scilly

There are so many variables in vacation entitlements during employment in Canada, and I don't know which is the true picture.

dbd33 presents one aspect .,............. that of a private company hiring mainly contract workers.

I was a technician at a large university, and large corporations and companies tend to have unions and much better vacation and benefits than small private companies .......... largely due to expense.

I was not in a union, but the rules for my employment were the same as for the union members .............. I had to work for 12 months before being eligible to take my 2 weeks vacation, although that did not affect the Stat holidays, whether those were provincial or Federal.

After 3 years, I got 3 weeks and then that increased gradually until my 10th year, when I reached the maximum of 6 weeks paid vacation, plus Stat holidays.

In addition, I could take unpaid vacation time by mutual agreement with my immediate supervisor.

There was also the opportunity to take time off in lieu if I had to work overtime or a weekend fro some reason.

In comparison ....... faculty members at that university received 4 weeks paid vacation plus paid time off to attend professional meetings by negotiation with the Department Head. Additional time off could be taken by negotiation with the Dean of the Faculty ............. eg taking an extra 4 weeks to research abroad, write a book. The latter was usual among people in the Arts faculty!

Ship building is governed by unions at the worker level, but I don't know about higher levels.

BristolUK

Have you thought about a new avatar? On this subject you always make me think of Bradley Hardacre.

Edo

That may be true for some industries but in the context of marine industry, countries that you've listed do not have much to offer in terms of talent.

dbd33

Eastern Europe then.

Tangram

Been in I.T. for 12 years over here, 16 years in the UK. Never have encountered that culture of 'not taking vacation' but this was in the Maritimes. Maybe it's a TO/Big City thing.

Photoplex

Agreed. My experiences in Calgary and Vancouver has been pressure to actually take time off, rather than carrying it over and accruing too much. And that's how I am with my direct reports too - I actively push them to use up their vacation (with enough notice to arrange coverage, avoid overlaps etc).

Sure glad I didn't pick Ontario to live and work.

dbd33

It's way better here than the "campus" arrangements I've seen in California and Long Island; those really are set up to make it difficult to ever leave work. Here the worst one has to endure is the weekend "hackathon", an opportunity to work all through the weekend, not for money but for the chance to bond with other spotty illiterates.

getoutofbritainquick

Not much different to crown corporations and government agencies in Canada. High performers (no matter what their nationality) get overlooked frequently for someone who has a buddy they can bring into the organization. No relevant skills required they just muddle through on the advice of the more experienced people. These people tend to get the top jobs and anyone who challenges them gets let go (just like what is going on in the BC Legislator and Federal governments). Local Mayors employ their buddies and spend tax payers money lining their pockets and woe betide anyone who complains. My wife works for the Cancer Agency and its not much different there. The sense of entitlement in Canada is astonishing. Its not surprising Canada is a long way behind other first world countries when it comes to evolution. Seriously thought about retiring but, er no. So disappointed with BC. Nice place shame about how its run.

dbd33

This isn't directly about working conditions but may be relevant to anyone considering applying for a position in Canada. I've been interviewing this week on behalf of a client, a minor player in the financial sector. There's one junior systems development position available (someone was appointed but was telephone interviewed and the person sent who turned up was not the person interviewed on the phone. You gotta love the balls on these pimps!). I was told to sort it out and sent five hundred candidate resumes for review (numerous resumes arrive, unsolicited, every week).

Tips:

1, Spell check or the resume is in the bin.
2. Grammar, one use of "reply back" and the resume is in the bin.
3. No weird fonts or special effects. Simple format.
4. No one looks good enough that the resume reader's life is enhanced by seeing a picture of them.
5. Do include something in the "Hobbies and Interests" section that differentiates you. We're interviewing the person who keeps chickens and the one who restores cars because we have 200 resumes all of which claim the same level of skills in the same products.
6. Short of a morning suit, you can't overdress to an interview. You have 30 minutes to try and stand out from the other 7 candidates this morning, don't do it by being the one with paint on your shirt.
7. You need something on GitHub. You don't need anything on linkedin, having a profile there just makes you seem old.
8. The other candidates will emphasize that they're willing to work weekends for free so long as they're paid during the week. Be ready to be asked about that.
9. The other candidates will fly in to interview for a $40/hr job. If you won't do that, have a plan for a video interview or similar.
10. The other candidates will have a plan to live locally to the place of work, typically they'll have found out about rented rooms nearby.
11. The employer will absolve their legal liability by having you, and your pimp, sign a form stating that you're legal to work in Canada. If you sign that's good enough for them.

Note that one minute after I booked a meeting room for a meeting entitled "Interview" I was beset by pimps who had "got word of your open position" who could "offer the ideal candidate". You gotta love the balls on them!

It seems that getting a computing job in the K-W area now is like getting a big screen TV on Black Friday, it's not a circumstance in which it is reasonable to advance the idea of wanting to take vacation. Basically, the other candidates will do anything for the job,

Phaedru5

I think I have said this before on a different thread, and it echos comments above really, but I too was worried about less holiday in Canada when we moved last year, but my first job here and I get 3 weeks (15 days) as standard + 3 personal days + a long (3 day) weekend almost every month as is the norm in BC and hence its not much less really than I had in the UK . Added to which, all I ever wanted to do on my hols was visit BC, so now I live here and get to do all the outdoor activities at the evenings and weekends that I previously had to fly 9hrs to do. So yea, its definitely worth it.

dbd33

In BC, what does the workplace look like in terms of place of birth of the staff? I ask because here the race to the bottom is very much driven by immigrant workers, many of whom take a second degree to get residency. When I came an early triumph for me was working harder and cheaper than the competition and seeing two locals laid off because of it. Now I'm able to interview six or eight people a day who have that drive.

Phaedru5

In the Interior it is mostly what I (quietly and to myself) refer to as typical Canadians, unlike at the coast where there are many more migrants. Life is a few years behind here in the interior!. I work for a small company but with HQ in Ontario where probably >50% of the employees are of foreign origin or at least second generation immigrants. Similarly though to yourself I too have worked hard this year and been recognised with a promotion and being given a wider territory to manage while another (who had that territory) was laid off - thankfully with some internal staff restructured to support me!

JamesM

The developer life is a strange one.

I actually had a beer with two of the developers at my company and was aghast to learn they both only got 10 days and the one chap hadn't used a day in 2 years?

Personally I don't touch jobs where vacation is 10 days I've always had 15. I will say most firms in Toronto I've worked for have also closed their doors between Christmas and New Year which helps.

I'm actually in an interview process with a British company at the moment where they are offering 25 days like they do at their London office. I don't know if I'd ever be able to use all 25 but it's a huge selling point for the role. I could live in a country like Britain- I'd get to spend more time with my children.

JamesM

Other than going to school with them or sleeping with their neighbours dog it's often hard to see why people in Canada want to employ Canadians? The fact that so many people get jobs via contacts rather than talent goes some way to explain the vast productivity gap that exists with our neighbour south of the border. Trump wants to build his wall on the wrong side!

dbd33

Be careful what you wish for.

All my resume sifting and our careful honed questions leading to collated candidate comparisons has been in vain. A relative of an executive has asked for a position so we're getting her. All is not lost, of course, I now have a list of people who need jobs, some of whom I know I would hire. A pimpin' we shall go.