New rules for meal allowances will come into effect on July 23. From then on, any employee on a regular workweek who works 10 hours in a day (excluding meal breaks) can claim a meal allowance. Subsequent allowances can be claimed for every four hours worked beyond 10 hours (eg. after 14 hours, 18 hours, etc.). The allowance is $12 per meal.

Employees on a compressed workweek will be eligible for the meal allowance if they work 2.25 hours beyond their regular shift. Subsequent allowances can be claimed for each four-hour period worked beyond that.

The deal varies from the CBC policy, which limits employees to only one additional meal break after nine hours. The policy also doesn’t differentiate between regular and compressed workweeks, and would therefore have provided a meal allowance for all employees working more than nine hours in a shift. The CMG was concerned that the application of the policy could have reduced the opportunity for employees’ to access compressed workweeks and other flexible work arrangements.

For more information, get in touch with the Guild (info@cmg.ca) at 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.