How to Let People in Quebec Know You Dont Speak French

The Charter of the French Language (Charte de la langue française) is a Quebec law that has rules most using French in the workplace.

The Charter has more rules for large businesses and the Quebec civil service than for small businesses. Other rules apply to federal institutions (see sections below).

Rules for All Workplaces

Right to Work in French

All workers in Quebec have the right to work in French. They tin can speak and write in French and ask for French work documents and tools, including computer software.

Workers can't be fired or refused a chore only because they don't know English language or another language well enough. The only exception is if the job has to exist done in some other language. An example is a call centre job that involves talking to people in the U.s. on a regular ground.

Official Documents and Signs

Employers accept to use French in written documents meant for their staff in full general, including messages posted in the workplace. Merely they tin can write to an private employee in English or some other language.

There tin can be a version of these official documents and letters in English language or another language, as long equally the French is at least every bit prominent.

The rules for official documents besides utilise between unions and their members.

Communicating With the Public

The lease says that every person in Quebec has the correct to exist served in French. So workers who deal with the public take to know French well enough to communicate with the public in French.

Additional Rules for Larger Workplaces

Businesses with 50 or more employees accept to follow special rules to make certain French is the usual language of piece of work. These rules are called "francization." Exceptions can apply to some head offices and inquiry centres.

A Quebec government body chosen the Part québécois de la langue française (the "Role") oversees the francization process.

Francization requires that French be the linguistic communication usually used in the business'southward activities. For example, French must be the language usually used for the post-obit things:

internal and external communications
estimator technology, including estimator programs, software, company websites and visitor internal networks
work documents, reference manuals, catalogues, and forms
piece of work tools and equipment
during meetings and training

English or another linguistic communication tin be used as long as a French version is available and French remains the usual language of the business.

To learn more about francization, visit the website of the Office (in French only).

Quebec Civil Service

The Quebec ceremonious service includes Quebec-regime departments and agencies, for example, Emploi-Québec and Revenu Québec. It also includes municipalities, school boards and public wellness and social service centres, for instance, CLSCs and hospitals.

The Quebec civil service must follow francization rules and other strict rules for making French the linguistic communication of piece of work. These are the main rules:

Hiring

To get a job in the Quebec ceremonious service, you must know French. Each section or bureau decides the level of French needed for a job, and the level of French has to exist approved by the Part québécois de la langue française (the "Role").

Written Communications

In general, written messages, memos and emails must be in French. Simply an individual citizen tin can ask the civil service to communicate with her in English. Likewise civil servants can apply another language when writing to people, businesses and governments outside Quebec.

Work Tools, Work Documents, Data Technology

Piece of work tools and work documents, including software installed on computers, must be in French.

Recognized Bodies

Some municipalities, English language school boards and some wellness and social service centres tin can apply to the government for special status as "recognized" bodies. Some of the rules on using French in the Quebec ceremonious service don't apply to recognized bodies, and French isn't always needed to get a job or be promoted in these bodies.

The following are recognized bodies:

municipalities where more half the residents take English as their mother tongues
English school boards and the bilingual Commission scolaire du littoral (Littoral School Board)
public hospitals and other health clinics where a bulk of the patients speak a language other than French

Recognized bodies tin use some other language either alone or with French for some things. Hither are some examples:

Recognized bodies can serve people in their own linguistic communication.
Recognized schoolhouse boards can use English language alone in documents dealing with teaching, such equally lesson plans.
Patient files in recognized health centres can exist in English or some other language, merely a French summary must exist given to someone who asks for i.

Notation that recognized bodies must as well be able to offer their services in French and use French when needed in written documents.

Our article Health and Social Services in English explains the rules on linguistic communication in the health and social services system.

Professionals

Professionals include doctors, lawyers, nurses, engineers and accountants. Professionals have to prove they know French well enough to do their jobs before they tin can become their permits to practise. Some might have to pass a French exam. There are 2 exceptions for professionals who have permits from outside Quebec:

temporary permits to allow them practise their profession in Quebec for a limited time
special permits to let them work in Quebec for one employer simply just not to serve the public

To learn more about the language requirements for professionals and the exceptions, visit the website of the Role québécois de la langue française (in French just).

Federal Institutions

Special rules apply to the linguistic communication used in federal institutions. "Federal institutions" include the Parliament of Canada, Canadian-government departments and certain other organizations, for example, Canada Post, Via Rail and Air Canada.

English language and French are the languages of piece of work in federal workplaces. The federal authorities has named some parts of Canada "bilingual regions." If yous work for a federal institution in a bilingual region, you have the correct to choose to work in either language. You can cull English or French for the following:

speaking and writing
training and other services
work tools and documents (for example, reference manuals)
software on your calculator
supervision and evaluation

But for some jobs, you might have to use the other linguistic communication to communicate with the public in your region, or with people working in a not-bilingual region.

For a list of bilingual regions in Canada, visit the website of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

To larn more than almost the language of work in federal institutions, visit the website of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

Outside Links

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Source: https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/language-used-in-the-workplace-in-quebec/