Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a practical source of information about essential areas of the ESA. It is for employment your information and support only. It is not a legal document. If you require details or exact language, please describe the ESA itself and its policies.

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

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

advantage strategies

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related child disappearance leave

vital illness leave

stated emergency situation leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work requirements poster: distribution requirements

equivalent pay for employment equivalent work

household caretaker leave

household medical leave

leave

suing

hours of work, consuming durations and rest durations

contagious disease emergency situation leave

licensing – temporary assistance firms and employers

lie detector tests

minimum wage

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of incomes

pregnancy and adult leave

public vacations

reservist leave

severance of work

authorized leave

short-lived help agencies

termination of employment and momentary layoffs

ideas or gratuities

trip.

composed policy on detaching from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of staff members.

Reprisals are forbidden

Employers are restricted from punishing employees in any way since the staff member exercised ESA rights.

Clients of short-term aid firms are restricted from punishing project workers in any way since the task staff member worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are forbidden from punishing potential staff members who engage or utilize the employer’s services in any way for specific reasons, consisting of asking the recruiter to abide by the Act or making inquiries about whether an individual holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, customers of short-lived aid agencies and employers who dedicate a reprisal can be:

– bought to compensate the staff member, assignment worker or potential worker.

– ordered to renew the worker or employment assignment worker (if the reprisal was devoted by a company or customer of a momentary aid company).

– purchased to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Discover more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

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

No waiving of rights

No staff member can consent to waive or give up their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to get overtime pay or public holiday pay). Any such agreement is null and void.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can lead to enforcement action.

The kind 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 notification of contravention with a monetary charge.

– an order to restore and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of just 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 consist of 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 include statutes on income tax, employment insurance and the Canada Pension.

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

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most staff members and companies 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 companies in sectors that fall under federal employment law jurisdiction, such as airline companies, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and tv stations and inter-provincial trains.

– individuals working under a program approved by a college of used arts and technology or university.

– people working under a program that is authorized by a profession 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 runs the school in which the student is enrolled.

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

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

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

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

– major junior ice hockey gamers who meet specific conditions associated with scholarships.

– people who satisfy the definition of business consultant or details innovation specialist under the ESA if specific conditions are met.

For a complete listing of other people not governed by the ESA, please inspect the ESA and its policies.

Employee misclassification

Employers are restricted from misclassifying staff members 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 employment Interpretation Manual is the main referral source for employment 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 answer your concerns about the ESA. Information is offered in many languages. You can reach the details centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.