Maybe a hotter and impractical take, but I think if someone is released early from work or if their shift is cancelled it should still be paid. The individual planned to work during that time and depending on when the person is made aware of the cancellation or release from work, that time does not automatically become the individuals “free time.”
For example, today I was released two hours early from my dishwashing job. While those two hours are now mine, they were affected by the fact that I planned to work during that time. It might sound petty, but time is everything for working class people and when your job affects it, in any way, it should be compensated for.
However, this would likely incentivize employers to further overwork their employees by finding busywork for them for the sake of good investing.
Been thinking about this for a while, interested to hear people’s thoughts! 🙂
TLDR: Employees should be compensated to some extent for cancelled work as it effects the employees time, and time is literally money for working class people.