Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a practical source of details about crucial areas of the ESA. It is for your info and assistance just. It is not a legal file. If you need information or exact language, please refer to the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide ought to not be used as or thought about legal recommendations. You might have higher rights under a work contract, cumulative arrangement, the common law or employment other legislation. If you’re uncertain about anything in this guide, please talk to a lawyer.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

benefit strategies

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

crucial illness leave

declared emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the employment requirements poster: circulation requirements

equivalent pay for equal work

family caregiver leave

household medical leave

household duty leave

submitting a claim

hours of work, consuming durations and rest periods

transmittable illness emergency leave

licensing – temporary aid agencies and recruiters

lie detector tests

non-compete contracts

organ donor employment leave

overtime pay

payment of earnings

pregnancy and adult leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of work

authorized leave

short-lived help companies

termination of work and momentary layoffs

pointers or gratuities

vacation.

written policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic tracking of staff members.

Reprisals are forbidden

Employers are prohibited from punishing staff members in any method due to the fact that the employee worked out ESA rights.

Clients of temporary help agencies are prohibited from penalizing task employees in any way since the assignment worker worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are prohibited from penalizing potential employees who engage or use the recruiter’s services in any way for particular reasons, consisting of asking the recruiter to abide by the Act or investigating about whether a person holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, customers of short-lived assistance companies and recruiters who dedicate a reprisal can be:

– bought to compensate the staff member, project worker or prospective employee.

– purchased to renew the employee or assignment staff member (if the reprisal was committed by a company or client of a short-term help company).

– ordered to pay a charge.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If a provision in an employment agreement or another Act gives a staff member a higher right or advantage than a minimum employment standard under the ESA then that arrangement uses to the staff member rather of the work 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 kind of enforcement action that can be taken depends upon which arrangement of the ESA was contravened. Examples include:

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notice of contravention with a financial penalty.

– an order to renew and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of just some of the rules 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 include the:

Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.

For more info 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 consist of statutes on earnings tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

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

Who is not covered by the ESA?

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

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

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

– people working under a program that is approved 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 community participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.

– law enforcement officer (except for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).

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

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

– major junior ice hockey gamers who meet certain conditions related to scholarships.

– people who meet the meaning of company specialist or info technology expert under the ESA if particular conditions are satisfied.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are forbidden from misclassifying staff members as independent specialists, interns, volunteers or any other kind of worker 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 extra resources readily available to assist you:

– The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the primary referral 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 available to address your questions about the ESA. Information is available in numerous languages. You can reach the details centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.