Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a hassle-free source of information about essential areas of the ESA. It is for your information and support only. It is not a legal document. If you need details or precise language, please refer to the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide should not be used as or considered legal recommendations. You may have greater rights under an employment agreement, collective arrangement, 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 include:

benefit plans

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

vital illness leave

declared emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the employment requirements poster: distribution requirements

equal pay for equivalent work

household caregiver leave

household medical leave

household obligation leave

submitting a claim

hours of work, eating periods and rest durations

infectious illness emergency situation leave

licensing – temporary help companies and employers

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of salaries

pregnancy and adult leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of employment

sick leave

short-lived aid companies

termination of employment and temporary layoffs

pointers or gratuities

trip.

composed policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of workers.

Reprisals are restricted

Employers are restricted from penalizing employees in any method since the worker exercised ESA rights.

Clients of short-term aid companies are restricted from punishing project staff members in any method due to the fact that the assignment worker worked out ESA rights.

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

Employers, clients of momentary help agencies and employers who dedicate a reprisal can be:

– purchased to compensate the staff member, task staff member or potential employee.

– purchased to restore the employee or project staff member (if the reprisal was dedicated by an employer or customer of a momentary aid agency).

– bought to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Find out more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

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

No 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 agreement is null and space.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can result in 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 breach with a financial penalty.

– an order to renew and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of only a few of the rules affecting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and employment 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.

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 consist of statutes on earnings 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 workers and employment employers in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not apply to some individuals and the people or organizations they work for, such as:

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

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

– individuals working under a program that is authorized by a career college signed up under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.

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

– law enforcement officer (except for the lie detectors provisions of the ESA, which do apply).

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

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

– major junior ice hockey gamers who fulfill specific conditions related to scholarships.

– individuals who fulfill the definition of business specialist or infotech consultant under the ESA if certain conditions are satisfied.

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

Employee misclassification

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

Discover more about worker misclassification.

Additional resources

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

– The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the primary referral source for the policies of the Director of Employment Standards respecting the interpretation, 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 readily available in many languages. You can reach the information centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.