Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a convenient source of info about key sections of the ESA. It is for your information and support just. It is not a legal document. If you require details or precise language, please describe the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide should not be utilized as or thought about legal suggestions. You may have greater rights under a work contract, collective arrangement, the common law or other legislation. If you’re uncertain about anything in this guide, please speak to an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

advantage plans

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

critical disease leave

stated emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work standards poster: circulation requirements

equal pay for equivalent work

household caregiver leave

household medical leave

family responsibility leave

suing

hours of work, eating durations and rest durations

infectious illness leave

licensing – short-lived aid firms and employers

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of incomes

pregnancy and parental leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of work

authorized leave

momentary help firms

termination of employment and temporary layoffs

suggestions or gratuities

trip.

composed policy on disconnecting from work.

composed policy on electronic tracking of workers.

Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are forbidden from punishing employees in any way due to the fact that the worker worked out ESA rights.

Clients of momentary assistance firms are restricted from penalizing project staff members in any way since the project worker worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from penalizing potential staff members who engage or use the employer’s services in any way for certain factors, including asking the recruiter to comply with the Act or inquiring about whether a person holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, customers of momentary aid companies and recruiters who devote a reprisal can be:

– purchased to compensate the staff member, project worker or potential staff member.

– ordered to reinstate the worker or assignment staff member (if the reprisal was devoted by a company or client of a temporary assistance firm).

– ordered to pay a charge.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

If a provision in an employment agreement or another Act offers an employee a greater right or benefit than a minimum work requirement under the ESA then that arrangement applies to the staff member 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 example, the right to receive overtime pay or public holiday pay). Any such agreement 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 arrangement of the ESA was contravened. Examples include:

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notice of contravention with a monetary penalty.

– an order to reinstate and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA contains only some of the guidelines 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 details 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 employers in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not use to some people and the individuals or employment 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.

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

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

– secondary school students who work under a work experience program licensed 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.

– police officers (except for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do use).

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

– individuals who hold political, judicial, religious or chosen trade union offices.

– major junior employment ice hockey players who fulfill specific conditions associated with scholarships.

– individuals who satisfy the definition of business consultant or infotech expert under the ESA if certain conditions are met.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are prohibited from misclassifying employees as independent professionals, interns, volunteers or any other kind of worker not covered by the ESA.

Learn more about worker misclassification.

Additional resources

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

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