Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act
This guide is a hassle-free source of information about key sections of the ESA. It is for your information and help only. It is not a legal file. If you require details or precise language, please refer to the ESA itself and its guidelines.
This guide needs to not be used as or thought about legal recommendations. You might have higher rights under a work contract, cumulative arrangement, the common law or other legislation. If you’re unsure about anything in this guide, please speak to an attorney.
Topics covered by the ESA?
These consist of:
benefit strategies
bereavement leave
kid death leave
crime-related child disappearance leave
critical health problem leave
stated emergency leave
domestic or sexual violence leave
the employment requirements poster: distribution requirements
equivalent spend for equal work
household caretaker leave
family medical leave
household responsibility leave
filing a claim
hours of work, consuming durations and pause
infectious illness emergency leave
licensing – short-term aid firms and employers
lie detector tests
base pay
non-compete arrangements
organ donor leave
overtime pay
payment of incomes
pregnancy and parental leave
public holidays
reservist leave
severance of work
ill leave
short-term help agencies
termination of work and momentary layoffs
tips or gratuities
holiday.
written policy on disconnecting from work.
written policy on electronic tracking of employees.
Reprisals are forbidden
Employers are forbidden from punishing workers in any way since the staff member worked out ESA rights.
Clients of temporary aid agencies are forbidden from punishing project employees in any method due to the fact that the assignment staff member exercised ESA rights.
Recruiters are prohibited from punishing potential workers who engage or utilize the employer’s services in any method for specific reasons, consisting of asking the recruiter to abide by the Act or making questions about whether a person holds a licence as by the ESA.
Employers, clients of short-lived assistance firms and recruiters who devote a reprisal can be:
– bought to compensate the staff member, employment project employee or prospective worker.
– purchased to renew the worker or task worker (if the reprisal was devoted by an employer or customer of a momentary help agency).
– bought to pay a charge.
– prosecuted.
Discover more about reprisals.
Greater right or advantage
If an arrangement in an employment agreement or another Act offers a staff member a greater right or employment advantage than a minimum work requirement under the ESA then that arrangement applies to the staff member 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 get 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 upon which arrangement of the ESA was contravened. Examples consist of:
– an order to pay.
– a compliance order.
– a ticket.
– a notice of breach with a monetary penalty.
– an order to renew and/or compensate.
– prosecution.
Other workplace-related laws
The ESA includes just a few of the rules affecting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and 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.
For more information 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 work environments include statutes on earnings tax, work 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 apply to some individuals and the people or companies they work for, such as:
– employees and employers 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.
– individuals working under a program authorized by a college of used arts and innovation or university.
– people working under a program that is authorized by a career college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.
– secondary school trainees who work under a work experience program licensed by the school board that runs the school in which the student is registered.
– individuals who do community involvement under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
– law enforcement officer (other than for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do use).
– prisoners taking part in work or rehabilitation programs, or individuals who work as part of a sentence or employment order of a court.
– people who hold political, judicial, spiritual or chosen trade union workplaces.
– significant junior ice hockey gamers who satisfy certain conditions associated with scholarships.
– individuals who satisfy the meaning of service specialist or information technology consultant under the ESA if specific conditions are met.
For a total listing of other people not governed by the ESA, please check the ESA and its policies.
Employee misclassification
Employers are restricted from misclassifying staff members as independent contractors, interns, volunteers or any other type of worker not covered by the ESA.
Learn more about employee misclassification.
Additional resources
In addition to this guide, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has additional resources available to assist you:
– The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the main recommendation source for the policies of the Director of Employment Standards appreciating the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the ESA.
– Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are available to answer your concerns about the ESA. Information is offered in many languages. You can reach the info centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.