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Loggers Working in Interior - Regulation Part 7, Section 37.7

Last updated on September 6, 2019

Contents:

Summary
Text of Legislation
Policy Interpretation
Related Information

Summary

This regulation explains which sections of the Act do not apply to loggers working in the interior of British Columbia. It also details the special rules an employer must follow when calculating overtime pay. 

Text of Legislation

37.7 (1) Sections 33, 35, 36 (1), 40 and 42 (2) of the Act do not apply to loggers working in the interior area as defined in section 1 (1) of B.C. Reg. 22/96, the Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulation.

(2) An employer of a logger working in the interior area must pay

(a) 1 1/2 times the employee's regular wage for the time worked over 8 hours in a day, and

(b) 1 1/2 times the employee's regular wage for the time worked over 40 hours in a week.

(3) For the purpose of calculating overtime under subsection (2) (b), only the first 8 hours worked by an employee in each day are counted, no matter how long the employee works on any day of the week.

(4) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 307/2002, s. 20 (b).]

(5) If an employer has scheduled at least 1 hour overtime per employee on each of the previous 5 days in that week,

(a) if the majority of employees agree in writing, up to 8 hours may be worked at regular wage on the 6th day of work but an employer must pay 1 1/2 times the regular rate for all hours worked on the 7th day,

(b) if the majority of employees do not agree in writing, the overtime provisions in subsection (2) apply, and

(c) a majority of employees may cancel an agreement under paragraph (a) by notifying the employer in writing.

(6) An employer of a logger working in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson Forest Districts under the Prince George Forest Region as established in the Forest Regions Regulation, B.C. Reg. 19/2000, must pay

(a) if the logger works a maximum of 100 consecutive working days within the period November 1 to March 31, inclusive, 1 1/2 times the employee's regular wage for the time worked over 8 hours in a day, and

(b) in any other case, as set out in subsection (2).

(6.1) A log harvesting worker's time bank, as set out in section 42 (1) of the Act, must be credited at the rates required under subsections (2), (5) (a) and (6) (a).

(7) The definition of "temporary layoff" in section 1 of the Act does not apply to loggers working in the interior area who are recalled to work if the temporary layoff is the result of a normal seasonal reduction in activity.

Policy Interpretation

For purposes of this section, “loggers” include workers in log harvesting operations, employed primarily as:

  • fallers
  • buckers
  • loaders; and
  • machine operators in log harvesting operations
  • A log scaler is not a logger. A person engaged in obtaining information upon which the government bases its calculation of tax (royalty) to be charge is not considered by the Director to be engaged in the harvesting of timber, and therefore, is deemed not to be a logger. This section, therefore, does not apply to a log scaler.
  • Those employees involved in building a logging road into the forest in the Interior in order to facilitate timber harvesting are considered by the Director to be Interior Loggers. Typically, timber is being harvested during the course of building the logging road. The Director does distinguish between those individuals who build roads , and those who are involved in the ongoing maintenance of existing logging road. Those individuals who build roads as part of access for a logging operation are Interior Loggers; those who maintain them, are not.

A week for the purposes of this section is a 7 consecutive day period starting on Sunday at 12:01 am and ending on Saturday midnight.

Subsection (1)

Under this section of the Regulation, certain types of loggers, as described above, are excluded from various provisions of Part 4 of the Employment Standards Act, Hours of work and overtime. Specifically, the sections of the Act that do not apply are:

  • Section 33. Split shifts
  • Section 35. Maximum hours of work before overtime applies
  • Section 36(1) Hours free from work
  • Section 40. Overtime wages for employees not working under an averaging agreement
  • Section 42(2) Banking of overtime hours

Subsection (2) and (3)

Overtime pay

A logger working in the interior area is entitled to:

  • 1-1/2 times the regular wage for the time worked over 8 hours per day; and
  • 1-1/2 times the regular wage for time worked over 40 hours in a week. For purposes of this weekly overtime calculation, only the first 8 hours worked in each day are counted, regardless of how long the employee works on any day of the week.

Subsection (4) Repealed.

Subsection (5)

If an employer has scheduled at least one hour overtime, per employee, on each of the previous 5 days in that week, the employees are entitled as follows:

Where the majority of employees agree in writing:

  • Up to 8 hours may be worked at regular wage on the 6th day of work but an employer must pay 1-1/2 X the regular rate for all hours worked on the 7th day

A majority of employees may cancel this agreement at any time by notifying their employer in writing.

Where the majority of employees do not agree in writing:

  • The overtime provisions of subsection (2) apply.

Subsection (6)

A “logger” working in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson Forest Districts under the Prince George Forest Region, as established in the Forest Regions Regulation, B.C. Reg 19/2000, is entitled to the following overtime pay:

  • 1-1/2 times the regular wage for time worked over 8 hours in a day if the logger works a maximum of 100 consecutive working days from November 1 to March 31 inclusive.
  • In any other case, in accordance with subsection (2) above

Subsection (6.1)

Where a time bank has been established in accordance with s.42(1) of the Employment Standards Act the overtime bank must be credited at the same rate that the overtime wages were earned at, in accordance with subsections (2), 5(a) and 6(a) above.

Subsection (7)

The definition of “temporary layoff” as defined in s.1 of the Act does not apply to loggers working in the interior area who are recalled to work, when the temporary layoff is the result of a normal seasonal reduction in activity.

Related Information

Related sections of the Act or Regulation

ESA

Other

Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulation