After the Calgary Flames season was suspended due to the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the team has informed hourly and event employees they will not be compensated for lost shifts moving forward.
The NHL announced Thursday its season would be put on hold indefinitely as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. So, too, did the National Lacrosse League and Western Hockey League, both of which have teams that call the Scotiabank Saddledome home.
On Friday, the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation — which owns the Flames, the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen and the NLL’s Calgary Roughnecks — said in an email to hourly and event staff they will not be paid for cancelled shifts during the stoppage, beyond shifts which had been scheduled for the day prior.
“Unless notified by your supervisor, all scheduled shifts are cancelled. CSEC will pay for your March 12, 2020 shift if you were scheduled to work as the notice of cancellation was less than the 24 hours required by Alberta Employment Standards. Any shifts on March 13, 2020 and beyond must be pre-approved by your supervisor,” states the email, which was obtained by Postmedia.
“Alberta Employment Standards requires that employers provide 24 hours’ notice for cancellation of scheduled shifts. CSEC will pay employees where the notification of cancellation was less than 24 hours. No payment will be made for shifts cancelled with greater than 24 hours’ notice.”
The Flames had been scheduled to face-off against the New York Islanders at the Saddledome on Thursday evening. The NHL season was suspended earlier that day.
CSEC said affected employees would be eligible to apply for employment insurance, noting the federal government announced earlier in the week it would eliminate the standard one-week waiting period due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“The details of this change are still in progress, however, it appears that employees asked to self-isolate by their employers when recommended by public health officials will qualify,” CSEC stated. “Employees must have sufficient insurable hours to qualify for EI benefits.”
The organization noted employees would be paid Friday as previously scheduled. Those eligible for part-time benefits would continue receiving them “at the current time.”
The email also included information about the virus, its symptoms, and what to do if employees had recently travelled outside Canada.
No Flames players or staff had been tested for COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to CSEC.
Inside the Scotiabank Saddledome as the NHL has stopped play due to the coronavirus.
During a news conference that day, CSEC president and CEO John Bean said the organization was working to determine whether employees would be compensated for lost shifts due to the various leagues’ suspensions.
“From a staff point of view, there is a number of HR issues that you’ll be dealing with as most organizations will deal with when you face situations like that,” Bean said.
“They’re very good questions and we’re working on those now.”
Bean said CSEC has 250 full-time and 1,500 part-time employees.
“As an organization we’re going to be working through a number of issues,” he said.
“They all have questions as well and that’s who we’re really going to work closely with now, communicate with and make sure we can answer as many questions and give them as much guidance as we can.”
A spokesperson for CSEC declined to comment further on Friday, adding the organization would communicate its plan “directly with employees.”
The Flames say they don’t know how long the work stoppage will last.
Some NHL teams have reportedly announced plans for programs to ensure part-time and event staff are compensated throughout March as they await details. Others, like the Winnipeg Jets, have indicated those workers won’t be paid in the interim.
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