Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a hassle-free source of details about crucial sections of the ESA. It is for your information and help just. It is not a legal document. If you need details or specific language, please refer to the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide ought to not be utilized as or considered legal suggestions. You may have higher rights under an employment agreement, collective agreement, referall.us the common law or other legislation. If you’re unsure about anything in this guide, please talk with a legal representative.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

advantage plans

bereavement leave

kid death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

vital health problem leave

stated emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the employment requirements poster: distribution requirements

equal spend for equal work

household caregiver leave

household medical leave

household obligation leave

filing a claim

hours of work, consuming periods and rest durations

transmittable illness emergency situation leave

licensing – short-term help agencies and recruiters

lie detector tests

minimum wage

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

payment of salaries

pregnancy and parental leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of work

ill leave

momentary assistance agencies

termination of employment and short-term layoffs

ideas or gratuities

holiday.

written policy on detaching from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of employees.

Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are forbidden from penalizing staff members in any way due to the fact that the worker worked out ESA rights.

Clients of short-lived aid companies are forbidden from penalizing assignment employees in any method because the task staff member worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are prohibited from punishing prospective staff members who engage or use the employer’s services in any method for particular factors, consisting of asking the recruiter to abide by the Act or making queries about whether an individual holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, clients of short-term help agencies and employers who commit a reprisal can be:

– purchased to compensate the worker, task worker or potential worker.

– bought to reinstate the employee or assignment staff member (if the reprisal was devoted by an employer or customer of a short-term assistance company).

– purchased to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If a provision in a work agreement or another Act gives a staff member a greater right or benefit than a minimum employment standard under the ESA then that arrangement uses to the staff member rather of the work requirement.

No waiving of rights

No worker can concur to waive or quit their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to receive overtime pay or public vacation pay). Any such arrangement 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 notification of conflict with a monetary penalty.

– an order to reinstate and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of only some of the rules affecting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs concerns 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 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 workplaces consist of statutes on income tax, employment insurance and the Canada Pension.

For more details 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 companies 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:

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

– people working under a program approved by a college of applied arts and innovation or university.

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

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

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

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

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

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

– significant junior ice hockey gamers who meet certain conditions connected to scholarships.

– individuals who fulfill the meaning of business consultant or info technology expert under the ESA if certain conditions are satisfied.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are forbidden from misclassifying employees as independent specialists, interns, volunteers or any other kind of employee not covered by the ESA.

Discover more about worker misclassification.

Additional resources

In addition to this guide, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has additional resources readily available 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 appreciating the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the ESA.

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