Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a hassle-free source of info about essential sections of the ESA. It is for job your info and support only. It is not a legal file. If you require information or precise language, please refer to the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide needs to not be utilized as or thought about legal advice. You might have greater rights under an employment agreement, collective contract, job the common law or other legislation. If you’re uncertain about anything in this guide, please talk to a legal representative.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

advantage strategies

bereavement leave

kid death leave

crime-related child disappearance leave

crucial health problem leave

stated emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the employment requirements poster: distribution requirements

equal spend for job equal work

leave

family medical leave

family duty leave

submitting a claim

hours of work, eating periods and pause

infectious disease emergency leave

licensing – short-term assistance agencies and recruiters

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of salaries

pregnancy and adult leave

public vacations

reservist leave

severance of employment

authorized leave

short-lived help companies

termination of employment and job short-lived layoffs

suggestions or gratuities

trip.

written policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic tracking of staff members.

Reprisals are restricted

Employers are prohibited from penalizing staff members in any method because the staff member exercised ESA rights.

Clients of short-lived aid companies are prohibited from penalizing project employees in any method because the project employee exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are prohibited from punishing prospective workers who engage or utilize the recruiter’s services in any method for specific reasons, job including asking the recruiter to comply with the Act or investigating about whether an individual holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, customers of temporary help agencies and recruiters who commit a reprisal can be:

– ordered to compensate the worker, assignment worker or potential worker.

– ordered to renew the staff member or project employee (if the reprisal was committed by an employer or client of a short-lived assistance company).

– ordered to pay a charge.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

If a provision in an employment agreement or job another Act gives a worker a greater right or benefit than a minimum employment standard under the ESA then that provision applies to the employee rather of the employment requirement.

No waiving of rights

No staff member can consent to waive or offer up their rights under the ESA (for instance, 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 result in enforcement action.

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

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notice of breach with a financial penalty.

– an order to renew and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of only a few of the rules affecting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs problems such as workplace health and safety, 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 additional information 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 work environments include statutes on earnings tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

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

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most employees and employers in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not use to some people and 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 workplaces, radio and television stations and inter-provincial trains.

– individuals working under a program authorized by a college of used 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, 2005.

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

– individuals who do neighborhood involvement under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.

– policeman (other than for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).

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

– people who hold political, judicial, spiritual or elected trade union offices.

– significant junior ice hockey players who satisfy particular conditions associated with scholarships.

– people who meet the meaning of company specialist or infotech specialist under the ESA if particular conditions are met.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are restricted from misclassifying workers as independent contractors, interns, volunteers or any other kind of employee not covered by the ESA.

Learn more about employee misclassification.

Additional resources

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

– The Employment Standards Act Policy and 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 readily available to answer your questions about the ESA. Information is available in many languages. You can reach the information centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.