Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a hassle-free source of information about key areas of the ESA. It is for your details and support only. It is not a legal document. If you need information or specific language, please describe the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide should not be used as or thought about legal guidance. You might have greater rights under an employment contract, collective contract, 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 include:

advantage plans

bereavement leave

kid death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

crucial disease leave

declared emergency situation leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work standards poster: circulation requirements

equal pay for equivalent work

household caregiver leave

family medical leave

leave

suing

hours of work, eating periods and rest durations

contagious disease emergency situation leave

licensing – temporary aid companies and recruiters

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of wages

pregnancy and adult leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of employment

sick leave

short-term assistance agencies

termination of work and temporary layoffs

ideas or gratuities

holiday.

composed policy on detaching from work.

composed policy on electronic monitoring of staff members.

Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are prohibited from punishing workers in any way due to the fact that the worker exercised ESA rights.

Clients of momentary help firms are prohibited from penalizing assignment employees in any method because the project worker worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are prohibited from punishing potential workers who engage or use the recruiter’s services in any way for specific reasons, including asking the employer to adhere to the Act or inquiring about whether a person holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, clients of temporary aid firms and recruiters who dedicate a reprisal can be:

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

– ordered to renew the worker or assignment staff member (if the reprisal was committed by a company or client of a short-lived help agency).

– bought to pay a charge.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If an arrangement in an employment agreement or another Act provides an employee a greater right or benefit than a minimum work requirement under the ESA then that provision applies to the worker instead of the employment requirement.

No waiving of rights

No employee can accept waive or quit their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to receive overtime pay or public holiday pay). Any such contract is null and void.

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 notice of breach with a financial penalty.

– an order to restore and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA contains only a few of the guidelines impacting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs problems such as workplace health and wellness, human rights and labour relations.

Related Ontario laws consist of the:

Occupational Health And Wellness Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.

For more details 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 earnings tax, employment insurance and the Canada Pension.

To learn more about federal laws, call the Government of Canada details line at 1-800-622-6232.

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most staff members and employers in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not apply to some people and the people or organizations they work for, such as:

– workers and employers in sectors that fall under federal employment 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 authorized by a college of applied arts and innovation or university.

– individuals working under a program that is authorized by a career college signed up under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.

– secondary school trainees who work under a work experience program authorized by the school board that runs the school in which the trainee is enrolled.

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

– policeman (except for the lie detectors provisions of the ESA, which do apply).

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

– people who hold political, judicial, referall.us spiritual or chosen trade union workplaces.

– significant junior ice hockey players who meet certain conditions associated with scholarships.

– individuals who fulfill the meaning of organization consultant or info innovation consultant under the ESA if specific conditions are met.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are restricted from misclassifying employees as independent contractors, interns, volunteers or any other type of worker 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 help you:

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

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