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 info and support only. It is not a legal file. If you require information or precise language, please refer to the ESA itself and its .

This guide ought to not be utilized as or thought about legal guidance. You may have greater rights under an employment agreement, collective agreement, the typical law or other legislation. If you’re uncertain about anything in this guide, please speak with a lawyer.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

advantage strategies

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

critical illness leave

declared emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work requirements poster: circulation requirements

equivalent pay for equivalent work

family caregiver leave

family medical leave

family obligation leave

submitting a claim

hours of work, consuming durations and rest periods

transmittable illness emergency leave

licensing – short-lived help firms and employers

lie detector tests

minimum wage

non-compete contracts

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of incomes

pregnancy and adult leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of work

sick leave

short-term aid agencies

termination of employment and short-lived layoffs

pointers or gratuities

vacation.

composed policy on detaching from work.

written policy on electronic tracking of employees.

Reprisals are restricted

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

Clients of short-lived assistance agencies are prohibited from penalizing task workers in any way because the assignment staff member exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are prohibited from penalizing prospective employees who engage or use the recruiter’s services in any way for specific reasons, including asking the employer to comply with the Act or investigating about whether a person holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, customers of short-lived help companies and employers who commit a reprisal can be:

– purchased to compensate the employee, assignment worker or prospective worker.

– purchased to reinstate the worker or task staff member (if the reprisal was devoted by a company or customer of a momentary assistance agency).

– purchased to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

If a provision in an employment agreement or another Act provides a staff member a greater right or advantage than a minimum work requirement under the ESA then that provision applies to the worker instead of the work requirement.

No waiving of rights

No employee can accept waive or give up their rights under the ESA (for employment example, the right to receive overtime pay or public holiday pay). Any such arrangement 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 provision of the ESA was contravened. Examples consist of:

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notification of breach with a monetary charge.

– an order to restore and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA includes just a few of the rules affecting work in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs concerns such as workplace health and wellness, employment human rights and labour relations.

Related Ontario laws consist of the:

Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Workplace Safety and employment 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 affecting workplaces include statutes on income tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

For additional information about federal laws, call the Government of Canada info 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 individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

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

– people 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 profession college signed up under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.

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

– people who do community involvement 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.

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

– significant junior ice hockey gamers who satisfy particular conditions connected to scholarships.

– individuals who satisfy the definition of service specialist or employment infotech consultant under the ESA if specific conditions are met.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are prohibited from misclassifying staff members 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, employment Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has extra resources available to assist you:

– The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the main reference source for the policies of the Director of Employment Standards appreciating the analysis, employment administration and enforcement of the ESA.

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