Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

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

This guide must not be used as or considered legal recommendations. You may have higher rights under a work agreement, cumulative agreement, the common law or other legislation. If you’re unsure about anything in this guide, please talk with a legal representative.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

advantage plans

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

crucial health problem leave

declared emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the employment requirements poster: distribution requirements

equivalent pay for equivalent work

household caregiver leave

family medical leave

family duty leave

filing a claim

hours of work, consuming periods and rest durations

transmittable illness emergency leave

licensing – short-lived aid agencies and employers

lie detector employment tests

base pay

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of incomes

pregnancy and parental leave

public vacations

reservist leave

severance of work

ill leave

momentary aid companies

termination of work and short-lived layoffs

tips or gratuities

vacation.

composed policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of employees.

Reprisals are restricted

Employers are prohibited from penalizing workers in any method since the worker exercised ESA rights.

Clients of temporary assistance firms are prohibited from penalizing project workers in any method since the task worker exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are prohibited from punishing potential employees who engage or utilize the recruiter’s services in any method for particular factors, including asking the recruiter to comply with the Act or inquiring about whether an individual holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, customers of momentary assistance companies and recruiters who dedicate a reprisal can be:

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

– purchased to renew the worker or assignment employee (if the reprisal was devoted by an employer or client of a momentary assistance firm).

– bought to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If an arrangement in an or another Act offers a worker a greater right or advantage than a minimum work standard under the ESA then that provision uses to the employee instead of the employment 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 employment 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 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 renew and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of just a few of the rules impacting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs issues such as workplace health and wellness, human rights and labour relations.

Related Ontario laws include the:

Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Workplace Safety and 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 impacting offices consist of statutes on income tax, work insurance and the Canada Pension Plan.

To find out more 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, employment the ESA does not apply to some individuals and the people or companies they work for, such as:

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

– individuals working under a program approved by a college of applied arts and employment technology 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 operates the school in which the trainee is registered.

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

– authorities officers (other than for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).

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

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

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

– people who meet the definition of service consultant or information technology consultant under the ESA if specific conditions are fulfilled.

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

Employee misclassification

Employers are prohibited from misclassifying employees as independent contractors, interns, volunteers or any other kind of employee not covered by the ESA.

Discover more about staff member misclassification.

Additional resources

In addition to this guide, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has extra resources available 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 offered to address your questions about the ESA. Information is readily available in many languages. You can reach the info centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.