In WSK Well Services Inc. v Barker, 2026 ABESAB 22, the Alberta Employment Standards Appeal Body (“ABESAB”) found an oilwell drilling employee was entitled to be paid for Good Friday despite that he was on lay-off at the time.
This case serves as an interesting example of statutory interpretation in protection of employee rights.
Facts
The following were the pertinent facts summarized by the ABESAB:
- The employee worked as a Floor Hand on a WSK Well Services drilling rig crew for about 9 months when he was sent an email about spring break-up and road bans. His last day of this initial period of employment was March 27, 2025. His Record of Employment listed “shortage of work / end of season”
- The employee was brought back to work on May 20, 2025 and was involved in a worksite altercation on May 25, 2025. He was banned from the third-party owned site
- After May 25, the employee ceased communicating with WSK Well Services
- The employee filed an employment standards complaint seeking wages, overtime pay, vacation pay, general holiday pay, termination pay, and compensation for damages to his personal vehicle
- The employment standards Officer found the employer had just cause to terminate the employee’s employment. The Officer determined he was not entitled to wages, vacation pay, or termination pay, but was entitled to some overtime and general holiday pay for the Good Friday holiday on April 18, 2025 because:
- He worked for the employer for more than 30 days prior to the holiday
- He worked on March 27, 2025, which was the last regular day of work before Good Friday
- He worked on May 20, 2025, which was the first regular day of work following layoff
- He worked 6 of the 9 Friday’s preceding Good Friday
- The employer appealed to the ABESAB, arguing the employee was not entitled to the overtime and general holiday pay he was awarded by the Officer
Analysis / Conclusion
The employer’s argument was that the employee’s employment had been “deemed terminated” after he had originally been laid off, and that this should prevent him from qualifying for the April 18, 2025 holiday. Specifically, the employer argued that oilwell drilling employees are statutorily deemed to be employed for a definite term or task, and that employment ends on completion of that task.
The ABESAB confirmed that statutory termination notice under the Employment Standards Code and Regs is not required for oilfield drilling employees upon completion of a specific task.
However, the ABESAB pointed out there was no evidence that an oilwell or specific task was completed at the time of the layoff – he was just advised the well could not be completed at that time. There was no evidence that the employee was actually terminated by the employer before the Good Friday holiday.
The employer also pointed out that the employee received EI benefits after the initial lay-off, and argued this was consistent with a termination of employment. The ABESAB rejected this argument, because employment insurance can be payable any time there is an “interruption of earnings” and is not contingent on termination of employment.
The ABESAB dismissed the employer’s appeal.
My Take
I don’t believe I have ever seen a decision quite like this one. However, I cant see anything problematic in the reasoning.
The Employment Standards Code protects employees. Employers wishing to run statutory construction arguments should keep this in mind, because if the legislation does not very clearly disentitle an employee to something, the odds are very high they will remain entitled to it.
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This blog post is an original work of Bow River Law LLP. The original publish of this article is on Bow River Law’s website blog.
