Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a hassle-free source of information about crucial areas of the ESA. It is for your info and support only. It is not a legal document. If you need information or specific language, please refer to the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide must not be used as or considered legal recommendations. You might have greater rights under an employment agreement, collective arrangement, the typical law or other legislation. If you’re uncertain about anything in this guide, please speak to an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

advantage plans

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related child disappearance leave

crucial disease leave

stated emergency situation leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the employment requirements poster: distribution requirements

equal pay for equivalent work

family caretaker leave

family medical leave

family duty leave

submitting a claim

hours of work, somalibidders.com consuming periods and pause

contagious disease emergency leave

licensing – short-term assistance agencies and recruiters

lie detector tests

minimum wage

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of earnings

pregnancy and parental leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of work

authorized leave

momentary help firms

termination of work and temporary layoffs

ideas or gratuities

vacation.

composed policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic tracking of staff members.

Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are restricted from penalizing employees in any way since the staff member worked out ESA rights.

Clients of short-lived aid agencies are prohibited from penalizing project employees in any method due to the fact that the task employee exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from penalizing potential workers who engage or utilize the employer’s services in any method for particular factors, including asking the recruiter to abide by the Act or inquiring about whether an individual holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, clients of short-term aid firms and recruiters who dedicate a reprisal can be:

– ordered to compensate the staff member, assignment worker or prospective worker.

– purchased to renew the worker or task worker (if the reprisal was committed by a company or customer of a momentary help firm).

– bought to pay a charge.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

If a provision in a work contract or another Act gives a staff member a higher right or benefit than a minimum employment requirement under the ESA then that arrangement applies to the employee instead of the employment standard.

No waiving of rights

No worker can accept waive or quit their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to get overtime pay or public holiday pay). Any such arrangement is null and space.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can lead to enforcement action.

The type of enforcement action that can be taken depends upon which provision of the ESA was contravened. Examples consist of:

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notification of conflict with a monetary charge.

– an order to reinstate and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA includes only some of the guidelines affecting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs concerns such as workplace health and wellness, human rights and labour relations.

Related Ontario laws include the:

Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.

To learn more about other Ontario laws, contact ServiceOntario:

– Tel: 416-326-1234 (in Toronto).

– Toll-free: 1-800-267-8097 (in the rest of Ontario).

– online at ServiceOntario.ca.

Federal laws impacting offices include statutes on income tax, work insurance and the Canada Pension.

For additional information about laws, call the Government of Canada details line at 1-800-622-6232.

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most employees and companies in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not apply to some individuals and the individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

– employees and companies in sectors that fall under federal work law jurisdiction, such as airline companies, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and television stations and inter-provincial railways.

– people working under a program approved by a college of applied arts and technology or university.

– individuals working under a program that is approved by a profession college signed up under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, adremcareers.com 2005.

– secondary school students who work under a work experience program licensed by the school board that operates the school in which the trainee is registered.

– individuals who do neighborhood participation under the Ontario Works Act, referall.us 1997.

– authorities officers (except for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).

– inmates participating in work or rehabilitation programs, or individuals who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.

– individuals who hold political, judicial, religious or chosen trade union workplaces.

– significant junior ice hockey gamers who fulfill certain conditions associated with scholarships.

– people who meet the definition of service expert or infotech consultant under the ESA if specific conditions are satisfied.

For a total listing of other people not governed by the ESA, please inspect the ESA and its regulations.

Employee misclassification

Employers are forbidden from misclassifying staff members as independent contractors, interns, volunteers or any other kind of worker not covered by the ESA.

Learn more about worker misclassification.

Additional resources

In addition to this guide, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has additional resources readily available to assist you:

– The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the main reference source for the policies of the Director of Employment Standards respecting the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the ESA.

– Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are offered to answer your questions about the ESA. Information is offered in numerous languages. You can reach the information centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.