Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

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

This guide must not be utilized as or considered legal guidance. You may have greater rights under an employment agreement, collective contract, the common law or other legislation. If you’re not sure about anything in this guide, please speak with a lawyer.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

benefit plans

bereavement leave

kid death leave

crime-related child disappearance leave

important illness leave

declared emergency situation leave

domestic or employment sexual violence leave

the employment standards poster: circulation requirements

equal spend for equivalent work

family caregiver leave

household medical leave

family duty leave

suing

hours of work, employment consuming durations and rest durations

transmittable illness emergency situation leave

licensing – temporary help companies and recruiters

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete contracts

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of salaries

pregnancy and parental leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of work

authorized leave

momentary help companies

termination of work and employment short-lived layoffs

suggestions or gratuities

vacation.

composed policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of staff members.

Reprisals are forbidden

Employers are forbidden from penalizing staff members in any way because the employee worked out ESA rights.

Clients of momentary help companies are prohibited from staff members in any method because the project employee exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are forbidden from penalizing potential workers who engage or use the employer’s services in any method for certain factors, consisting of asking the employer to abide by the Act or making inquiries about whether a person holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, customers of temporary help companies and employers who devote a reprisal can be:

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

– bought to restore the staff member or project employee (if the reprisal was dedicated by a company or customer of a short-lived aid company).

– bought to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Discover more about reprisals.

Greater right or employment benefit

If an arrangement in a work contract or another Act offers an employee a greater right or advantage than a minimum employment requirement under the ESA then that arrangement uses to the employee 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 receive overtime pay or public holiday 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 renew and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA includes only a few of the guidelines affecting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs problems 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.

To find out more 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 earnings tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

For more details about federal laws, call the Government of Canada info 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 use to some people and the people or companies they work for, such as:

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

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

– individuals working under a program that is authorized by a career 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 operates the school in which the trainee is registered.

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

– policeman (except for employment the lie detectors provisions of the ESA, which do apply).

– prisoners 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, religious or chosen trade union workplaces.

– significant junior ice hockey gamers who satisfy specific conditions associated with scholarships.

– individuals who fulfill the meaning of company expert or infotech consultant under the ESA if particular conditions are met.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are forbidden from misclassifying workers as independent professionals, interns, volunteers or any other type of worker not covered by the ESA.

Find out more about employee misclassification.

Additional resources

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

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

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