Using seasonal workers to fill shifts during busy periods

When your business hits its busiest times of the year—whether it's the holiday season, summer months, or any peak period—keeping up with customer demand can be challenging. 

Hiring seasonal workers is an effective way to ensure your shifts and schedules are covered without overburdening your permanent staff. Seasonal workers offer flexibility and temporary support, allowing you to meet operational needs while keeping your labour costs manageable.

In Canada, it's important to understand the rights and obligations that come with employing seasonal workers. So, here’s everything you need to know.

Why you should hire seasonal workers

As a business owner or manager, you know how unpredictable peak periods can be.

Whether you're in retail, hospitality, or any other industry that experiences spikes in demand, having the right number of staff is essential to maintaining smooth operations.

Here are some key reasons why hiring seasonal workers can help:

Meet increased demand

During busy periods, your regular team may struggle to handle the higher volume of customers or tasks. Seasonal workers fill those gaps, ensuring you don’t lose business due to being understaffed.

Reduce burnout

Relying solely on your full-time employees to work extra shifts during peak times can lead to burnout and decreased productivity. Seasonal workers relieve the pressure on your permanent staff by distributing the workload.

Flexibility

Seasonal workers allow you to adjust your workforce based on your business needs. You can scale up during busy periods and return to your core team when demand drops, keeping labour costs efficient.

Speed up schedules

With additional team members, you can schedule shifts more efficiently, covering high-demand hours without overextending anyone. This ensures you maintain optimal service levels during peak times.

The benefits of seasonal workers for shift management

When hiring seasonal workers, you gain the flexibility to schedule staff based on demand.

Here’s how they can help:

Fill key shifts

Seasonal workers are perfect for covering high-demand times, such as evenings, weekends, or specific days during holiday sales. This allows you to ensure all key shifts are covered without adding strain to your core team.

Provide back-up

Seasonal workers offer a valuable buffer when unexpected issues arise, such as employee sickness or last-minute time-off requests. With a lineup of seasonal staff ready to fill in, you’ll always have the support you need to maintain business operations.

Special event coverage

If you host special promotions, events, or product launches during busy times, seasonal workers can provide the additional staff needed to ensure things run smoothly.

Legal considerations when hiring seasonal workers

While seasonal workers are temporary, you still need to ensure you comply with Canadian employment legislations. Even though they’re not permanent employees, they still have rights under employment standards legislation.

Here are the key legal aspects you should keep in mind:

Minimum wage

Seasonal workers must be paid at least the minimum wage set by your province or jurisdiction. You can choose to pay them more but paying your seasonal workers less than the minimum wage is illegal.

Overtime

If seasonal workers exceed standard working hours, you are required to pay overtime in accordance with your province’s employment standards. To prevent excessive overtime, consider implementing an averaging agreement, which allows you to balance their hours over a specified period.

Statutory Holiday Pay

In most regions, seasonal workers are entitled to statutory holiday pay if they meet certain conditions, such as having worked a minimum number of days before the holiday. Make sure to check your province's regulations to be sure.

Vacation pay

Seasonal workers are also entitled to vacation pay, even if they only work for you for a short time. This is often paid out as a percentage of their wages, based on your province’s requirements.

Sick leave and pay

Some provinces provide paid sick days for seasonal employees after a certain period of employment, such as British Columbia, which offers five paid sick days after 90 days of consecutive work. In other provinces, like Ontario and Alberta, sick pay is not mandatory unless specified in the employment contract.

If you need help with any of these legal considerations, it’s best to contact an employment relation advice line, like BrightAdvice.

Why contracts matter for seasonal workers

It’s easy to think that because seasonal workers are temporary, you can skip formal contracts. However, having a written employment contract is essential. Here’s why:

Clarity on employment terms

Contracts clearly outline the terms of employment, it should include:

• The start and end date

• Compensation

• Job duties

This helps avoid misunderstandings and sets clear expectations from the beginning.

Fixed-term contracts

If you know you only need workers for a specific period, a fixed-term contract ensures both parties understand the duration of employment. This is crucial for managing schedules and shifts during peak times, as it defines when the worker’s duties begin and end.

Termination clauses

Including a valid termination clause can protect you from having to provide extended notice or severance pay if the employment ends early. This is particularly useful if you no longer require their services once the busy period is over.

Get help managing your seasonal workers

By hiring seasonal workers, you can efficiently manage shifts and schedules during your busiest times, ensuring you meet customer demand without overstretching your permanent staff.

Just remember to follow legal guidelines and create strong employment contracts to protect both your business and your workers.

And to make things even easier for yourself, BrightHR is here to help. With tools that simplify HR tasks, ensure compliance and improve efficiency. Here’s how:

• Easily store and add seasonal workers details, with HR document management, ensuring all necessary documents are securely stored and accessible.

• Create shifts and schedules effortlessly,  with shift scheduling management tools, to help with fluctuating work schedules.

• Stay up to date with employment legislation and get the support you need whenever with 24/7 employment relations advice.

• Be confident that your employment contracts are compliant with an online HR document library to meet your legal obligations.

Investing in a HR software is a no brainer. So, book your free demo today and see for yourself how BrightHR can help you when you need to hire seasonal workers and beyond.