025, Alberta teachers gave notice that they would begin a strike on October 6, 2025, unless they reach a deal beforehand. In the event of a strike, the ripple effects will quickly expand beyond school walls to cause waves in most workplaces. Many workers will experience challenges finding alternative child care for school-age children. We encourage employers to prepare now for the potential impact in their workplaces.

Employee Rights

The Alberta Human Rights Act protects Albertans from discrimination based on family status. That has been interpreted to include an obligation to provide employees with accommodations related to child-care obligations in certain circumstances unless they can establish that accommodation would cause the business undue hardship.

Accommodations could include:

• Adjusting hours of work for different start/end times;
• temporary reassignments;
• job-sharing arrangements; or
• remote work options.

Employers can ask their employees what attempts they have made to find other child-care alternatives, but should avoid overly intrusive questions. They cannot require an employee to exhaust all other child-care options before considering accommodation.

Employees must work with their employer to evaluate options for accommodation. They cannot refuse to consider any alternatives other than their preferred form of accommodation. For example, a worker cannot insist on being permitted to work remotely during the strike if adjusting their hours of work would address their family obligations.

The Employment Standards Code also provides Albertans (who have worked for their employer at least 90 days) with 5 days of unpaid but job-protected leave to take care of family responsibilities.

You cannot require an employee to use all their vacation time, or their 5 days of unpaid family responsibility leave, before considering requests for accommodation. The obligation to explore reasonable accommodation begins as soon as there is an adverse impact to an individual’s employment circumstances that arises from their child-care obligations. The obligation cannot be deferred until other entitlements are exhausted.

Best Practices

To ensure business continuity and avoid last minute requests, we recommend that employers be proactive with their staff:

• Encourage employees to prepare contingency plans.
• Provide information about support resources, including employee assistance programs if available.
• Remind employees about any flex time, sick days, banked time, or other time off they might be entitled to. You are allowed to present these as options so long as you do not require that they be used.
• Monitor news for announcements from government and community organizations about temporary child-care services that might be made available and share the information throughout the company.
• Ask employees to provide as much notice as possible if they expect to require accommodation.

If an employee is entitled to and requests accommodation, we recommend brainstorming options for accommodation and seeking input from affected employees. Businesses that respond to impacted employees with empathy and flexibility often see long-term benefits. The strike will be temporary, but it creates an opportunity to build goodwill that will last much longer. Employees who feel supported through the process often demonstrate more loyalty, stronger morale, and reduced absenteeism. Supporting employees during a teachers’ strike is not just about legal compliance – it’s about building trust and resilience.

Many workplaces will have multiple employees who need accommodation. It is important in those circumstances to be consistent and fair. That does not necessarily mean offering everyone the same form of accommodation. An option that works for one individual might not work for someone with different responsibilities, or in a department with different available resources. It is important to avoid situations that suggest favouritism. Keeping good records of communications, forms of accommodation that were considered, and reasons for approving or rejecting each, will help ensure transparency.

Quick Checklist for Employers

[ ] Stay informed about strike developments and government supports.

[ ] Understand your duty to accommodate under the Alberta Human Rights Act.

[ ] Communicate clearly with affected employees.

[ ] Explore flexible work options.

[ ] Document all accommodations and decisions.

[ ] Review obligations under the Employment Standards Code.

Trusted Guidance in Labour Relations

For questions about labour relations, please contact our Employment and Labour Law Group.

Author

Roxanne Davis, KC, QArb

Managing Partner
T: 403.705.3335
E: [email protected]

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Roxanne is certified by the ADR Institute of Canada as a Qualified Arbitrator. With over 20 years of experience balanced between representing employers and employees, Roxanne is well positioned to deliver fair and unbiased resolutions to workplace disputes.