Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a convenient source of information about crucial areas of the ESA. It is for your info and assistance just. It is not a legal document. If you need information or specific language, please describe the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide should not be used as or considered legal guidance. You may have greater rights under an employment agreement, cumulative agreement, the common law or other legislation. If you're uncertain about anything in this guide, please speak with a legal representative.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

benefit strategies

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

important health problem leave

stated emergency situation leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work requirements poster: employment circulation requirements

equal spend for equivalent work

household caregiver leave

family medical leave

household obligation leave

suing

hours of work, employment consuming periods and rest periods

contagious illness emergency situation leave

licensing - temporary assistance agencies 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 employment

sick leave

short-term help firms

termination of employment and short-term layoffs

suggestions or gratuities

trip.

written policy on detaching from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of staff members.


Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are prohibited from punishing employees in any method since the employee worked out ESA rights.

Clients of momentary assistance companies are forbidden from penalizing assignment employees in any way since the task staff member worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from punishing potential workers who engage or use the in any way for particular factors, consisting of asking the recruiter to abide by the Act or investigating about whether a person holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, customers of momentary assistance firms and recruiters who devote a reprisal can be:

- purchased to compensate the staff member, assignment employee or prospective worker.

- purchased to restore the worker or project worker (if the reprisal was devoted by a company or customer of a short-term aid firm).

- ordered to pay a charge.

- prosecuted.


Find out more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If a provision in an employment agreement or another Act gives a worker a greater right or advantage than a minimum work requirement under the ESA then that provision uses to the staff member 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 space.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can lead to enforcement action.

The kind of enforcement action that can be taken depends upon which provision of the ESA was contravened. Examples include:

- an order to pay.

- a compliance order.

- a ticket.

- a notification of conflict with a financial penalty.

- an order to restore and/or compensate.

- prosecution.


Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of only a few of the rules affecting work 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 Safety Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.


To learn 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 work environments include statutes on income tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension Plan.

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 employees and companies in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, employment the ESA does not use to some individuals and the people or organizations they work for, such as:

- workers 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 railways.

- individuals working under a program approved by a college of used arts and technology or university.

- people working under a program that is approved by a profession college signed up 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 student is enrolled.

- individuals who do neighborhood involvement under the Ontario Works Act, employment 1997.

- authorities officers (except for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).

- prisoners taking part in work or rehab programs, or individuals who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.

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

- major junior ice hockey gamers who satisfy specific conditions associated with scholarships.

- people who meet the meaning of company expert or infotech consultant under the ESA if certain conditions are fulfilled.


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

Employee misclassification

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

Find out 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 assist 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 analysis, administration and enforcement of the ESA.

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