Managing Employee Work Permits

⚡ What Are Work Permits?

Work Permits let you track an employee's worker status directly in their employee profile, so their permit or visa details are stored alongside the rest of their employee information.

Once a Work Permit is added, PUSH uses that information to help you stay compliant: it can flag when a permit is nearing expiry, cap scheduled hours at the employee's legally allowed maximum, and warn you if a shift is assigned after a permit has expired.

🔎 Why Track Work Permits?

Here are some common reasons teams track Work Permits in PUSH:

• Save time on manual tracking: Keep every employee's permit details in one place instead of juggling spreadsheets, paper files, or separate reminders. 
• Reduce compliance risk: Feel confident you're not scheduling an employee beyond what their permit legally allows, without having to check manually every time. 
• Avoid costly mistakes: Get flagged automatically before a shift goes out to an employee whose Work Permit has expired, so small oversights don't turn into bigger problems. 
• Never miss a renewal: Get notified in advance so you're not caught off guard when a permit expires.

🔐 Access required

Work Permit tracking is available to all Canadian customers with the HR Add-On.

📌 | Note: Work Permit tracking is not available to US customers at this time. If you'd like to track work permit information for US employees, we recommend setting up an Employee Attribute instead.

Who can view and update an employee's Work Permit?

• Super Administrators: Full access to view and update Work Permit information for any employee.
• Team Administrators: Can access Work Permit information if they have permission to view and/or update  Employee SIN under Employee Setup. And must have permissions to the relevant Employee Groups under Update Employee Information, View Employee Information, and View Employee List. If you are unable to access, please confirm your permissions with a Super Administrator.

📋 Topics covered in this article:

• Adding or Updating an Employee's Work Permit
• Frequently Asked Questions About Work Permits

📚 Related articles:

• Managing Employee Attributes
• Setting Up an Alarm for When an Employee's Work Permit Expires
• Check out our dedicated Employee Management section to find how-to guides, FAQs, and more.

Adding or Updating an Employee's Work Permit

Work Permit fields only appear for employees whose SIN is associated with a permit, you'll see this section automatically appear once that's the case, whether the employee was added manually by an Administrator or completed it themselves during digital onboarding.

1. Click the Employees tab.
2. Select the appropriate Employee List on the left-hand navigation bar: Active, Pending, Inactive, or On Leave List.
3. Search for the employee, and under Edit, click the pencil icon next to their name.
4. Navigate to the Basic Information (or Personal) section and, under the SIN field, enter the employee's details. |
   📌 | Note: The Work Permit section will only appear for employees whose SIN is linked to a permit. If you don't see these fields, the employee's SIN isn't currently flagged as permit-associated.

5. Once the SIN details are linked to a permit, the following fields will appear to complete:
   💡 | Tip: All Work Permit fields are optional; you only need to fill in what's relevant to the employee's specific permit or visa.

   Field	How to Fill Out	Notes
   Worker Status	Click the drop-down menu and select the option that matches the employee's permit: Active Study Permit, Active Work Permit/Visa Holder, Maintained Study Permit, or Maintained Work Permit.	Select the option that best matches the employee's current permit or visa type.
   Program	Click the drop-down menu and select the option that matches the employee's permit: Provincial Nominee Program (e.g., BC PNP, AINP), International Mobility Program, Study Permit, or Temporary Foreign Worker Program (LMIA).	The Provincial Nominee Program option is based on your account's province (e.g., BC PNP in British Columbia, AINP in Alberta) — you'll only see the option relevant to your location.
   Work Permit Number	Enter the identification number as it appears on the employee's permit.
   Max. Allowable Working Hours	Enter the maximum number of hours the employee is legally permitted to work. There is no limit on the value inputted in the field.	This is a weekly limit. When using our Scheduling feature, if the shifts you're building would put the employee over this number for the week, the Scheduler will show a pop-up letting you know. It's tracked separately from the employee's Weekly Availability, so we recommend setting it up.  This way, even if their availability changes, you'll still be flagged if a shift exceeds what their Work Permit allows (e.g., their permit may cap them at 40 hours a week, even if their availability shows they only want to work fewer hours).
   Work Permit Issue Date	Use the calendar picker and select the date, or enter it manually (e.g. 1990-01-01).	Marks the date the permit was issued and went into effect.
   Work Permit Expiry Date	Use the calendar picker and select the date, or enter it manually (e.g. 1990-01-01).	Used to determine when a permit is coming up for expiry.  When using our Scheduling feature, if you add a shift for the employee, the Scheduler will show a pop-up letting you know the work permit has expired. We recommend pairing this with the Work Permit Expiration Alarm to ensure your team is notified in advance.
   Upload Work Permit	Click the plus icon and select a PDF from your device.	Keep a copy of the permit for your records. Once uploaded, a link to it will appear in blue above this field or under Employee Files.

6. Once done, click Update Employee, and the page will refresh and display "Update Successful"!

Frequently Asked Questions About Work Permits

Have questions about tracking Work Permits? Whether you're wondering who can access this feature, why you're not seeing it for a specific employee, or how to get notified before a permit expires, this section provides quick answers to help you manage Work Permits with confidence.

Q: Why don't I see Work Permit fields for one of my employees? 
A: Work Permit fields only appear for employees whose SIN is associated with a permit. If an employee's SIN isn't flagged this way, the fields won't show up on their profile.

Q: Is there a maximum value I can set for Max. Allowable Working Hours?
A: No, there's no limit on this field. Since work-hour regulations can vary by location, we recommend checking the relevant regulations for your employee's Work Permit before entering a value. For more details, refer to the Adding or Updating an Employee's Work Permit section of this article.

Q: What happens if I schedule an employee whose Work Permit has expired?
A: PUSH will show a pop-up warning after the shift has been assigned, letting you know the employee's Work Permit is not valid.

We recommend setting up the Work Permit Expiration Alarm to receive an email reminder ahead of the expiry date. Check out our dedicated article for step-by-step instructions.

Q: Can employees fill out their own Work Permit information? 
A: Employees can only complete their Work Permit information during digital onboarding. Once onboarding is complete, employees won't be able to update this information themselves. From that point on, any changes to their Work Permit details must be made by an Administrator.

Q: How do employees get prompted to fill in their Work Permit details during digital onboarding? 
A: It works the same way as the Administrator experience: once the employee enters their SIN during onboarding, the platform checks whether it's associated with a Work Permit. If it is, the additional Work Permit fields will appear for them to complete. If their SIN isn't associated with a Work Permit, these fields won't appear.

Q: How do I get notified before an employee's Work Permit expires?
A: Set up the Work Permit Expiration Alarm to receive an email reminder ahead of the expiry date. Customize the number of notice days you want to be notified, from 10 days prior to 30 days, to whatever meets your business's needs! Check out our dedicated article for step-by-step instructions.

Q: Which plans include Work Permit tracking?
A: Work Permit tracking is available to all Canadian customers with the HR Add On. 

For US customers, if you'd like to track this information, we recommend setting up an Employee Attribute instead. 

Additional Information

Need further help? Refer to our Getting Help & Contacting Support article for the latest support options and ways to connect with our team.