Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a hassle-free source of info about crucial sections of the ESA. It is for your info and help just. It is not a legal file. If you require details or precise language, please describe the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide ought to not be utilized as or thought about legal recommendations. You might have greater rights under an employment agreement, collective contract, the common law or other legislation. If you’re not sure about anything in this guide, please speak to an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

benefit plans

bereavement leave

kid death leave

crime-related child disappearance leave

critical illness leave

declared emergency situation leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the employment standards poster: distribution requirements

equivalent spend for equivalent work

family caregiver leave

family medical leave

household duty leave

filing a claim

hours of work, eating periods and job rest durations

infectious illness emergency leave

licensing – short-term help agencies and recruiters

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete contracts

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of salaries

pregnancy and adult leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of employment

authorized leave

temporary assistance companies

termination of work and momentary layoffs

pointers or gratuities

trip.

composed policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of employees.

Reprisals are restricted

Employers are prohibited from punishing staff members in any way since the worker exercised ESA rights.

Clients of momentary aid firms are forbidden from punishing project workers in any way because the task worker exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from penalizing potential employees who engage or use the recruiter’s services in any method for particular reasons, including asking the recruiter to adhere to the Act or making queries about whether a person holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, customers of short-term aid companies and recruiters who devote a reprisal can be:

– ordered to compensate the worker, task worker or prospective employee.

– bought to renew the worker or task worker (if the reprisal was devoted by a company or client of a short-term assistance firm).

– purchased to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

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

No waiving of rights

No worker can consent to waive or quit their rights under the ESA (for instance, the right to receive overtime pay or public vacation pay). Any such arrangement 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 upon which provision of the ESA was contravened. Examples consist of:

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notice of conflict with a monetary charge.

– an order to renew and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of just a few of the rules affecting work 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 job Wellness Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.

To find out 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 affecting work environments consist of statutes on earnings tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

For more information about federal laws, call the Government of Canada details 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 apply to some people and individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

– employees and employers 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 railways.

– people working under a program authorized by a college of used arts and technology or university.

working under a program that is authorized by a career 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 registered.

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

– law enforcement officer (other than for the lie detectors provisions of the ESA, which do apply).

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

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

– major junior ice hockey gamers who fulfill specific conditions connected to scholarships.

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

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

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 employee misclassification.

Additional resources

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

– The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the primary recommendation 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 address your concerns about the ESA. Information is offered in numerous languages. You can reach the information centre from Monday to Friday, job 8:30 a.m.