On November 17th, 2020, it fell to arbitrator Gabriel-M. Côté to rule on the usage of work-related punch apps on the personal cell phones of workers.
The arbitrator sided with the union (FTQ-Construction) declaring that time punching cannot be done from a mobile app installed on a worker’s personal device. The interpretation of this judgment has been left slightly vague and up to interpretation.
However, the important thing to remember, as the CMMTQ points out, is that:
- A mobile app on a cell phone records the work time of an employee and the employee is required to punch in and out.
- According to the collective agreement, if the employer wishes to use a punch system, it must provide a system to do so (i.e. providing a tablet through which workers can punch in and out)
- The use of a mobile app as a punch system on a worker’s personal mobile phone does not comply with the collective agreement and is therefore prohibited. This prohibition remains in effect even if the employee consents in writing to use this system.
The newspaper La Presse published that an application for a suspension of this decision was made by the ACQ et l’APCHQ but that it was rejected.
In the context of this moratorium, Cactusoft Construction offers you operational solutions.
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