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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 assistance only. It is not a legal document. If you require details or employment precise language, please describe the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide must not be utilized as or thought about legal advice. You may have higher rights under an employment agreement, cumulative agreement, the typical law or other legislation. If you’re not sure about anything in this guide, please talk with an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

benefit plans

bereavement leave

kid death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

vital illness leave

stated emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work standards poster: distribution requirements

equal spend for equal work

family caretaker leave

household medical leave

family obligation leave

filing a claim

hours of work, eating durations and rest durations

infectious illness emergency leave

licensing – short-term aid agencies and recruiters

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete arrangements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of incomes

pregnancy and adult leave

reservist leave

severance of employment

authorized leave

temporary assistance companies

termination of employment and momentary layoffs

tips or gratuities

trip.

written policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of employees.

Reprisals are forbidden

Employers are restricted from punishing workers in any method since the staff member worked out ESA rights.

Clients of short-lived assistance firms are prohibited from punishing project employees in any method since the assignment employee exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are prohibited from punishing potential staff members who engage or utilize the recruiter’s services in any way for certain reasons, including asking the employer to adhere to the Act or investigating about whether an individual holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, clients of momentary aid companies and employers who dedicate a reprisal can be:

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

– bought to renew the staff member or assignment worker (if the reprisal was committed by an employer or client of a short-lived assistance company).

– bought to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Discover more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If a provision in an employment contract or another Act provides a worker a higher right or employment benefit than a minimum work standard under the ESA then that provision uses to the worker rather of the employment requirement.

No waiving of rights

No employee can consent to waive or offer up their rights under the ESA (for instance, 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 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 notice of breach with a financial charge.

– an order to restore and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of 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 include the:

Occupational Health And Wellness 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 offices include statutes on income tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

For more information about federal laws, call the Government of Canada details 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 apply to some individuals and the individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

– staff members and employers in sectors that fall under federal work 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 applied arts and technology or university.

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

– secondary school trainees who work under a work experience program authorized 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.

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

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

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

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

– people who meet the definition of business expert or infotech consultant under the ESA if particular conditions are satisfied.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are forbidden from misclassifying employees as independent professionals, 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 employment Skills Development (MLITSD) has additional resources readily available to help 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 interpretation, employment administration and enforcement of the ESA.

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