Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a practical source of info about crucial sections of the ESA. It is for your info and support just. It is not a legal document. If you require information or specific language, please refer to the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide needs to not be utilized as or considered legal suggestions. You may have greater rights under an employment contract, cumulative agreement, the common law or other legislation. If you’re not sure about anything in this guide, please speak with a legal representative.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

benefit plans

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related child disappearance leave

critical health problem leave

declared emergency leave

domestic or employment sexual violence leave

the employment requirements poster: employment distribution requirements

equivalent pay for equal work

household caretaker leave

household medical leave

household responsibility leave

suing

hours of work, consuming durations and rest periods

transmittable disease emergency situation leave

licensing – momentary help companies and recruiters

lie detector tests

minimum wage

non-compete arrangements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of incomes

pregnancy and parental leave

public vacations

reservist leave

severance of work

authorized leave

momentary help companies

termination of work and short-term layoffs

pointers or gratuities

getaway.

written policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of employees.

Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are forbidden from punishing workers in any way due to the fact that the worker worked out ESA rights.

Clients of temporary assistance companies are restricted from punishing project workers in any way because the task worker worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from punishing potential staff members who engage or use the employer’s services in any method for specific factors, including asking the recruiter to comply with the Act or making inquiries about whether an individual holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, customers of temporary help firms and recruiters who devote a reprisal can be:

– bought to compensate the employee, employment project employee or prospective employee.

– bought to renew the employee or assignment employee (if the reprisal was devoted by an employer or client of a short-lived assistance agency).

– bought to pay a charge.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

If a provision in an employment agreement or another Act gives an employee a higher right or advantage than a minimum work standard under the ESA then that provision uses to the worker instead of the work standard.

No waiving of rights

No worker can consent to waive or offer up their rights under the ESA (for instance, employment the right to get overtime pay or public holiday pay). Any such agreement is null and space.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can result in enforcement action.

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

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notification of breach with a financial penalty.

– an order to reinstate and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of just some of the guidelines affecting work in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs issues such as workplace health and wellness, human rights and labour relations.

Related Ontario laws include the:

Occupational Health And Wellness Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

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 workplaces consist of statutes on income tax, employment insurance and the Canada Pension Plan.

To learn more about federal laws, employment call the Government of Canada info 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 use to some people and the individuals or companies they work for, such as:

– employees and employers in sectors that fall under federal employment law jurisdiction, such as airlines, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and tv stations and inter-provincial trains.

– individuals working under a program authorized by a college of applied arts and technology or university.

– individuals working under a program that is authorized by a profession college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.

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

– people who do community participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.

– police officers (other than for the lie detectors provisions of the ESA, which do use).

– prisoners taking part in work or rehab programs, or people who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.

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

– major junior ice hockey gamers who meet certain conditions associated with scholarships.

– individuals who fulfill the meaning of company consultant or infotech specialist under the ESA if certain conditions are fulfilled.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are restricted from misclassifying staff members as independent specialists, interns, volunteers or any other type of employee not covered by the ESA.

Find out more about staff member misclassification.

Additional resources

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

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

– Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are offered to address 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.